[1] It was a major cultural centre of the island during its duration and had a good reputation also outside of the island, giving Jamaica a name of cultural sophistication, and it remained the main theatre of Jamaica during its history.
Kingston Theatre was reportedly relatively small,[2] but it played an important role as the island's main venue and as a part of the official representational life of the British Governor and the high society life of the Jamaican Planter aristocracy.
It enjoyed success during the American Revolutionary War when performances were staged three to four times a week and the boxes of the theatre were leased by the members of the planter elite.
In 1912 Charles James Ward built a new theatre on the site, presenting it to the "Mayor and Council of the City of Kingston" (later Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation), who named it the Ward Theatre in his honour.
It was closed in 1982 for structural repairs, then in 1986 adopted by the Ward Theatre Foundation to operate and maintain, under a 25-year lease agreement.