There have been three Theatre Royals in Christchurch. The first was a wooden building opened in Gloucester Street in 1863, over the road from the present building. Originally called the Canterbury Music Hall, it later became the Royal Princess Theatre and then, after refurbishment, the Theatre Royal. It served for many years, but a better facility was wanted, so it was replaced on the same site with a new building, also made of wood. It opened on 4 November 1876, and operated for several decades until plans for a bigger theatre were hatched.

The third Theatre Royal was opened in February 1908 with a performance of “The Blue Moon” by the Williamson Musical Comedy Company. The house was packed. It was owned and managed by the mighty J.C. Williamson Theatres Limited, which was a theatre company operating in Australia and New Zealand in the 1900s. It was owned by James Cassium Williamson, an American actor who first arrived in Australia in 1874. 

When work on the third incarnation began on 20 November 1906 the Christchurch Press confidently stated that the building would be 'one of the most modern and comfortable south of the line'. In 1928 the Royal underwent a huge upgrading, partly with a view to the screening of films.

Mercifully our Grand Old Lady of Christchurch Theatre has survived the massive earthquake and considerable aftershocks that have rocked the city over the last year. After thorough inspections by structural engineers she is structurally sound and well on the way to repair, with the current target of January 2013 for reopening.