The Kings Theatre, Southsea, Portsmouth

In 2001, the Kings Theatre was to be sold and could even have been turned into a pub, when a bid was put in for the theatre by JD Weatherspoons. However, inspired by the passion of local Southsea Town councillor Mrs Paddy Drew MBE, together with Peter Eddis, Ian Pratt and groups dedicated to saving the Kings for future generations,  AKTER (Action for Kings TheatrE Restoration) was formed, generating a 26,675 signature petition which persuaded Portsmouth City Council to buy the theatre and lease it to The Kings Theatre Trust Ltd.

Under the Chairmanship of Gordon Jowett, the Kings Theatre Trust originally leased the theatre to an operating company to run the theatre whilst the Trust steered the restoration programme. Unfortunately, after 18 months this company fell into bankruptcy and the decision was made by The Kings Theatre Trust take full control of the theatre’s operation. The restoration programme had not been affected and the full extent of all the volunteers’ hard work and freely given time would have been for nothing had the project failed at this point.
Now under the Chairmanship of Ron Hasker and Vice-Chairman Ian Pratt, brilliantly supported by a highly professional staff and enthusiastic band of volunteers, the Board of Trustees has continued to ensure that the Kings has gone on to become one of the South’s leading theatres.

What has the trust achieved for the theatre?

The Restoration
Teams of volunteers then as now,  washed, scraped, painted and rebuilt large sections of the theatre as the Trust focussed on restoring the Kings as closely to its original design as possible. For example, in 2009 the lady statue, renamed Aurora, was reinstalled at the top of the tower. The original Aurora, which had been removed many years ago, can be seen in the main foyer. Statues of lions were also added around the tower to suit the original design, and many of the paintings have been restored to their former glory. However, a modern powered electric flying system was also installed so that larger shows could take place. The Kings Theatre Trust was awarded a Civic Award in recognition of all this work.



The Archive
Thanks to The Kings Theatre Trust, the theatre's archive can now be kept in its rightful home. The archive contains items dating as early as 1912 and the original wallpaper from when the theatre was first decorated, which was discovered during the restoration. It also contains a vast collection of programmes, which have been donated to the theatre, dating as early as 1935.



The Top Quality Shows
In 2005 the Kings Theatre reached a new milestone when it secured 'Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat', its first week long professional production since The Trust began. This attracted other popular professional productions and in 2009, the Kings Theatre won joint first place for Best Professional Production for 'Chicago' in the Guide Awards.



The Trust has continued with the tradition of having The South Downe Musical Society and the Portsmouth Players perform at the theatre. The Portsmouth Players have been performing here for 81 years and in the 2009 Guide Awards, they won Best Amateur Musical for ‘The Producers’ performed at the Kings Theatre.

This September, 'Macbeth' will be the theatre's first co-production. It is a prestigious feature in the industry to be a producing theatre, which is a new and exciting territory for the Kings Theatre.
 

Looking back on ten memorable years of the Kings Theatre

The News interview Ian Pratt, vice-chairman of the Kings Theatre Trust - click to read