During the 1880s, 90s and the early 1900s Benson and his Company could usually be found in Ireland during December and January, undertaking seasons which were sometimes several weeks long in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Waterford and Londonderry. At this time, of course, Ireland was not divided into the North and Eire. In 1892, the Bensons were spending a second week in Belfast at the impressive Theatre Royal. The theatre had been refurbished in 1881 after a disastrous fire and the interior was redesigned by the renowned theatre architect C. J. Phipps, (best known today for several West End theatres, including Her Majesty's, home to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera).
At its re-opening The Era noted 'Along the whole of the facade in Arthur-square a covered veranda or porch has been erected of iron and glass; so that the audience waiting for the opening of the doors will be protected when the weather is wet, and those coming in carriages will not have to cross a damp pavement previous to entering the theatre.' The auditorium was sumptuous - a gold proscenium, a painted ceiling, enhanced by 'the rich colour of the wall-paper, of a warm Venetian red tone - while the hangings to the private boxes are of silk tapestry, a deep turquoise blue colour, embroidered with sprigs of flowers in colour. The whole scheme of colour has been very carefully arranged by the architect, and the paper and curtains have been specially manufactured for this theatre.'
The Bensons would be frequent visitors to the Theatre Royal until its closure and redevelopment as a cinema in 1915. It finally closed its doors and was demolished in 1961, Its theatrical rival, Frank Matcham's Grand Opera House, would be rather luckier, narrowly escaping the developers and surviving the bomb damage of the Troubles, to become Belfast's touring theatre today.
