Like many theatres of the period, the category A-listed Theatre Royal in Hope Street in Glasgow has had a complex history. The first theatre on the site was built in 1867 by the architectural practice of Clarke & Bell and by 1869 it was named the Theatre Royal. A fire in 1879 destroyed the interior and the building was rebuilt in 1880 by the celebrated theatre architect C J Phipps, reusing the surviving exterior walls. This rebuilding also burnt down 15 years later but was reconstructed by Phipps largely to his previous design. It was converted to television studios in the 1950s and suffered a further fire in 1969. Derek Sugden of Arup Associates renovated the theatre as an opera house in 1974–5 and it continues today as the home of Scottish Opera, as well as hosting a variety of other types of productions. The magnificent auditorium with its delicate neoclassical plasterwork has been carefully restored.

IN: Acting with confidence. Scotland's theatre architecture.