Our Royal George Theatre was built during the First World War as a temporary building to house lectures and entertainments for officers training here in Niagara. For speed, and to save money, it was built out of clay “speed” tile, only designed to last for about 25 years. Since then, it has had many lives; as a vaudeville stage, a movie theatre and, previous to Shaw, as the home of the Canadian Mime Theatre. The Shaw bought the building in 1981 and hid the original Spanish stucco design behind the faux Georgian façade and interiors that you know and love today. But because of that clay foundation, and the original intent of the building to be temporary, the foundation has now exceeded its usable life by decades. Shaw has continued to mitigate the constant flooding, its inadequate accessibility and a host of other concerns, but we can no longer prevent the inevitable. We now must rebuild the Royal George into a venue that serves the 21st century, while still presenting an homage to the Georgian jewel box theatre that has become such a feature of the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
We all love the Royal George, but we need a theatre that can serve today’s needs. It cannot simply be rebuilt on the existing footprint because current building codes would not allow it. We need there to be accessible lobbies, facilities, community spaces and a theatre that can be enjoyed by everyone.
At the end of 2025, following the run of A Christmas Carol, we will close the Royal George as it currently exists.
We are working with governments and supporters to secure the significant funding needed to rebuild a new theatre – one we hope will be a shining example of a Georgian-style theatre, but with the needs, requirements and values of the coming century integrated into the design.
Our vision for a transformed Royal George would maintain the unique heritage character of Queen Street, while building North America’s first net zero theatre and achieving Rick Hansen Gold Certification for accessibility. This will require a larger footprint, and to go further below ground, but all this will ensure we can continue to deliver the style of classic theatre on which our reputation rests, in ways that will meet the needs of the audiences and workers of tomorrow.
Please enjoy this last season of the current Royal George with us! In the coming weeks, we will let you know more about this next stage of its life as we continue to work towards a rebirth worthy of its history, and worthy of our future.
