[2] Collins, an actor who also ran theatres in Chichester and Salisbury, acquired the site of the old St John's Hospital on French Street in 1798.

[2][5] Billed as the "Southampton New Theatre, Built on the exact Model of the Theatre-Royal Drury-Lane",[6] the opening was well attended and well received.

[5] The Hampshire Chronicle applauded "the liberal and spirited manner" in which the building had been decorated, adding that "a more elegant, convenient, and brilliant Theatre is not to be met out of London.

[10] The fifth lessee, Holmes, tried to address major complaints about the theatre, which had become notorious for disorderly behaviour, such as objects being thrown into the pit from above during performances.

[10] In the late 1850s, the theatre finally started to receive more positive reviews in the local press on a regular basis.

[10] Starting in the early 1860s, the Theatre Royal came under more stable management as J. W. "Joey" Gordon, who was also the proprietor of the Rainbow music hall next door, took over as the lessee.

[4] The Hampshire Advertiser wrote:The final and grandest "transformation" scene has been witnessed, the "unsubstantial pageant" has faded, and "not a wrack" is left of the plain, unpretending edifice which had for so long been known as the "Theatre Royal, Southampton.