Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Book French and Saunders: Still Alive at Drury Lane

Book Oliver! at Drury Lane

Theatre build date:
1812


History:
The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is in fact the fourth theatre to be built on the site, the first having been constructed in 1663, possibly before. Essentially, the building of each structure has been a rebuilding of its predecessor, earning the Theatre Royal Drury Lane the title of London’s oldest existing theatre. The first known theatre on the site was opened in 1663, one of the first to open after the end of England’s eleven year ban on ‘frivolous’ activity, and diarist Samuel Pepys was one of its regulars.

This theatre was destroyed by fire in 1672, having survived the Great Fire of London not even six years before. The rebuilt theatre, designed by Christopher Wren and opened in 1674, was considerably larger, with a variety of types of seats. This meant differences in price, which inevitably led to the seating being divided by class. Where one sat became a status symbol, and the Theatre Royal became one of the first theatres to allow patrons to reserve seats ahead of a performance. This was also the beginning of celebrity, and for the first time, patrons were turning out to see stars rather than the productions, with Charles Macklin and David Garrick being notable examples at the Drury Lane.

However, by the eighteenth century, the theatre’s structure was out of date and it was demolished in 1791. The third theatre on the site was immense, with five tiers and a capacity of over 3,000. This led to theatre rarely being over half full and because of difficulties in carrying sound to an audience so far from the stage, productions became mainly spectacles with little spoken dialogue. At one point, a waterfall was constructed on the stage, which ran into a pool that was large enough for the performers to row a boat on. This theatre, like the first, burned down only sixteen years later.

The current theatre was built in 1812, with its colonnade being added in 1831. Still cavernous, its tendency to emphasis spectacle over dialogue remained until a management committee (of which Lord Byron was a member) ruled in 1815 that the theatre should become a centre for national culture, being one of few theatres in London to carry a license for drama as opposed to just musical and burlesque entertainment. The theatre’s new status was sealed with Edmund Kean’s celebrated portrayal of Shylock in The Merchant Of Venice in 1816.

An emphasis on culture has remained with the Drury Lane, as it has played host to a huge variety of productions including Monty Python revues, ballet, Ivor Novello’s musicals of the 1930’s and many of Roger and Hammerstein’s Broadway classics made their London debuts here.
 

Hauntings:
Often called one of the world’s most haunted theatres, the most famous of its ghosts being the Man In Grey who is rumoured to be the ghost of a man whose skeletal remains were discovered in a walled up room in 1848. In 2002, the Drury Lane was actually visited by the Most Haunted TV crew in one of the scariest episodes broadcast.


Previously showing:
The Lord Of The Rings (2007)
The Producers (2004)
Anything Goes (2003)
Concert For Peace (2003)
My Fair Lady (2001)
Amaterasu (2001)
The League Of Gentlemen (2001)

Close to:
Covent Garden Piazza

Contact Details

Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Catherine Street
WC2B 5JF

For all ticket enquiries, call:
0871 789 1004