Theatre Royal, Dublin
The Restoration of the monarchy in Ireland in 1661 enabled Ogilby to resume his position as Master of the Revels and open his new venture.
This Theatre Royal was essentially under the control of the administration in Dublin Castle and staged mainly pro-Stuart works and Shakespearean classics.
Thomas Sheridan managed to attract major stars of the London stage, including David Garrick and the Dublin-born Peg Woffington.
Charlotte Melmoth, later to become 'The Grande Dame of Tragedy on the American Stage' began her acting career at Smock Alley.
It was profitable for a while, but later suffered from the opening of Astley's Amphitheatre[5][6] Frederick Edward Jones leased the theatre from Daly, and spent £1200 on renovating the house, which was decorated by Marinari and Zaffarini.
Jones attributed his unpopularity to his being active in politics; in 1807 he had supported the election of an anti-ministerial member of parliament for Dublin.
His application in 1818 for renewal of the patent was refused, being granted instead to Henry Harris, a proprietor of Covent Garden Theatre.
[7][8] In 1820, Henry Harris bought a site in Hawkins Street and built the 2,000-seater Albany New Theatre on it at a cost of £50,000, designed by architect Samuel Beazley.
The building work was not completed at the time of opening and early audience figures were so low that a number of side seating boxes were boarded up.
This theatre attracted a number of famous performers, including Paganini, Jenny Lind, Tyrone Power and Barry Sullivan.
[12] This theatre was also noted for its musical performances, which included orchestral overtures and interludes to spoken drama and operatic stagings.
[15] The fourth Theatre Royal opened on 13 December 1897 by the actor-manager Frederick Mouillot with the assistance of a group of Dublin businessmen.
It was a large art deco building designed for an audience of 3,700 people seated and 300 standing, and was intended for use as both theatre and cinema.
These included such Irish household names as Jimmy O'Dea, Harry O'Donovan, Maureen Potter, Danny Cummins, Mike Nolan, Alice Dalgarno, Noel Purcell, Micheál Mac Liammóir, Cecil Sheridan, Jack Cruise, Paddy Crosbie and Patricia Cahill.
The legendary singer sang from her dressing room window to hundreds of people who were unable to get tickets and critics dubbed her "America's Colleen".
Under pressure from rising overhead costs and the increasing popularity of the cinema and the introduction of television, the fifth Theatre Royal closed its doors on 30 June 1962.
The building was subsequently demolished and replaced by a twelve-storey office block, Hawkins House,[16] which was the headquarters of Ireland's Department of Health until 2019.
