” Prince's Theatre, Corner of West Nile Street & Buchanan Street, Glasgow



The Prince's Theatre, Glasgow was built by James Wylson and was a conversion from a former building, also designed by him two years earlier, for the display of Dioramas. The newly converted Theatre opened on the 15th of January 1849 with the opera "Giselle, or the Night Dancers," and the vaudeville of the "Imperial Guard."



Horatio Lloyd, Arthur Lloyd's father, was acting manager of the Prince's Theatre on its opening and he writes about it in his autobiography, an extract of which follows:



On the following morning I started for Glasgow to superintend the completion of the Prince's Theatre, of which I was to be acting manager. Amongst the company engaged for the opening season were the two well-known names of Sam Cowell and Tom Powrie; we had the afterwards famous artist Sam Bough as our chief scene-painter, and Mr Howard Glover as musical director, and we opened on 15th January, 1849, with an opera, and the farce of "The Imperial Guard" - the latter thus cast: - Ronslaus (a soldier), Mr Edmund Glover; Carlitz (the village post), Mr Lloyd; Christine (an inn-keeper) Miss Fielding.