The Torch Theatre was a theatre located in Capel Street, Dublin, which operated from 1935 to 1941.[1]

Torch Theatre
The former Torch Theatre
Address114-116 Capel Street
Dublin 1
Ireland
OwnerCharles L. Keogh and
Evelyn Lund
Typetheatre
Current useCapel Street Antiques Market
Opened1935
Closed1941

Establishment

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The Torch Theatre was founded by husband and wife team Charles L. Keogh and Evelyn Lund and opened on February 27, 1935.[2] The building had previously been used as the headquarters of the United Trades Council, with the meeting room being converted into the theatre space.[3] Another founding member was the artist Lilian Davidson, who under the stage name "Jennifer Maud", designed scenery and was a co-director in 1936.[4]

Associations

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The semi-professional company that was based out of the Torch Theatre specialised in productions of melodrama and opened with a production of The Colleen Bawn.[3] The production later focused less on melodrama and more on light theatre, pantomime and comedies.[5] Other plays the theatre produced were A Royal Divorce, In Memory of the Dead, Nell Gwynne, and Arrah-na-Pogue.[5] Some of the actors who took part in these productions were F. J. McCormick, Eve Panton, and Harry Brogan.[5] In 1936 Cyril Cusack directed and set designed a season of Irish language plays.[3]

Closure

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The theatre was largely unprofitable and operated sporadically until 1941.[5] The final production was a revue Sensations of 1940, directed by Dan Rockford.[5] There is now a preservation order on the facade of the building.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "The Torch Theatre, Capel Street, Dublin, Ireland". www.arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ Finegan, John (1994). "Dublin's Lost Theatres". Dublin Historical Record. 47 (1): 97.
  3. ^ a b c d Kerins, Des. "The Torch Theatre, Capel Street, Dublin". arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  4. ^ Doyle, Carmel (2009). "Davidson, Lilian Lucy ('Ulick Burke'; 'Jennifer Maude')". In McGuire, James; Quinn, James (eds.). Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  5. ^ a b c d e Ryan, Philip B. (1998). The Lost Theatres of Dublin. Wiltshire: The Badger Press. pp. 193–195. ISBN 0952607611.