For sale, by one careful gentleman showman owner…
A unique vintage travelling show stage, complete with all facilities for use by enterprising individual, partnership, group or organisation.
The Theatre Royal is a work of art created by several artists, originally commissioned by Mr Alexander’s Travelling Show, who has been touring with it for thirty-five years. Now it is available to the right party or parties as a going concern. Full training in setting up and striking will be given to the successful buyer and there will be ongoing customer support available following the sale.
The Theatre Royal has an illustrious history. The original Theatre Royal stage was built into a Sunblest bread lorry, originally bought and converted into a stage vehicle in the sixties by a one hit wonder band - Billy Boy Brown and the Circus. The Victorian-style proscenium arch theatre stage was designed and built by the current owner in 1985, and painted by scenic designer and artist Anne Needham. The unit was toured until 2010 when a bespoke specialist exhibition trailer was designed and built to house the rig. The outside of the trailer (painted to look like the outside of the theatre) was designed and painted by Tony Lewery, the well-known theatre designer and long boat painter. The stage floor and some of the trailer exterior has since been re-imagined by visual artist Rob Symington. There is a backcloth designed and made by artist Liz Ellis.
In 2018 a hydraulic levelling system was added to the trailer to facilitate the set up. The set up (and strike) is approximately a three hour job for one man, but with two trained people it can be done in just over an hour. The trailer weight is just over 2 tonnes and is a twin axle unit with a 50mm ball tow bar which is plate rated to 2.5 tonnes, but that includes theatre props. There is plenty of space inside the trailer for prop storage. Everything has been annually serviced.
The stage is a large scale copy of the Victorian Pollocks toy theatre (‘Penny plain and twopence coloured’) still marketed in Covent Garden today. The painted characters in the theatre boxes either side have been re-imagined but the proportions of the whole remain faithful to the original toy.
The stage is not personalised to its current owner. It has a painted poster on the back wall by the painted stage door that advertises his show, but the stage itself is unbranded. The theatre name is painted on the road side of the trailer – ‘Theatre Royal’, where there is ample space for new painted posters. Queen Victoria sanctioned the use of the ‘Royal’ terminology.
The following items are included in the sale:
· Peavey 200 watt digital amplifier
· DAF speakers and stands
· Powered Leisure stage speaker with two hand held radio mics
· Samson 6 way mixer
· Sennheiser radio mike
· Two LED programmable FOH spotlights
· Cables and many extras
There are other items also for sale separately, including
· 3000 Watt Honda petrol generator (4 yrs old) with new LPG conversion kit fitted
· Two unique chair balance illusions
A full technical specification is available from mr.alexander123@googlemail.com and there are extensive photos of the stage in action on Mr Alexander’s website; www.mralexander.co.uk
I would love it if this wonderful and important chapter of my life passed on to people who will cherish and use it for its original purpose; as a stage for a travelling show, but there may be others that would also respond imaginatively to its possibilities.
I have gradually and reluctantly learned to accept that I can no longer manage the physical side of putting up and taking down the stage on my own, but I want it to see it continue to be a place where the sound of applause and laughter is heard on a grassy green, somewhere in Britain.
Of course after it sells I will still be doing some performances but in a different format to be announced…
Please circulate to anyone who you think might be interested.
I know that such a unique piece of 20th and 21st century show history may take a while to sell and so until then I shall continue to be performing with it, so I hope that I will still see you all in my audience soon.
All the best from a road near you,
Mr Alexander