Torch Theatre, Dublin

The Torch Theatre was a theatre located in Capel Street, Dublin, which operated from 1935 to 1941.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Establishment

The Torch Theatre was founded by husband and wife team Charles L. Keogh and Evelyn Lund and opened on 27 February 1935.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The building had previously been used as the headquarters of the United Trades Council, with the meeting room being converted into the theatre space.<ref name=Kerins>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another founding member was the artist Lilian Davidson, who under the stage name "Jennifer Maud", designed scenery and was a co-director in 1936.<ref name=Doyle>Template:Cite book</ref>

Associations

The semi-professional company that was based out of the Torch Theatre specialised in productions of melodrama and opened with a production of The Colleen Bawn.<ref name=Kerins /> The production later focused less on melodrama and more on light theatre, pantomime and comedies.<ref name=Ryan>Template:Cite book</ref> Other plays the theatre produced were A Royal Divorce, In Memory of the Dead, Nell Gwynne, and Arrah-na-Pogue.<ref name=Ryan /> Some of the actors who took part in these productions were F. J. McCormick, Eve Panton, and Harry Brogan.<ref name=Ryan /> In 1936 Cyril Cusack directed and set designed a season of Irish language plays.<ref name=Kerins />

Closure

The theatre was largely unprofitable and operated sporadically until 1941.<ref name=Ryan /> The final production was a revue Sensations of 1940, directed by Dan Rockford.<ref name=Ryan /> There is now a preservation order on the facade of the building.<ref name=Kerins />