Having purchased this magnificent gem at auction, we now aim to restore and reinstate The Royal Court Theatre as a vibrant epicentre of theatre, music, dance, comedy and belonging. Wigan has too much to offer to allow another iconic landmark to be forgotten. The theatre has the potential to host a variety of events on a national scale as well as giving our local community a stage to shine.
We’ve had a great team of people working on the theatre and a huge 90% of the workforce and companies we’ve used are based in the Wigan borough. We’ve also upskilled a number of tradespeople to work on heritage buildings. The whole journey is important to us: people, place, heritage, community, culture and the arts.
A lot of hard work has gone into removing vegetation, dry rot, asbestos, damp plaster and rotting word. It’s important that we do a thorough job at this stage to allow a solid foundation for the next phase of the project.
Part of the refurbishment works has included taking mouldings of intricate detailing in the building as some of the original features have been damaged over the years. When the time is right, these mouldings will be reinstalled. Respecting the history and character of the theatre is important to us.
The original theatre seats were removed and sent to a specialist to be lovingly restored. When the project nears completion, these will be reinstalled.
