| Torch Theatre | |
| Address: | 114-116 Capel Street |
| City: | Dublin 1 |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Owner: | Charles L. Keogh and Evelyn Lund |
| Type: | theatre |
| Opened: | 1935 |
| Closed: | 1941 |
| Currentuse: | Capel Street Antiques Market |
The Torch Theatre was a theatre located in Capel Street, Dublin, which operated from 1935 to 1941.[1]
The Torch Theatre was founded by husband and wife team Charles L. Keogh and Evelyn Lund and opened on February 27, 1935.[2] The building had previously been used as the headquarters of the United Trades Council, with the meeting room being converted into the theatre space.[3] Another founding member was the artist Lilian Davidson, who under the stage name "Jennifer Maud", designed scenery and was a co-director in 1936.[4]
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. The production later focused less on melodrama and more on light theatre, pantomime and comedies.[5] Other plays the theatre produced were A Royal Divorce, In Memory of the Dead, Nell Gwynne, and Arrah-na-Pogue. Some of the actors who took part in these productions were F. J. McCormick, Eve Panton, and Harry Brogan. In 1936 Cyril Cusack directed and set designed a season of Irish language plays.
The theatre was largely unprofitable and operated sporadically until 1941. The final production was a revue Sensations of 1940, directed by Dan Rockford. There is now a preservation order on the facade of the building.