York Theatre Royal

A bit about us

At York Theatre Royal, our community is at the heart of everything we do. We’ve been here since 1744, welcoming and entertaining residents and visitors from far and wide.

As a charity and with your vital support we really do make incredible things happen. We are so thankful to all our Members, individuals and businesses helping us to thrive. Your support really matters.

Thank you for your support from everyone in the YTR community.

How your support makes the difference

Our productions

Your support helps enable us to entertain thousands of people each year with exceptional live performances. From large-scale community theatre, our legendary pantomime and family-favourite summer shows, to intimate dramas, epic co-productions with Wise Children and the National Theatre and theatre debuts from York’s most exciting emerging artists – there’s something for everyone. 

Our community work

We are recognised nationally for our work with our community, inspiring people through the magic of live theatre and championing local artists. We are committed to ensuring York Theatre Royal is accessible and welcoming to everyone.

Whether we're giving free places to our Youth Theatre Programme, taking VR recordings of our shows to people who can't come to us, reducing loneliness in collaboration with Home Instead by inviting people to Chatty Mondays, working with local charities to invite vulnerable adults and children to see our annual pantomime for free, or providing children on free school meals free lunch and drama activities during school holiday's, you can be sure that we're engaging as many people as possible.

Our building

York Theatre Royal was built in 1744, on part of the site of a former Hospitium, meaning areas of the site date back to the 12th century. It was built by Thomas Keregan, though the name of the architect is now sadly lost. The theatre has undergone numerous interventions, the two most recent of which were a glass and concrete extension in 1967, designed by Patrick Gwynne. 

More recently a major capital project was finished in 2016 and was designed by DeMatos Ryan Architects. As a Grade II* listed building, your support means we can keep our building as relevant and accessible as possible so it will be around for generations to come.

Your local theatre

York Theatre Royal is open Monday - Saturday and we welcome multiple communities from across York and North Yorkshire. Whether coming to the theatre for a coffee with friends, or a delicious lunch made in house by our kitchen team, or even sitting in our colonnade just to watch the world go by, our doors are open to you. We are here for our communities and you can help us welcome even more people through our doors.