King's Theatre, Edinburgh

The King's Theatre was opened in 1906 and stands on a prominent site on Leven Street in Edinburgh. It is one of Scotland's historic and most important theatres. It plays a vital role in today's theatre industry as much as it has done in its 100 years of service to Edinburgh theatre patrons.History of the theatreThe King's is famous for being a venue belonging to the theatre empire Howard & Wyndham. The theatre was originally commissioned by the Edinburgh Building Company, which was a group of local businessmen. The business group was led by Robert C. Buchanan. The King's was built as a rival to the successful Royal Lyceum Theatre which had been established for over twenty years. Buchanan was experienced in the industry as he already managed a large number of provincial variety theatres, however this was his most ambitious project yet. A memorial stone was laid on 6 August 1906, and copies of the current newspaper and coins were buried underneath. During the building's construction, the owners experienced financial troubles, and before the project was complete, the business group transferred their rights to the King's Theatre Company. It was formed by William Stewart Cruikshank, a builder, whose firm constructed the theatre and he subsequently became a major shareholder. Buchanan was managing director and he took on the day-to-day running of the King's. Buchanan was soon ousted by Cruikshank's son, A. Stewart Cruikshank, who was a dynamic businessman with a soft spot for theatre.The building opened to audiences for the first time on 8 December 1906, with a festive production of Cinderella with Violet Englefield as the Prince and Phyllis Dare as Cinderella. The theatre began a successful career as a variety touring house with visits from Carl Rosa Opera and Richard D'Oyly Carte's company. Cruikshank later realised that his theatre was at a disadvantage by not being part of a mainstream circuit. In 1928 he merged his theatre with Howard and Wyndham, and also became chairman of the company. The King's closed during the summer, which was a common practice in theatres up and down the country.