Theatre Royal. The name summons up something of grandeur and eloquence. And it had been. Hosted by Ralph Richardson, these big-name productions also included the creme de la creme of performing abilities from John Gielgud, Robert Morley and Orson Welles to Trevor Howard, Michael Redgrave and Laurence Olivier. They were based on functions by the worlds’ leading authors, included in this Charles Dickens, Henry Wayne, Oscar Wilde and Anton Chekhov. They are but some of whose company we shall be keeping as we raise the drape on our 1st instalment of theatrical history.