2 December 2009: His Majesty's Theatre

His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen was designed by arguably the greatest and most prolific of British theatre designers, Frank Matcham.

Matcham, who never qualified as an architect, was responsible for the original design of over 80 theatres, and refitted or worked on hundreds of others. His most notable achievements include The King's Theatre in Glasgow, The Hackney Empire in London and the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.

Today, only some two dozen of his theatres survive, with many having been demolished or radically altered as bingo halls, nightclubs and cinemas.

In 2005, His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen was reopened after a £7.8 million redevelopment funded by Aberdeen City Council, the National Lottery, the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Enterprise Grampian.  A major part of the work involved the construction of a brand new extension to the Theatre. 550 square metres of Kemnay granite – the same material used for the original 1906 building – helped complete the extension. His Majesty’s Theatre has the unique distinction of being the only theatre in the UK to be completely built of granite.

The project also marked the most comprehensive refurbishment in the 103-year history of the category A-listed theatre.