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Here is an
historical photo montage of The Royal - your neighbourhood
cinema and music hall! Constructed between 1937 and
1939 The Royal was always a multi-purpose event centre, and
is located in what is today known as Little Italy.
Featured
in the montage are two important women who factored in its
genesis. The first, impresario Ray Lewis Levinsky was
Toronto's first woman theatre owner - she was known publicly
as Ray Lewis! The other, acclaimed British stage and
screen actress Anna Neagle is featured casting her shoeprint
in concrete during the construction of the (then Pylon)
theatre in 1937. This "moment in time" was unearthed
during the recent lobby restoration and is now on view!
Today the
theatre is operated by TheatreD Digital which provides
picture editing, sound mixing and colour correction services
for the motion picture industry by day. During the
evening the venue continues to operate as a cinema for film
festivals. This year alone we will have played host to
more than 120 evenings of film festivals - from Reel Asian
to Hot Docs to the Brazilian, Humber, Ryerson, EUFF and
dozens more!
Now, after
a $2.5 million restoration, The Royal will once again serve
as an incubator for talented young musical and theatrical
performers who are drawn to the energy of Toronto for a
chance to channel their creativity and hone their talents -
in hopes of broadcasting to the world beyond!
Click HERE for more Royal
Theatre Photos
Think of
The Royal as an acoustically perfect, 400 seat, live
recording studio with the most sophisticated mix console on
the market, an extendable stage and full 3D and HD
television and recording capabilities; the creative mind
will immediately conjure up a kaleidoscope of potential!
Seeing is
believing - here is a clip of a live to tape television
concert recorded at The Royal - see the potential?
Here it is: Justin Hines - for PBS |
