Palace Theatre
On opening night in October 1912 1,500 patrons could be packed in, although 300 would have been standing, and several hundred would have been crammed on the pit benches. With little in the way of foyer space it was necessary to get everyone into the auditorium and it must have been an incredibly raucous atmosphere!
By 1973 the total seating capacity was being advertised as 808, reducing to 700 the following year following redecoration of the auditorium. Since then, demands for ever greater levels of comfort, and increased leg-room, have brought the capacity down further.
The Palace Theatre currently has 603 seats:
- Stalls 241, plus 3 wheelchair spaces and 3 seats for carers = 247
- Circle 248 (Dress Circle 176 / Rear Circle 72)
- Gallery 108
- Plus four Boxes, each with two seats
Proscenium height: 6m
Proscenium width: 8m
Stage height: 1.03m
Stage depth: Back wall to tab line: 4.2m / Tab line to stage front: 0.8m
Stage rake: 1:18 (Reputed to be the steepest in the UK.)
Height to Grid: 15m
Scenery flying height: 6m
Dixon Studio
Seats: Up to 98 in fully flexible formats
Dimensions: 11.5m x 7.5m
Ceiling: 3.5m high