The Company and our Spaces

The Royal Exchange Theatre is an award-winning producing theatre company (founded 1976) housed in the Royal Exchange building in the heart of Manchester city centre.  The building has two theatre spaces – a 760 seat Theatre module suspended from the pillars of the Grade II listed, former cotton exchange and configured ‘in the round’, and also a 90 seat flexible Studio space.

Originally the city’s Cotton Trading Exchange, the Great Hall itself is a visitor destination. Inside there is a craft shop, café, bar, restaurant, gallery and information about the building’s heritage and recent history. Visitors are welcomed 7 days a week unless there is a performance taking place in the Theatre.

The company has an additional workshop and rehearsal space in the Northern Quarter.  Swan Street houses our props and settings department, a rehearsal room, some storage and our Costume Hire Department which is successfully managed by one member of staff and a dedicated team of volunteers.  In addition we have a permanent warehouse facility, Seagull House, which is used for storage.