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 in the area after graduating from Portsmouth Naval Academy. More contemporary Portsmouth literary figures include social critic, journalist, and author Christopher Hitchens, who was born in the city. Nevil Shute moved to Portsmouth in 1934 when he relocated his aircraft company to the city; his former home stands in Southsea. Fantasy author Neil Gaiman grew up in nearby Purbrook and the Portsmouth suburb of Southsea, and in 2013 had a Southsea road named after his novel "The Ocean At The End Of The Lane". Olivia Manning's childhood was also spent in the city. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a famed engineer of