The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, opened on 10 September 1883 under the management of J B Howard (died 1895) and F W P Wyndham (died 1930), a partnership which in 1895 became Howard & Wyndham Ltd . All of the great actor managers and their companies appeared at the Lyceum - Wilson Barrett (1846-1904), Sir Frank Benson (1858-1939), Edward Compton, George Edwardes and Sir Donald Wolfit (1902-1968) among others. The 1930s saw the Brandon Thomas seasons while the 1940s and 1950s belonged to the Wilson Barrett Company. In 1960 the theatre was sold to an Edinburgh businessman, but soon it became likely that his intention was to tear down the building and use the site for development.
Edinburgh City Corporation took over the theatre in 1964 to house the newly-formed Royal Lyceum Theatre Company which operates to this day. Tom Fleming (b. 1927), from the Gateway Theatre, Edinburgh, set up the company which was first known as the Edinburgh Civic Theatre Company . The first season was in Autumn 1965. Fleming resigned in 1966 and was replaced by Clive Perry. The Royal Lyceum Theatre Company became a limited company in 1977 (Company no. SC 062065). A studio theatre, The Little Lyceum, was opened in 1975 and operated mainly during the Edinburgh Festival, but was demolished in 1989.
The Company's artistic policy enables the Company to present plays from both the British and International repertoire of classics. There is also an extensive commitment to new writing and adaptations by Scots writers. The Company is in permanent residence in the theatre, which is also used for other productions during the annual Edinburgh Festival.
From the guide to the Records of Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1890 -1996, (Glasgow University Library, Special Collections Department)
