The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
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Official Opening of the Theatre Royal Plymouth
Princess Margaret takes centre stage to unveil a brand new Theatre Royal.
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Overview
Princess Margaret arrives at Plymouth’s new Theatre Royal to unveil a plaque marking the official opening to the public. Janet Fookes MP and Theatre Director David Harris are interviewed. The Princess greets the cast from the first performance including actor Leonard Rossiter. American singer-songwriter Gene Pitney and Keith Harris and Orville give their opinions.
The Theatre Royal is situated on Royal Parade and was designed in 1977 by the Peter Moro Partnership. It was officially opened on 5 May 1982. A regeneration project revamped the front of house areas in 2013 and a new community performance space The Lab was built to add to the main auditorium of The Lyric and the smaller theatre aimed at new writing, The Drum. Plymouth has one of the largest Production and Community Learning Centres in the UK called TR2 offering workshop and wardrobe space, set construction, production and design and costume services for the theatre industry. TR2 operates teams that work on co-producing shows prior to their opening in London’s West End.
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