Places

Kings Theatre, Southsea

Tags: pantomime

The Kings Theatre in Southsea was built in 1906-7 by J. W. Boughton and renowned theatre architect, Frank Matcham. J. W. Boughton was involved with the Portsmouth Theatres Company, who were also responsible for the New Theatre Royal and The Princes Theatre. The building was completed in thirteen months and was opened on 30th September 1907. In 2001, after threat of closure, AKTER (Action for Kings Theatre Restoration) campaigned to save the Kings. Portsmouth City Council purchased the theatre and has sinced leased it to the Kings Theatre Trust. In the restoration of the building, many of the original features have been reintroduced, such as a replica of the statue of the lady at the top of the tower. The original statue has since been recovered and can now be found in the box office foyer.

Kings Theatre
City Architects DA/2B/692

Press extracts describe the 1938 Kings Theatre pantomime Cinderella as promising to be ‘plenty of fun’ with ‘an electric fairy coach drawn by beautiful miniature ponies’. Press cuttings for 1937 also announce the ballet performance of Rene Blum, brother of the Prime Minister of France, Leon Blum, in ‘Ballets De Monte Carlo’. The book of press cuttings relating to the Kings Theatre is accessible through Portsmouth History Centre. Reference: 165A/3/3.