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143-600: His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster , London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps , was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree , who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) at the theatre. In the early decades of the 20th century Tree produced spectacular productions of Shakespeare and other classical works, and

286-629: A shopping arcade , called the Royal Opera Arcade, which has survived fires and renovations and still exists. It runs along the rear of the theatre. Between 1818 and 1820 the British premieres of Gioachino Rossini 's operas Il barbiere di Siviglia , Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra , L'italiana in Algeri , La Cenerentola and Tancredi took place in the theatre. In 1797 Taylor was elected as member of Parliament for Leominster ,

429-594: A General Opera Trust Deed was signed by the parties. The general management of the theatre was to be entrusted to a committee of noblemen, appointed by the Prince of Wales , who would then appoint a general manager. Funds would be disbursed from the profits to compensate the creditors of both the King's Theatre and the Pantheon. The committee never met, and management devolved to Taylor. The first public performance of opera in

572-523: A Subscription of thirty Persons of Quality, at one hundred Pounds each, in Consideration whereof every Subscriber, for his own Life, was to be admitted to whatever Entertainments should be publickly perform'd there, without farther Payment for his Entrance. The land for the theatre was held on a lease renewable in 1740; the freeholder was, and remains, the Crown Estate . Building was delayed by

715-512: A building off Portugal Street in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London . Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse during two periods, 1661–1674 and 1695–1705. During the early period, the theatre was called Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse , also known as The Duke's Playhouse , The New Theatre or The Opera . The building was rebuilt in 1714, and used again as

858-507: A contemporary account, "the convenience of a good theatre has been sacrificed to exhibit a triumphal piece of architecture ... not one word can be distinctly heard". Another obstacle to success was that in the early 18th century the new theatre was too far from the homes of its potential patrons. Cibber commented that the City , the Inns of Court , and the middle part of the town, from which much of

1001-608: A fourteen-year lease on the theatre to Owen Swiny and gave up active management of the theatre. The theatre was not licensed to present non-musical plays, and in 1708 the authorities enforced that provision. The actors moved to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and Queen's Theatre concentrated on opera. Some performances of plays at Queen's were licensed in 1709 by the Lord Chamberlain, and the theatre's acoustics were altered to better support drama. After 1709, however,

1144-530: A high proportion of straight drama, Shakespeare , other classic plays and premieres of new plays by leading playwrights—for example David Hare 's play Pravda starring Anthony Hopkins which was described by The Telegraph as "one of the biggest hits in the history of the National Theatre." Successful productions from the non-commercial theatres sometimes transfer to one of the commercial West End houses for an extended run. The Royal Opera House

1287-652: A hint from their new King's taste, Killigrew and Davenant both chose a solution that had been used in France : converting tennis courts into theatres. In March 1660, Sir William Davenant contracted to lease Lisle's Tennis Court in order to renovate it into a theatre, and he bought adjoining land to expand the building into the garden area. Killigrew's theatre on Vere Street ( Gibbon's Tennis Court ) opened first, in November 1660. Davenant apparently spent more time in his remodelling: Lincoln's Inn Fields opened on 28 June 1661, with

1430-598: A leading light comedian. During the 1950s and 1960s, many plays were produced in theatre clubs, to evade the censorship then exercised by the Lord Chamberlain's Office . The Theatres Act 1968 finally abolished censorship of the stage in the United Kingdom. "Theatreland", London's main theatre district, contains approximately 40 venues and is located in and near the heart of the West End of London . It

1573-524: A licence for the theatre, and would have kept costs to a minimum. As it turned out, he was able to take advantage of the accession of George 1st in August 1714 to obtain the necessary permission. Christopher Rich died in November 1714, but his son John Rich led a company at the theatre until 1728. On 29 January 1728, Rich's theatre hosted the first, very successful, production of John Gay 's The Beggar's Opera (making "Rich gay and Gay rich"). The theatre

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1716-473: A new building, which would require another licence. The two quarrelled, and each planned to wrest control of the venture from the other. The authorities refused to grant either of them a patent for Leicester Fields, but O'Reilly was granted a licence for four years to present opera at the Oxford Street Pantheon (which burned to the ground in 1792). Meanwhile, Taylor reached an agreement with

1859-548: A new theatre was completed in 1791. Some of Joseph Haydn 's series of concerts in London took place at the theatre in the 1790s. In the early 19th century the theatre was home to an opera company (which moved to the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden , in 1847) presenting the first London performances of Mozart 's La clemenza di Tito , Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni . It also hosted the ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre in

2002-481: A pastoral opera by Jakob Greber , with an epilogue by Congreve. This was the first opera sung in Italian in London. Later in the season Vanbrugh presented a comedy, The Confederacy , in which Thomas Doggett , later known for Doggett's Coat and Badge , scored one of his greatest successes, but overall, the season was a failure. The theatre proved too large for actors' voices to carry across the auditorium: according to

2145-584: A play adapted from the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens —who came to several stage rehearsals during which he made suggestions—with his book published weeks earlier in December 1843. The Criterion Theatre opened on Piccadilly Circus on 21 March 1874, and in 1881, two more houses appeared: the Savoy Theatre in The Strand, built by Richard D'Oyly Carte specifically to showcase

2288-652: A position that gave him immunity from his creditors. When that parliament dissolved in 1802 he fled to France. Later he returned, and was member of Parliament for Barnstaple from 1806 to 1812 while continuing his association with the theatre. John Ebers , a bookseller, took over the management of the theatre in 1821, and seven more London premieres of Rossini operas ( La gazza ladra , Il turco in Italia , Mosè in Egitto , Otello , La donna del lago , Matilde di Shabran and Ricciardo e Zoraide ) took place there in

2431-641: A record-breaking nine Olivier Awards in 2017. "Theatre is such an important part of British history and British culture" —Dame Helen Mirren after receiving the Evening Standard Award in 2013 for her performance as the Queen in The Audience . The following shows are confirmed as future West End productions. The theatre in which they will run is either not yet known or currently occupied by another show. The term "West End theatre"

2574-480: A series of concerts, in association with the impresario Johann Peter Salomon , on his second visit to London in 1794–95. For this second London season he conducted the last six of his 104 symphonies. The final three were premiered at the concert room of the King's Theatre. During the performance of one of them, No. 102 , a chandelier fell from the ceiling and crashed into the auditorium below. There were no serious injuries, and there were shouts of "miracle, miracle" from

2717-422: A showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan —was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced that 2018 was a record year for the capital's theatre industry with attendances topping 15.5 million for the first time since the organisation began collecting audience data in 1986. Box office revenues exceeded £765 million. While attendance in 2019

2860-410: A site subsequently used for the building of Scotland Yard . All the fittings of the theatre had been removed, including the seats, carpets and even the wallpaper. £6,000 was spent on fitting out the theatre, and on 28 April 1877 it returned to theatrical use with a revival of Bellini's opera Norma . The London premiere of Bizet 's Carmen was given at the theatre on 22 June 1878, and the house hosted

3003-524: A style inspired by the French Renaissance . The theatre has a Corinthian colonnade at the first floor, rising to the second, forming a loggia in front of the circle foyer. This is above a canopy over the main ground floor entrances. The theatre lies on an east–west axis. The stage at the western end was 49 feet (14.9 m) deep and 69.5 feet (21.2 m) wide, reputedly the first British stage to be flat, rather than raked. The interior of

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3146-526: A succession of leaders embezzled funds and cut costs by cutting actors' salaries. This uniting created many conflicts between the members of the companies. For example, each company would have one actor who would always play Hamlet, but when the companies are combined, who claims the role? Due to rivalry and competition within the United Company, Thomas Betterton petitioned to the king to separate and create his own company. So, under Christopher Rich ,

3289-590: A tennis court and remained one for almost 20 years. During that time, the Duke's Company, occupying the Dorset Theatre, subsumed the King's Company, housed in the newly rebuilt Theatre Royal, to form the United Company , performing out of Drury Lane . Betterton, a famous English actor, was forced out as the head of the company in 1688, staying on as an actor (and filling a day-to-day managerial role) while

3432-520: A theatre for a third period, 1714–1732. The tennis court theatre was the first public playhouse in London to feature the moveable scenery that would become a standard feature of Restoration theatres . The period beginning in England in 1642 and lasting until 1660 is known as the Interregnum, meaning "between kings." At this time, there was no monarch on the throne, and theatre was against

3575-412: A very deep apron to provide adequate acting space, and the background and perspective scenery served as solely as scenery. The Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse orchestra was housed beneath the stage, and the apron was extended two feet to cover completely the orchestra pit and obtain close proximity between the actors and the audience, creating an intimate atmosphere. Another uniqueness of English theatres

3718-644: A warrant expressing that he could "raise a company and a theatre, provided that his company and Davenant's should be the only ones allowed to play in London" (Hotson 199). Davenant, then, drafted their joint warrant and after much debate over whether or not their role in theatre infringed on the Master of the Revels' power, they appealed to Charles II. Charles II determined their Letters of Patent were valid and created two companies to perform "legitimate drama" in London:

3861-560: Is Les Misérables , produced by Cameron Mackintosh , which has been running in London since October 1985. It overtook Andrew Lloyd Webber 's Cats , which closed in 2002 after running for 8,949 performances and 21 years, as the longest-running West End musical of all time on 9 October 2006. Other long-runners include Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera , Willy Russell 's Blood Brothers , and Abba jukebox musical Mamma Mia! which have also subsequently overtaken Cats . However,

4004-473: Is all that survives of the second theatre and is one of the earliest examples of a London arcade. The current theatre opened on 28 April 1897. Tree built the theatre with profits from his tremendous success at the Haymarket Theatre, and he owned, managed and lived in the theatre from its construction until his death in 1917. For his personal use, he had a banqueting hall and living room installed in

4147-467: Is far more likely that it was merely the interior that was rebuilt, and Cibber's text has been misinterpreted. Supporting evidence for this comes from the first issue of the British Journal on 22 September 1722 which reported that a fresco of Betterton, with other theatre figures of the period, had been uncovered during redecoration of the theatre. Rich also had no guarantee that he would receive

4290-794: Is generally used to refer specifically to commercial productions in Theatreland. However, the leading non-commercial theatres in London enjoy great artistic prestige. These include the National Theatre , the Barbican Centre , Shakespeare's Globe (including the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse ), the Old Vic , Royal Court Theatre , Sadler's Wells Theatre , and the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre . These theatres stage

4433-417: Is that there were typically two pairs of doors, one on each side of the stage, called proscenium doors with balconies above them for the actors to utilize in performances. Proscenium doors served as entrances and exits disregarding the possibility of multiple locations. Candelabras provided light for the space, and manual moveable scenery was used to move the show along (The Restoration Theater). The building

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4576-637: Is traditionally defined by the Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west, and Kingsway to the east. However, a few other nearby theatres are also considered "West End" despite being outside the area proper; an example is The Apollo Victoria Theatre , in Westminster . Prominent theatre streets include Drury Lane , Shaftesbury Avenue and the Strand. The works staged are predominantly musicals, classic and modern straight plays , and comedy performances. Many theatres in

4719-693: Is widely regarded as one of the greatest opera houses in the world, comparable with the Palais Garnier and La Scala . Commonly known simply as Covent Garden due to its location, it is home to the Royal Opera , Royal Ballet and a resident symphony orchestra, and hosts guest performances from other leading opera, ballet and performance companies from around the world. In 1735 its first season of operas, by George Frideric Handel , began and many of his English oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres here. Likewise,

4862-510: The Alice books ) debuted at the Prince of Wales Theatre . Its author Lewis Carroll was involved in the stage adaptation, and he attended a performance seven days later. The Palace Theatre opened in 1891. Opened in 1892, the Duke of York's Theatre debuted J. M. Barrie 's play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up , on 27 December 1904. One of the most popular playwrights in London in

5005-519: The Carl Rosa Opera Company in seasons from 1879 to 1882. Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels played a season in 1880; a dramatisation of Uncle Tom's Cabin was seen in 1882; and the first complete performances in England of Richard Wagner 's Der Ring des Nibelungen were given at Her Majesty's in 1882. The tetralogy was presented twice: the first cycle was well attended, the second less so. The Musical Times congratulated

5148-559: The Duke's Company and the King's Company . Performances were held in converted buildings, such as Lisle's Tennis Court . The first West End theatre, known as Theatre Royal in Bridges Street, was designed by Thomas Killigrew and built on the site of the present Theatre Royal, Drury Lane . It opened on 7 May 1663 and was destroyed by a fire nine years later. It was replaced by a new structure designed by Christopher Wren and renamed

5291-536: The Duke's Company of his brother, The Duke of York, led by William Davenant , and his company, the King's Company , led by Thomas Killigrew . Original intentions were positive, but competition was quickly apparent between the two. Both companies briefly performed in the theatrical spaces that had survived the interregnum and civil war (including the Cockpit and Salisbury Court ), but scrambled to quickly acquire facilities that were more to current tastes. Taking

5434-528: The English Restoration in 1660, Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse received its first company through the efforts of the King himself and two men who dedicated themselves to theatre. Sir William Davenant had received a patent from Charles the I in 1639 when he was in power, but he had never used it due to the theatre ban. When theatre was restored, Davenant and a man named Thomas Killigrew wanted to create theatre in England and thus, Killigrew obtained

5577-742: The First World War . In 1930, Laurence Olivier had his first important West End success in Noël Coward's Private Lives . A number of other actors made their West End debut prior to the Second World War, including John Gielgud , Alec Guinness , Vivien Leigh and Rex Harrison ; the latter's performance in Terence Rattigan 's 1936 comedy French Without Tears at the Criterion Theatre established him

5720-724: The London Coliseum is the resident home to the English National Opera . The theatre is also the London base for performances by the English National Ballet , who perform regular seasons throughout the year when not on tour. The Peacock Theatre is located on the edge of the Theatreland area. Now owned by the London School of Economics and Political Science , it is used in the evenings for dance performances by Sadler's Wells , who manage

5863-497: The Lord Chancellor observed "that there appeared in all the proceedings respecting this business, a wish of distressing the property, and that it would probably be consumed in that very court to which ... [the interested parties] seemed to apply for relief". Performances suffered, with the box receipts taken by Novosielski, rather than given to Gallini to run the house. Money continued to be squandered on endless litigation or

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6006-1065: The Lyric Hammersmith , Theatre Royal Stratford East , Rose Theatre, Kingston , New Wimbledon Theatre , the Rudolph Steiner Theatre in Westminster , the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon , Secombe Theatre in Sutton , the Churchill Theatre in Bromley and the Hackney Empire in Hackney . London theatres outside the West End also played an important role in the early history of drama schools . In 1833, actress Frances Maria Kelly managed

6149-689: The Pavilion Theatre in Whitechapel . The comic theatrical genre the harlequinade was also popular among London audiences. Its most famous performer, Joseph Grimaldi , best known for developing the modern day white-face clown , made his stage debut at Drury Lane in 1780. The West End theatre district became established with the opening of many small theatres and halls, including the Adelphi in The Strand on 17 November 1806. South of

6292-693: The River Thames , the Old Vic , Waterloo Road , opened on 11 May 1818. The expansion of the West End theatre district gained pace with the Theatres Act 1843 , which relaxed the conditions for the performance of plays, and The Strand gained another venue when the Vaudeville opened on 16 April 1870. The next few decades saw the opening of many new theatres in the West End. The Adelphi hosted A Christmas Carol; or, Past, Present, and Future in 1844,

6435-645: The Royal Strand Theatre in Westminster where she funded and operated a dramatic school, the earliest record of a drama school in England. In 1840 she financed the Royalty Theatre in Soho which opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School. There are a number of annual awards for outstanding achievements in London theatre: Lisle%27s Tennis Court Lisle's Tennis Court was

6578-521: The Theatre Royal, Covent Garden ; the law allowing only the patent companies to perform straight plays had been repealed in 1843, and although opera continued to be an important part of the repertoire at Her Majesty's, a wider range of productions was now possible. Lind's retirement from opera in 1849 was a blow to Lumley, but the appearance of the Cuban singer Donna Maria Martinez at the theatre in July 1850

6721-507: The Victoria Palace Theatre following the run of Billy Elliot in 2016. The Dominion Theatre refurbishment was completed in 2017 with the unveiling of a new double-sided LED screen, the largest and highest resolution projecting screen on the exterior of a West End theatre. In 2012, gross sales of £529,787,692 were up 0.27% and attendances also increased 0.56% to 13,992,773-year-on-year. In 2013, sales again rose this time by 11% to £585,506,455, with attendances rising to 14,587,276. This

6864-406: The interregnum of 1649. On 24 January 1643, the actors protested against the ban by writing a pamphlet titled The Actors remonstrance or complaint for the silencing of their profession, and banishment from their severall play-houses . After the Restoration (1660), Puritan legislation was declared null and void, and theatre (among other arts) exploded. Two companies were licensed to perform,

7007-401: The 1890s, Oscar Wilde , premiered his second comedy, A Woman of No Importance , at Haymarket Theatre in 1893. The subject of widespread public and media interest, Lillie Langtry (an associate of Wilde) made her West End debut in the comedy She Stoops to Conquer in 1881. In 1878, Ellen Terry joined Henry Irving 's company as his leading lady, and for more than the next two decades she

7150-412: The British premieres of La forza del destino , Médée , Faust , Orpheus in the Underworld and The Merry Wives of Windsor , and promoted such singers as Mario , Giulia Grisi, De Murska , Thérèse Tietjens , Antonio Giuglini , Charles Santley and Christine Nilsson . On the night of 6 December 1867 the theatre was destroyed by fire, thought to have been caused by an overheated stove. Only

7293-402: The British public. Under Laporte singers such as Giulia Grisi , Pauline Viardot , Giovanni Battista Rubini , Luigi Lablache and Mario made their London stage débuts at the theatre. Among the musical directors of this period was Nicolas Bochsa , the celebrated and eccentric French harpist. He was appointed in 1827 and remained for six years at this position. When Queen Victoria ascended

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7436-419: The Crown Estate) desired the entire block on which the theatre stood to be rebuilt, except for the Royal Arcade, where the lease did not expire until 1912. Problems were encountered in obtaining all the buildings and in financing the scheme, but the theatre and surrounding buildings were demolished in 1892. When the demolition of the building was about to begin The Times commented: It is not fitting to dwell on

7579-415: The Duke's Company, now under Thomas Betterton , performed out of Lincoln's Inns Fields until 1671, when they relocated to the elaborate new Dorset Garden Theatre which was more popular at the time. In 1672, the theatre in Bridges Street burnt down, and the King's Company temporarily occupied the recently vacated Lincoln's Inn Field, until their new theatre opened in 1674. The building was converted back to

7722-520: The King's wife and children were given permission to leave the country, so they travelled to France to escape and receive protection. The years following became known as the Commonwealth Era (1649–1660) because Cromwell, who established himself as the monarch figure without assuming any official authority, ruled the nation with Parliament support and renamed the England Republic to the English Commonwealth. These were tough times for England as Cromwell persecuted many families, especially those who fought on

7865-517: The Opera , which has run at His Majesty's since 1986, except during the COVID-19 pandemic theatre closures . The first theatre on the site was established in 1705 by the architect and playwright John Vanbrugh as the Queen's Theatre. Legitimate drama unaccompanied by music was prohibited by law in all but the two London patent theatres , and the theatre quickly became an opera house . Between 1711 and 1739 more than 25 operas by George Frideric Handel premiered here. The theatre burnt down in 1789, and

8008-415: The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. One of the first actresses on the stage, Nell Gwyn became a star of restoration comedy. Outside the West End, Sadler's Wells Theatre opened in Islington on 3 June 1683. Taking its name from founder Richard Sadler and monastic springs that were discovered on the property, it operated as a "Musick House", with performances of opera; as it was not licensed for plays. In

8151-447: The United Company split. Betterton left with a band of actors and a newly issued license to perform, and from 1695 to 1705 his company performed back at Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse, refurbishing the abandoned building back into a theatre. The New Theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields opened in April 1695 with William Congreve 's Love for Love . It was later the first venue for Congreve's plays The Mourning Bride (1697) and The Way of

8294-474: The West End are of late Victorian or Edwardian construction and are privately owned. Many are architecturally impressive, and the largest and best maintained feature grand neo-classical, Romanesque, or Victorian façades and luxurious, detailed interior design and decoration. However, owing to the age of the buildings, leg room is often cramped, and audience facilities such as bars and toilets are often much smaller than in modern theatres. The protected status of

8437-482: The West End, the Theatre Royal Haymarket opened on 29 December 1720 on a site slightly north of its current location, and the Royal Opera House opened in Covent Garden on 7 December 1732. John Gay 's ballad opera The Beggar's Opera ran for 62 performances in 1728, and held the record for London's longest run for nearly a century. It has been called "the most popular play of the eighteenth century." Another musical show, Tom and Jerry, or Life in London (1821),

8580-518: The World (1700) and for Vanbrugh 's comedy The Provoked Wife (1697). The building went unused as a theatre from 1705 until it was refurbished again in 1714. Colley Cibber in his Apology wrote that Christopher Rich “rebuilt that Theatre from the Ground, as it is now standing”. This has led to the belief that Rich demolished the entire building. If the structure was sound, this would have been unnecessary, time-consuming and expensive, especially as Cibber adds that Rich did it at his own expense. It

8723-402: The actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree for the erection of the theatre at an estimated cost of £55,000. Provisional plans were submitted in March 1896 and approved in February 1897; meanwhile, on 16 July 1896 the foundation stone of the new theatre was laid. The theatre opened in April 1897. Phipps died the following month; the theatre was his last work. After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901,

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8866-410: The actors and their manager, Christopher Rich . In 1695 some of the actors broke away and set up a rival company at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre , managed by Thomas Betterton . The company did not prosper at that theatre, and in 1703 the dramatist and architect John Vanbrugh acquired a former stable yard, at a cost of £2,000, for the construction of a new theatre in the Haymarket. He was joined in

9009-423: The audience. With the departure of the Drury Lane company in 1794 the theatre returned to opera, hosting the first London performances of Mozart 's La clemenza di Tito in 1806, Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute in 1811, and Don Giovanni in 1816. Between 1816 and 1818, John Nash and George Repton made alterations to the façade and increased the capacity of the auditorium to 2,500. They also added

9152-418: The bare walls of the theatre remained, and most of the adjacent shops in Pall Mall, and the Clergy Club hotel in Charles Street (now called Charles II Street), suffered damage of varying severity. After the destruction of the theatre Mapleson took his company to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. A third building was constructed in 1868 at a cost of £50,000, within the shell of the old theatre, for Lord Dudley . It

9295-427: The behalf of King Charles I and Irish families that held rustic Catholic beliefs. Needless to say, Oliver Cromwell quickly fell out of the majority's favour, and he died in 1658 of natural causes. Two years later, Charles II, the beheaded king's son, returned to England and began the Restoration by restoring the throne and claiming his role as the proper King of England. In addition, King Charles II's return restored

9438-406: The best planned theatres in London. The building was Grade II* listed in January 1970. The adjacent hotel was severely damaged by bombing in the Second World War and was demolished in 1957–58, replaced by the new High Commission for New Zealand (New Zealand House) , completed in 1963 (now, like the theatre, a Grade II listed building). The 200-year-old Royal Opera Arcade, built by Nash and Repton,

9581-481: The buildings and their confined urban locations, combined with financial constraints, make it very difficult to make substantial improvements to the level of comfort offered. In 2003, the Theatres Trust estimated that an investment of £250 million over the following 15 years was required for modernisation, and stated that 60% of theatres had seats from which the stage was not fully visible. The theatre owners unsuccessfully requested tax concessions to help them meet

9724-542: The clientele of theatres came, were not within easy walking distance, and for those in the cheaper seats, "Coach hire is often too hard a Tax upon the Pit and the Gallery". Congreve departed and Vanbrugh bought out his other partners. As he became progressively more involved in the construction of Blenheim Palace , his management of the theatre became increasingly chaotic, showing "numerous signs of confusion, inefficiency, missed opportunities, and bad judgement". In May 1707, experiencing mounting losses and running costs, he sold

9867-539: The comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan , opened in October (the first theatre and public building to be lit by electric lights, with The Times recording, "the success of the new mode of illumination was complete, and its importance for the development of scenic art can scarcely be overrated"), and five days later the Comedy Theatre opened as the Royal Comedy Theatre on Panton Street in Leicester Square . It abbreviated its name three years later. On 23 December 1886, Alice in Wonderland (the first major production of

10010-425: The composer or the artists, but this was not known to the London press and public, who blamed Rossini. Ebers engaged Giuditta Pasta for the 1825 season, but he became involved in lawsuits which, combined with a large increase in the rent of the theatre, forced him into bankruptcy, after which he returned to his bookselling business. In 1828 Ebers was succeeded as theatre manager by Pierre François Laporte, who held

10153-409: The composer. It received its world premiere on 22 July 1847, with the Swedish diva Jenny Lind in the star role of Amalia. The British premieres of two more Verdi operas, I due Foscari and Attila , followed in 1847–48. Lind's success was so great that it became known as "Lind mania", but other performers felt neglected, and disputes continued. In 1847 Costa finally transferred his opera company to

10296-461: The conductor Thomas Beecham , in which the British premiere of Richard Strauss 's Ariadne auf Naxos was presented, as well as revivals – then rare – of Mozart's operas, Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Così fan tutte . West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London . Along with New York City 's Broadway theatre , West End theatre represents

10439-465: The construction of a new theatre in Bridges Street, where the Theatre Royal opened in 1663. Prince Cosimo III of Tuscany visited the Lisle theatre in 1669, and his official diarist left us this account: [The pit] is surrounded within by separate compartments in which there are several degrees [steps] of seating for the greater comfort of the ladies and gentlemen who, according to the liberal custom of

10582-597: The costs. Starting in 2004, there were several incidents of falling plasterwork, or performances being cancelled because of urgent building repairs being required. These events culminated in the partial collapse of the ceiling of the Apollo Theatre in December 2013. Of these earlier incidents, only one led to people being hurt, but at the Apollo 76 people needed medical treatment for their injuries. A number of West End theatres have undergone refurbishments, including

10725-408: The country, share the same boxes. Down below [in the pit] there remains a broad space for other members of the audience. The scenery is entirely changeable, with various transformations and lovely perspectives. Before the play begins, to render the waiting less annoying and inconvenient, there are very graceful instrumental pieces to be heard, with the result that many go early just to enjoy this part of

10868-516: The creditors of the King's Theatre and attempted to buy the remainder of the lease from Edward Vanbrugh, but this was now promised to O'Reilly. A further complication arose as the theatre needed to expand into adjacent land that now came into the possession of a Taylor supporter. The scene was set for a further war of attrition between the lessees, but at this point O'Reilly's first season at the Pantheon failed miserably, and he fled to Paris to avoid his creditors. By 1720 Vanbrugh's direct connection with

11011-510: The dancers fled the building as beams fell on the stage. The fire had been deliberately set on the roof, and Gallini offered a reward of £300 for capture of the culprit. With the theatre destroyed, each group laid its own plans for a replacement. Gallini obtained a licence from the Lord Chamberlain to perform opera at the nearby Little Theatre , and he entered into a partnership with R. B. O'Reilly to obtain land in Leicester Fields for

11154-459: The decay of a fine institution, and it is better to recall the magnificent series of operas from Rinaldo to Der Ring des Nibelungen which have been presented for the first time in England at the house in the Haymarket during its 180 years of active existence. Plans were commissioned from the architect Charles J. Phipps for a theatre and a hotel. In February 1896 an agreement was reached with

11297-530: The early 19th century, however, music hall entertainments became popular, and presenters found a loophole in the restrictions on non-patent theatres in the genre of melodrama . Melodrama did not break the Patent Acts, as it was accompanied by music. Initially, these entertainments were presented in large halls, attached to public houses , but purpose-built theatres began to appear in the East End , such as

11440-419: The ease and convenience of the company. The sides of the frontispiece are decorated with two figures painted by Gainsborough , which are remarkably picturesque and beautiful; the heavy columns which gave the house so gloomy an aspect that it rather resembled a large mausoleum or a place for funeral dirges, than a theatre, are removed. The expense of the improvements was not matched by the box office receipts, and

11583-416: The effects. Further legal action transferred the interests in the theatre to a board of trustees, including Novosielski. The trustees acted with a flagrant disregard for the needs of the theatre or other creditors, seeking only to enrich themselves, and in August 1785 the Lord Chamberlain took over the running of the enterprise, in the interests of the creditors. Gallini, meanwhile, had become manager. In 1788

11726-555: The enterprise by his principal associate and manager William Congreve and Betterton's company. To build the theatre, Vanbrugh raised the money by subscription, possibly among members of the Kit-Cat Club . According to Colley Cibber : To recover them [Betterton's company], therefore, to their due Estimation, a new Project was form'd of building them a stately theatre in the Hay-Market, by Sir John Vanbrugh, for which he raised

11869-541: The entertainment. The theatre was implicated by the Grand Jury of Middlesex on 7 July 1703 for showcasing "profane, irrelevant, lewd, indecent, and immoral expressions". It was also a hot target for riots and disorderly assemblies, murders, and other misdemeanors, but despite its troubles, the theatre remained very popular including hosting the first paid performance of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in 1700 and Handel's final two operas (Pedicord 41). Davenant died in 1668 and

12012-410: The financial affairs of the theatre in the hands of William Taylor, a lawyer. The next few years saw a struggle for control of the theatre and Taylor bought Sheridan's interest in 1781. In 1782 the theatre was remodelled by Michael Novosielski, formerly a scene painter at the theatre. In May 1783 Taylor was arrested by his creditors, and a forced sale ensued, at which Harris purchased the lease and much of

12155-414: The first "moveable" or "changeable" scenery used on the British public stage, and the first proscenium arch . Wings or shutters ran in grooves and could be smoothly and mechanically changed between or even within acts. The production was a revamped version of Davenant's own five-year-old opera The Siege of Rhodes where the soon-to-be famous actor, Thomas Betterton, performed the prologue. The result

12298-474: The following three years. Ebers sublet the theatre to Giambattista Benelli in 1824, and Rossini was invited to conduct, remaining for a five-month season, with his wife Isabella Colbran performing. Two more of his operas, Zelmira and Semiramide , received their British premieres during the season, but there was public complaint about Rossini's failure to provide a new opera, as promised. Benelli had defaulted on his contract and absconded without paying either

12441-527: The highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world . Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London . Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are approximately 40 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre —built as

12584-401: The history of the ballet than those years when [Perrot] was ballet-master at Her Majesty's Theatre". Among the ballets he staged were Ondine, ou La Naïade (1843), La Esmeralda (1844), and Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit (1846), as well as the celebrated divertissement Pas de Quatre (1845). Other ballet masters created works for the ballet of Her Majesty's throughout the period of

12727-478: The impresario Angelo Neumann on his enterprise in staging the cycle, but regretfully predicted a substantial financial loss for the production. Sarah Bernhardt appeared at the theatre in La dame aux camelias in 1886. Mapleson returned in 1887 and 1889, but The Times observed that his repertoire comprised "works that had long ceased to attract a large public, the singers were exclusively of second-rate quality, and

12870-483: The law. Spanning from 1642 to 1649, the English Civil War occurred. This war was an uprising by Parliamentarians against the current King of England, King Charles I, led by Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan. Cromwell's opposition to the throne was religious but political, as well, which led him to build up an army with the ability to imprison King Charles, who was beheaded in 1649, ending the war. After his death,

13013-614: The legality of theatre. This history is significant because it explains that since Charles II spent most of his life in France, he, as King, appreciated French culture, which prominently impressed upon England during the Restoration, particularly Restoration theatre. There are no extant photos, elaborate diagrams, paintings, or other forms of visual evidence of the inside of the Lincoln's Inn theatre, but certain aspects are understood of

13156-414: The management in 1842, introducing London audiences to Donizetti's late operas, Don Pasquale and La fille du régiment . Initially, relations were good between Lumley and Michael Costa , the principal conductor at Her Majesty's, but they later deteriorated. Verdi 's Ernani , and Nabucco , and I Lombardi received their British premieres in 1845–46, and Lumley commissioned I masnadieri from

13299-562: The massive, central, square French-style dome. The theatre opened with a dramatisation of Gilbert Parker 's The Seats of the Mighty . Adaptations of novels by Dickens , Tolstoy , and others formed a substantial part of the repertoire, along with classical works by Molière and others. Tree presented the world premiere of J. M. Synge 's The Tinker's Wedding , and the British premiere of Bernard Shaw 's Pygmalion , in which he starred with Mrs Patrick Campbell , in 1914. Above all, Tree

13442-427: The mid-19th century, before returning to opera with the London premieres of such works as Bizet 's Carmen and Wagner 's Ring cycle . A third building was constructed in 1868. The theatre's capacity is 1,216 seats, and the building was Grade II* listed by English Heritage in 1970. LW Theatres has owned the building since 2000. The land beneath it is on a long-term lease from the Crown Estate . The name of

13585-417: The mid-19th century. From the early 1830s until the late 1840s the theatre was known for staging romantic ballet . The celebrated ballet master Jules Perrot began staging ballet at Her Majesty's in 1830. Lumley appointed him Premier Maître de Ballet (chief choreographer) to the theatre in 1842. The ballet historian Ivor Guest writes, "probably never before or since has there been a more brilliant period in

13728-404: The music for most of the new ballets presented at the theatre. Throughout the era of the romantic ballet the theatre presented performances by celebrated ballerinas , including Fanny Cerrito , Fanny Elssler , Lucile Grahn , Carlotta Grisi , Lola Montez and Marie Taglioni . From 1862 to 1867 the theatre was managed by J. H. Mapleson . He presented Italian, French and German opera, including

13871-592: The necessity of acquiring the street frontage, and a three-bay entrance led to a brick shell 130 feet (39.6 m) long and 60 feet (18.3 m) wide. Cibber described the audience fittings as lavish but the facilities for playing poor. Vanbrugh and Congreve received Queen Anne 's authority to form a Company of Comedians on 14 December 1704, and the theatre opened as the Queen's Theatre in April 1705 with imported Italian singers in Gli amori d'Ergasto ( The Loves of Ergasto ),

14014-438: The new house was on 26 January 1793, the dispute with the Lord Chamberlain over the licence having been settled. The King's Theatre became the home of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane company while its theatre was being rebuilt. From 1793 seven small houses at the east side of the theatre fronting on the Haymarket were demolished and replaced by a large concert room attached to the theatre. It was in this room that Joseph Haydn gave

14157-421: The new theatre was designed by the consulting architect, W. H. Romaine-Walker , in a style drawing on that of the Royal Opera of Versailles by Gabriel . The stalls and pit were entered at ground level, with two partly cantilevered tiers above accommodating dress and family circles on the first level, and upper circle, amphitheatre and gallery on the tier above. In all, there were 1,319 seats. Contemporary opinion

14300-564: The non-musical Agatha Christie play The Mousetrap is the longest-running production in the world, and has been performed continuously since 1952. Running since 2011, Matilda the Musical , an adaptation of Roald Dahl 's Matilda , won a then-record seven Olivier Awards in 2012. Running since 2016, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , a two-part play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story by J. K. Rowling , won

14443-444: The partnership dissolved; Sheridan took a mortgage on the theatre of £12,000 from the banker Henry Hoare to buy out his partner. One member of the company, Giovanni Gallini , had made his début at the theatre in 1753 and had risen to the position of dancing master, gaining an international reputation. He had tried to buy Harris's share but had been rebuffed. He now purchased the mortgage. Sheridan quickly became bankrupt after placing

14586-471: The performances range from classic plays, to cabaret, to plays in the languages of London's ethnic minorities . The performers range from emerging young professionals to amateurs. Productions at the Donmar included the 1980 play Educating Rita which starred Julie Walters in the title role before she reprised the role in the 1983 film . There are many theatres located throughout Greater London , such as

14729-457: The playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan for £22,000. They paid for the remodelling of the interior by Robert Adam in the same year. In November 1778, The Morning Chronicle reported that Harris and Sheridan had: ... at a considerable expence, almost entirely new built the audience part of the house, and made a great variety of alterations, part of which are calculated for the rendering the theatre more light, elegant and pleasant, and part for

14872-427: The position (with a brief gap in 1831–1833) until his death in 1841. Two of Rossini's Paris operas ( Le comte Ory and Le siège de Corinthe ) had their British premieres at the theatre during this period, and Laporte was also the first to introduce the operas of Vincenzo Bellini ( La sonnambula , Norma and I puritani ) and Gaetano Donizetti ( Anna Bolena , Lucia di Lammermoor and Lucrezia Borgia ) to

15015-478: The romantic ballet, most notably Paul Taglioni (son of Filippo Taglioni ), who staged ballets including Coralia, ou Le Chevalier inconstant (1847) and Electra (1849, the first production of a ballet to make use of electric lighting). The Italian composer Cesare Pugni was appointed "Composer of the Ballet Music" to the theatre in 1843, a position created for him by Lumley. Between 1843 and 1850 he wrote

15158-451: The site, at the junction of the Haymarket and Charles II Street in the West End of London . The first opened as the Queen's Theatre on 9 April 1705. In the late 17th century there were two patent theatre companies, who were the only performers permitted by law to stage plays without music. They had been brought together as the United Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , built in 1663, but there were continual disagreements between

15301-416: The splendour of London; but the unlucky fragment is fated to stand as a foil to the vile and absurd edifice of brick pieced to it, which I have not patience to describe. The Lord Chamberlain, a supporter of O'Reilly, refused a performing licence to Taylor. The theatre opened on 26 March 1791 with a private performance of song and dance entertainment, but it was not allowed to open to the public. The new theatre

15444-461: The stage through arches into the houses to the south of the theatre. A "Royal Academy of Music" was formed by subscription from wealthy sponsors, including the Prince of Wales , to support Handel's productions at the theatre. Under this sponsorship Handel conducted a series of more than twenty-five of his original operas, continuing until 1739. Handel was a partner in the management with Heidegger from 1729 to 1734, and he contributed incidental music for

15587-426: The stage" Roscius Anglicanus (1708). This was a remarkable run for the limited potential audience of the time. More acclaimed productions by the Duke's Company "with scenes" followed at Lincoln's Inn Fields in the course of 1661 (including Hamlet and Twelfth Night ), all highly admired by Pepys. The King's Company was forced to abandon their own, technically unsophisticated tennis-court theatre and commission

15730-403: The standard of performance was extremely low". Mander and Mitchenson comment that in 1889 the house was even the scene of a boxing tournament. Over Christmas seasons pantomimes were staged; after one such – Cinderella , starring Minnie Palmer – the theatre closed in 1890. Its owners were insolvent and the courts ordered the sale of the building and its contents. One of the last things seen in

15873-463: The theatre [in Vere Street] and there I saw Claracilla (the first time I ever saw it), well acted. But strange to see this house, that use to be so thronged, now empty since the opera begun—and so will continue for a while I believe. The Siege of Rhodes "continued acting 12 days without interruption with great applause" according to the prompter John Downes in his "historical review of

16016-582: The theatre according to its time period. However, a great example of the layout of the inside is the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, North Yorkshire, which contains components of Restoration theatre spaces and still stands today. Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse was very small. In fact, Milhous believes that "the smaller seating capacity… hurt the [Duke’s] company in the long run" as they moved as newer theatres came along (Milhous 71). It

16159-400: The theatre changes with the gender of the monarch. Throughout the reign of Queen Victoria it was called Her Majesty's Theatre, changing to His Majesty's on the accession of Edward VII in 1901. In 1952 the theatre again became Her Majesty's on the accession of Elizabeth II . Following the accession of Charles III in 2022 the name reverted to His Majesty's. There have been four theatres on

16302-475: The theatre had been terminated, but the leases and rents had been transferred to both his own family and that of his wife's through a series of trusts and benefices. After the fire the Vanbrugh family's long association with the theatre was terminated, and all their leases were surrendered by 1792. Taylor completed a new theatre on the site in 1791. According to the theatre historians Mander and Mitchenson : "it

16445-576: The theatre hosted premieres by such playwrights as Bernard Shaw , J. M. Synge and, later, Noël Coward and J. B. Priestley . Since the First World War the wide stage has made the theatre suitable for large-scale musical productions, and His Majesty's has accordingly specialised in hosting musicals . It has been home to record-setting musical theatre runs such as the First World War hit Chu Chin Chow and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's The Phantom of

16588-656: The theatre on behalf of the school. There is a great number of stage productions in London outside the West End. Much of this is known as fringe theatre (referred to as Off West End ) which is the equivalent of off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theatre in New York City. Among these are the Menier Chocolate Factory , Bush Theatre and the Donmar Warehouse . Fringe venues range from well-equipped small theatres to rooms above pubs, and

16731-418: The theatre remained associated with opera. In 1762 Johann Christian Bach travelled to London to premiere three operas at the theatre, including Orione on 19 February 1763. This established his reputation in England, and he became music master to Queen Charlotte . In 1778 the lease for the theatre was transferred from James Brook to Thomas Harris , stage manager of the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, and to

16874-411: The theatre seated 1,890, and for plays, with the orchestra pit removed, 2,500. As a result of a dispute over the rent between Dudley and Mapleson, and a decline in the popularity of ballet, the theatre remained dark until 1874, when it was sold to a Revivalist Christian movement. Mapleson returned to Her Majesty's in 1877 and 1878, after a disastrous attempt to build a 2,000-seat National Opera House on

17017-480: The theatre was devoted to Italian opera and was sometimes referred to as the Haymarket Opera House. The young George Frideric Handel made his English début with his opera Rinaldo , on 24 February 1711 at the theatre, featuring the two leading castrato singers of the era, Nicolo Grimaldi and Valentino Urbani . This was the first Italian opera composed specifically for the London stage. The work

17160-497: The theatre's name reverted to His Majesty's Theatre. The theatre was designed as a symmetrical pair with the Carlton Hotel and restaurant on the adjacent site. The frontage formed three parts, each of nine bays. The hotel occupied two parts, the theatre one, and the two buildings were unified by a cornice above the ground floor. The buildings rose to four storeys, with attic floors above, surmounted by large squared domes in

17303-430: The theatre, including that for a revival of Ben Jonson 's The Alchemist , opening on 14 January 1710. On the accession of George I in 1714 the theatre was renamed the King's Theatre (and remained so named during the succession of male monarchs who occupied the throne until 1837). The two patent theatres remained the only ones permitted to perform dramas unaccompanied by music in London, and lacking letters patent ,

17446-508: The third theatre was another season by Bernhardt, in which she appeared as Joan of Arc in a play by Jules Barbier, and as Marguerite in a revival of La dame aux camelias . With the rapid advances in theatre technology made since the 1860s, the third theatre quickly became outmoded, and the sub-lease of the theatre, still held by the Dudley family, was due to expire in 1891. The Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues (forerunners of

17589-530: The throne in 1837 the name of the theatre was changed to Her Majesty's Italian Opera House. In the same year Samuel Phelps made his London début as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the theatre, also playing in other Shakespearean plays there. In 1863 Robert Browning 's Colombe's Birthday played at the theatre. The Morning Post described it as "a delicate wreath of poetic flowers", too subtle for theatregoers accustomed to coarser offerings, and it

17732-585: The work, as originally planned; the audiences were enthusiastic, and there was tumultuous applause for the composer, librettist, stars, conductor and impresario. Mander and Mitchenson describe 1851 as "the last season of operatic prosperity for Her Majesty's". The orchestra seceded to Covent Garden in 1852 and the theatre closed until 1856, when a fire shut down its rival. After the reopening of Her Majesty's Lumley presented two more British premieres of Verdi operas: La traviata in 1856 and Luisa Miller in 1858. Ballet played an important part at Her Majesty's in

17875-472: Was abandoned in December 1732, when the company moved to the new Covent Garden Theatre , built by Rich using the capital generated by The Beggar's Opera . [14] A few years later Henry Giffard moved his company from Goodman's Fields at a time when he was trying to establish a third major theatre company in London. The Licensing Act 1737 largely dashed these hopes, although he continued to stage plays at Lincoln's Inn for several more years. The old building

18018-434: Was around 75 feet long by 30 feet wide with about a 650-person audience seating maximum capacity (The Restoration Theater; Wilson and Goldfarb 249). It was originally an indoor tennis court; courts were used as theatre spaces because they had a similar structure with a narrow, rectangular shape and gallery seating. The stage was raked, sloping upward toward the back of the stage, in order to help with perspective. The audience

18161-582: Was at the time the largest theatre in England; it was generally regarded as one of the most resplendent theatres in the world". Novosielski had again been chosen as architect for the theatre on an enlarged site; the building was described by Malcolm in 1807 as fronted by a stone basement in rustic work, with the commencement of a very superb building of the Doric order, consisting of three pillars, two windows, an entablature, pediment, and balustrade. This, if it had been continued, would have contributed considerably to

18304-697: Was considered the leading Shakespearean and comic actress in Britain. Opened in 1903, the New Theatre debuted The Scarlet Pimpernel in 1905, a play that introduced a heroic figure with an alter ego into the public consciousness. The theatre was renamed the Noël Coward Theatre in 2006 after the playwright Noël Coward . Constructed in 1897, Her Majesty's Theatre hosted a number of premieres, including George Bernard Shaw 's Pygmalion in 1914. The theatre building boom continued until about

18447-417: Was constructed as a real tennis court in 1656. Thomas Lisle's wife Anne Tyler and a man named James Hooker developed the indoor court in the winter of 1656 and 1657. Tudor-style real tennis courts were long, high-ceiling buildings, with galleries for spectators; their dimensions — about 75 by 30  feet — are similar to the earlier theatres, and much larger than a modern tennis court. After

18590-568: Was critical of the project. Edwin Sachs wrote in his 1897 guide to theatres, "The treatment is considered to be in the French Renaissance style and stone has been used throughout. The detail cannot, however, be termed satisfactory, nor does the exterior architecturally express the purpose of the building." Later opinion of the theatre has been more favourable: English Heritage describes the building as both Phipps's finest work and one of

18733-424: Was designed by Charles Lee and Sons and their partner, William Pain, and built by George Trollope and Sons . The designers had taken over John Nash's practice on his retirement. The new theatre was designed to be less susceptible to fire, with brick firewalls, iron roof trusses and Dennett's patent gypsum -cement floors. The auditorium had four tiers, with a stage large enough for the greatest spectaculars. For opera,

18876-631: Was despite slightly fewer performances occurring in 2013. On 16 March 2020, following government advice due to the COVID-19 pandemic , all theatres in the West End were closed until further notice. Theatres in London were allowed to re-open (with social distancing) on 17 May 2021, with full capacity permitted from 19 July. Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. The length of West End shows depends on ticket sales. The longest-running musical in West End history

19019-483: Was divided into the pit, boxes, and galleries. The pit had backless benches and a raked floor that rose toward the back of the audience to help sightlines. Mostly single men sat here, and it was the noisiest, rowdiest area in the theatre. Boxes sat upper class aristocrats—mostly married couples with wives who wanted to be seen. Galleries held the lower class, including servants of the upper classes in attendance. The English stage, unlike French or Italian theatres, had

19162-730: Was down 1.4% compared to the previous year, box office revenues reached a record £799 million. The majority of West End theatres are owned by the ATG Entertainment , Delfont Mackintosh Theatres , Nimax Theatres , LW Theatres , and the Nederlander Organization . Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation . The first permanent public playhouse, known as The Theatre , was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage . It

19305-415: Was heavily indebted and spanned separate plots of land that were leased to Taylor by four different owners on differing terms. As a later manager of the theatre wrote, "In the history of property, there has probably been no parallel instance wherein the legal labyrinth has been so difficult to thread." Meetings were held at Carlton House and Bedford House attempting to reconcile the parties. On 24 August 1792

19448-718: Was known for his Shakespeare productions. His longest-running of these was Henry VIII , which had a record-breaking run of 254 consecutive performances from September 1910 to April 1911. His biographer B. A. Kachur writes: Most of the Shakespeare revivals at Her Majesty's enjoyed equally unprecedented runs. Tree succeeded in popularizing Shakespeare with his audiences because he staged the plays in ways that appealed to spectators' taste for elaborate spectacle and realistic scenery and scenic effects. His Majesty's no longer specialised in opera, but there were occasional operatic presentations in its early years, including seasons given by

19591-552: Was misappropriated. Gallini tried to keep the theatre going, but he was forced to employ amateur performers. The World described a performance: "... the Dance, if such it can be called was like the movements of heavy Cavalry. It was hissed very abundantly". On another occasion Gallini had to defend himself against a dissatisfied audience who charged the stage and destroyed the fittings, as the company ran for their lives. The theatre burnt down on 17 June 1789 during evening rehearsals, and

19734-474: Was not a success. In 1841 disputes arose over Laporte's decision to replace the baritone Antonio Tamburini with a new singer, Colletti. The audience stormed the stage, and the performers formed "a revolutionary conspiracy". A London newspaper described the incident as "one of the most disgraceful scenes that ever occurred within the walls of any theatre". Laporte died suddenly, and Benjamin Lumley took over

19877-524: Was soon joined by The Curtain . Both are known to have been used by William Shakespeare 's company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark , where it was used in building the Globe Theatre in a new theatre district formed beyond the controls of the City corporation. Regarding theatre as sinful, these theatres were closed in 1642 due to the Puritans who would later influence

20020-494: Was such a sensation that it brought Charles II to a public theatre for the first time. This production at Lincoln's Inn Fields Playhouse "emptied Killigrew's theatre" according to Milhous (19). Milhous also explains that the companies and other theatres "deliberately engaged in vicious head-on collision[s], mounting the same plays" (19). The competing King's Company suddenly found itself playing to empty houses, as diarist and devoted playgoer Samuel Pepys notes on 4 July: I went to

20163-447: Was the first London production to reach 100 consecutive performances . Tom and Jerry' s combination of a tour of London interspersed with song and dance, gave rise to numerous similar, loosely constructed entertainments, and "planted the seeds for later musical comedy and revue". The Patent theatre companies retained their duopoly on drama well into the 19th century, and all other theatres could perform only musical entertainments. By

20306-466: Was the subject of much attention from the press. She was dubbed "the Black Malibran " and was "vehemently applauded and encouraged", but she did not prove a sustained draw, and the highlight of the 1850 season was the premiere of Halévy's Shakespearean opera La Tempesta . The critics were moderately impressed by the music, though there was some regret that Mendelssohn had not lived to compose

20449-543: Was well received, achieving a run, substantial for the time, of fifteen performances. Handel immediately became the most popular composer in London, but he left soon after the close of the opera season in June 1711 to take up an appointment in Hanover . Losses at the Queen's Theatre continued, and Swiny fled abroad to escape his creditors. John James Heidegger took over the management of the theatre and, from 1719, began to extend

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