Ward Theatre

The Ward Theatre is the 3rd theatre to be built on this site in the centre of Kingston since 1775. It was opened on 16th December 1912 with Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance”. Seating is provided in parquette, dress circle and gallery levels. The stage is 30ft deep and there are twelve dressing rooms.

Annual pantomimes were held in the theatre at Christmas-time from 1941. Over the years it has hosted such star names as Paul Robeson, Charles Laughton, Alicia Markova, Anton Dolin, Arthur Rubinstein, Willard White and many others.

The Ward Theatre was used as a location for the horror film “Popcorn”(1991) and almost every scene was filmed either inside or outside the theatre, which was re-named Grand Theatre for the film.

The Ward Theatre was declared a National Monument on 7th January 2000. The Ward Theatre was badly damaged by Hurricane Dean in 2007. In 2012 a fundraising drive was begun to start the restoration and renovation of the Ward Theatre. It had re-opened as a performing arts theatre by 2017.

Recent comments (view all 1 comments)

Jorge on May 12, 2022 at 9:42 pm

I’m watching the 1991 slasher “Popcorn”. What a great little B movie! The theater looks beautiful. Wish there was more info.