New Theatre Royal New Theatre Royal The New Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II* listed theatre in the heart of Portsmouth, England, with a capacity of 667. The theatre building was constructed in 1854 as Landport Hall. It was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham. The Theatre reopened in October 2015 after a £4.7M refurbishment project. The present site was built to replace a theatre located in the High Street (now designated "old Portsmouth". The theatre features in Charles Dickens' novel "Nicholas Nickleby". A popular
Portsmouth and District Magic Circle Portsmouth and District Magic Circle The Portsmouth and District Magic Circle (PDMC) is a magicians' society based in Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire. It is one of the largest magic societies in the UK with nearly 100 members. The society was founded in 1938 at a meeting in the Talbot Hotel in Portsmouth. Amongst its founding members were the close-up magician Lewis Ganson and the master illusionist Will Ayling, author of "The Art of Illusion" and "Oriental Conjuring and Magic". Another early member was the engineer and illusionist Donald Stevenson who worked for the American magician William Ellsworth