Ward Theatre

The Ward Theatre is the only theatre of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean. The theatre has been located at North Parade since 1715 and was then known as Kingston Theatre. This structure was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt and reopened in 1897 under its new name the Theatre Royale. In 1907 calamity struck again when the Kingston earthquake destroyed the building. The firm Henriques and Sons was commissioned to redesign the theatre after beating all rivals in a design competition. Local Theatre production began in earnest in the 1900s and since 1912, the same year that the theater was presented as a gift to the city of Kingston by Colonel Charles Ward the then Custos of Kingston, it has been the major center for the development of all Jamaican theatrical activity. Initially, formal theatre rarely presented tales relevant to island life. However, Jamaica soon adopted its own largely accepted form of theatre around its peoples’ cultural heritage and customs. Plays and dramatic presentations involved a combination of music, dance, storytelling and poetic songs. The National Pantomime opened there every Boxing Day December 26th since 1951. The Theatre has had a long history encompassing the nation's social, cultural and political lives. Its productions are markers of social history and it has functioned as the National Stage for the Festival Movement.  The Ward Theatre is also the location where both major political parties were launched. The PNP on September 18, 1936 and the JLP on July 8, 1943. Over time the Ward Theatre has run into disrepair and has been closed or some years now. In January 2017, Mayor of Kingston, Senator/Councillor Delroy Williams and the Kingston & St Andrew Municipal Corporation embarked on a project to restore the theatre to the center of Jamaica’s performing arts.

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