Royal Strand Theatre: Difference between revisions

From 1801, Thomas Edward Barker set up a rival [[panorama]] to his father's in [[Leicester Square]], at 168/169 Strand. On the death of Robert Barker, in 1806, his younger brother, [[Henry Aston Barker]] took over management of the Leicester Square rotunda. In 1816, Henry bought the panorama in the Strand, which was then known as Reinagle and Barker's Panorama,<ref name=":0">Sherson, Erroll, ‘Lost London Playhouses’, ''The Stage'', 28 June 1923, p. 21. One of a series of articles later published in a book of same name in 1925.</ref> and the two panoramas were then run jointly until 1831. Their building was then used as a [[English Dissenters|dissenting]] chapel and was purchased by [[Benjamin Lionel Rayner]], a noted actor, in 1832.<ref name=Stage>''From Stage to Platform: The Metamorphosis of the Strand Theatre 1830&ndash;1905'', Paul Hadley (London Passenger Transport 1984 No. 12 April, pp. 588-593)</ref>

Rayner engaged Charles Broad to convert and extend the original building as a theatre. This was built in 1832 in seven weeks, at a cost of £3,000. The theatre opened on 15 January 1832, as ''Rayner's New Subscription Theatre'', with a production of ''Struggles at Starting''. Within weeks, the venture failed and was sold to the actress [[Harriet Waylett]], re-opening on 29 May as ''The New Strand (Subscription) Theatre'' with ''Damp Beds''.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Strand Theatre|newspaper=Globe|date=30 May 1832|page=3}}</ref> Again, the theatre lacked support and closed in November 1832. The theatre was re-opened in early 1833 as the '' New Strand Theatre'', by Fanny[[Frances Maria Kelly]] &ndash; who also based a [[drama school]] there.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Berwick|first1=Frederick|title=British Drama of the Industrial Revolution|date=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=46}}</ref> The singer, [[Rebecca Isaacs]] was the Directress of Operas at the theatre from 1852 to 1853, and again in 1855. The theatre failed because it was unlicensed, and this put it into competition with London's [[patent theatre]]s. Presenting plays by subscription was one method of evading the Acts, but tickets could not be sold at the theatre. This was circumvented by selling them at neighbouring shops; and at one point the public were admitted free on purchase of an ounce of rose lozenges for four shillings (stalls), or half an ounce of peppermint drops for two shillings (the pit) from the neighbouring confectioners.<ref name=Stage/>

The theatre was again closed under the Patent Acts in March 1835, and the owners brought before the magistrates. It reopened on 25 April 1836, with the necessary licence, under the management of [[Douglas William Jerrold]] and [[William John Hammond]]. The theatre was enlarged in 1836 and a gallery added in 1839. In 1849 the manager was [[William Farren]]. For a while in 1851 it was owned by [[William Robert Copeland]], and known as ''Punch's' Playhouse and Marionette Theatre''. In 1856, the manager was T. Payne.

Frank Talford wrote the earliest [[Victorian burlesque|burlesque]] for the Strand, full of excruciating puns and enlivened by bright songs. Mythological subjects were popular. In one such piece in 1850 the afterwards famous Mrs. Stirling wasplayed Minerva, Mrs Leigh Murray was Apollo, and Directress of Operas and singer, [[Rebecca Isaacs]] was Venus.<ref name=":0" />

In 1858, the theatre was taken over by the Swanborough family (originally Smith). Henry V. Swanborough and rebuilt it at a cost of £70007,000and openingopened it on 5 April 1858 as the ''Royal Strand Theatre''.<ref name="Stage" /> His daughter, Louisa, was acting manager for a couple of years until her marriage to Major Lyon. HisHenry's eldest son William was also an active manager. Following Henry's depression and suicide in 1863, ownership passed to Henry's widow Mary Ann.<ref>Family{{cite information and photographs can be found at Jennifer Carnell's website. [web|url=http://www.sensationpress.com/swanboroughfamilystrandtheatre.htm]|title=swanborough family strand theatre|website=www.sensationpress.com}}</ref> Between 1868 and 1871, [[Eleanor Bufton]] (married to Arthur Swanborough) managed the [[Greenwich Theatre]], and resources were shared between the two theatres.

According to Erroll Sherson, reminiscingwriting in 1923, the Strand was burlesque's first real nursery and its permanent home. Here graduated [[Marie Wilton]] (later Lady Bancroft), Patty Oliver and Edward Terry; theyeach would later maintainedmaintain the burlesque tradition at the [[Prince of Wales's Theatre|Prince of Wales's]], [[Royalty Theatre|The Royalty]], and [[Gaiety Theatre, London|The Gaiety]], respectively. The programme forFor some years, the Strand's programme began with a short drama, many written by [[H. T. Craven]], among themincluding, ''The Postboy'', ''Milky White'', and ''Meg's Diversion''. Then followed a burlesque ofby [[Henry James Byron|H. J. Byron]], or[[William Brough (writer)|W. Brough]], or [[F. C. Burnand]].<ref name=":0" />

TheUnder theatrethe nowSwanboroughs, the theatre enjoyed success, with Ada Swanborough performing in H. J. Byron's [[burletta]]s and featuring a cast that included James Thorne, [[Edward O'Connor Terry]], Miss Raynham, Mrs. Raymond, H. J. Turner and Marie Wilton,. These began with ''The Lady of Lyons, or Twopenny Pride and Pennytence;'' ''Fra Diavolo Travestie, or The Prince, the Pirate and the Pearl;'' ''The Maid and the Magpie, or The Fatal Spoon'' (an early play to include a dance at the end of a song); and ''The Babes in the Wood and the Good Little Fairy Birds''.<ref name="Lee">Lee, Amy Wai Sum. [http://whaleyween.com/Holly/DLB344_19thC_BritishDramatists/Byron.pdf "Henry J. Byron"]{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Hong Kong Baptist University</ref><ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/RoyalStrand.htm ''|title=Royal Strand Theatre, Aldwych''] (Arthur Lloyd Theatre history) accessed|website=www.arthurlloyd.co.uk|access-date= 9 July 2008}}</ref>

The celebrated burlesque on ''Kenilworth'',<ref>A parody of Walter Scott's novel [[Kenilworth (novel)|Kenilworth]].</ref>, first performed in 1859 and played over many years, brought the Strand great prosperity. It had a strong cast including Louisa Swanborough as the Earl of Leicester, H. J. Turner as Mike Lambourne, Mrs. Charles Selby as Queen Elizabeth, Marie Wilton as Sir Walter Raleigh, Patty Oliver as Amy Robsart, Charlotte Saunders as Tressillian, John Clarke as Varney and James Bland as Wayland Smith; Bland was reputed to be the king of the burlesque actors. Leicester was later played by Maria Ternan.<ref>Obituary, ''London and Provincial Entr'acte'', 7 January 1899, p. 6</ref><ref>Merry-go-Round, ''London and Provincial Entr'acte'', 24 October 1891, p. 4.</ref> The burlesque that lived longest in the memories of old playgoers, according to Sherson, was Brough's, ''The Field of the Cloth of Gold''.<ref>Advertisement, ''The Era'', 12 July 1874 p. 8.</ref>

Henry Jameson Turner was by far the longest serving actor at the Strand. His first appearances pre-dated the Swanboroughs,. havingHe moved from the Lyceum to the Strand in 1849, his first wife, Eleanor, and eldest daughter, Ellen, also appearing with him.<ref>Advertisement, ''The Era'',   23 September 1849</ref> He served under both Farren and Payne, and was in the Swanborough's first production. Turner also ran a theatrical agency. His final appearance was at a benefit for the Strand General Theatrical Fund (of which he had been treasurer) in April 1882.<ref>Matinee at The Strand, ''The Era'', 22 April 1882.</ref>

Sherson said that, after this, the house ceased to be the old Strand. It came under the direction of Alexander Henderson, who produced adaptations of French light opera with the best results. Though it regained a portion of its vogue under the direction of a very clever American actor, John S. Clarke, it was no longer one of the attractions of the London theatrical world. The musical comedy ''[[A Chinese Honeymoon]]'' opened in October 1901 and ran at the theatre for a record -breaking 1,075 performances, until closing in 1904.<ref name="Stage" />

In the 16th century, Strand had hosted many grand houses, by the [[River Thames]] and the area began to be built up. By the end the 18th, it had become a notorious [[Rookery (slum)|rookery]] - an overcrowded slum. The area had been unaffected by the [[Great Fire of London]] and survived with narrow streets, unsuited to the new traffic. A scheme was instituted to build a new road, [[Kingsway, London|Kingsway]] between [[Holborn]] and Strand, culminating in a grand crescent, [[Aldwych]]. After many false starts, the scheme was begun in 1901 by the [[London County Council]]. To go with this a link was built to the tube station at [[Holborn tube station|Holborn]], and in 1905 the theatre was acquired by Act of Parliament and demolished to enable [[Aldwych tube station|Aldwych underground station]] to be constructed on the site. The many actors who were attached to the theatre protested against its deconstruction. The station is now closed but is said to be haunted beby an angry actress who still scares people today.<ref name=Stage/>

*''Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950'', John Earl and Michael Sell pp.&nbsp;250 (Theatres Trust, 2000) {{ISBN |0-7136-5688-3}}