The Prince of Wales

The Prince of Wales is a former theatre in central Cardiff. Built in 1878 to a Venetian Gothic design, it replaced the old Theatre Royal after a fire. The architects were W. D. Blessley and T. Waring, chosen when Cardiff was expanding as a coal port. The building seated nearly two thousand and opened with a production by W. S. Gilbert. Its stage was 56 feet wide and framed by a 30-foot proscenium arch topped with a royal coat of arms. Gas lamps lit the interior after dark, with eight hundred lamps illuminating gold and white decorations. The theatre later became a Playhouse and then the Prince of Wales, hosting stars such as Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier. In 1946 the Welsh National Opera gave its first performance here, with a young Robert Tear taking part. The building was remodelled in the Greek Revival style, adding Doric columns and a neoclassical statue on St Mary Street. After years as a cinema and nightclub, it was converted into a pub in 1999, restoring parts of the 1920 interior. Today the pub occupies the former theatre near Cardiff Central station. The façade on St Mary Street still shows the two fluted Doric columns and the statue of a young woman with a cup. Inside, Ionic columns and a Grecian frieze partly survive from the 1920 remodelling. The space is now divided into bar areas, with some original features partly restored. The building remains a Grade II listed structure, recognising its architectural importance.