What do victorian theatres look like

In the Licensing Act was dropped enabling other theatres to present plays. At the turn of the 19th century, the Kemble family dominated the London stage. Actor John Philip Kemble and his sister, Sarah Siddons, were regarded to be two of the finest actors in theatre at that time. Their younger brother Charles Kemble and his daughter Fanny were later stars of the London stage in the s. John Philip Kemble made his debut on the London stage in as Hamlet.

His acting style was static and declamatory and he excelled in tragic Shakespearean roles. His natural passion and fiery spirit suited a melodramatic style of acting and he became famous playing Shakespearean roles, particularly as Macbeth, Iago and Richard III. A rumbling vibration was created by striking a big wooden drum with the skin tightly stretched over it. Wind was created using a wind machine which resembled a paddle-steamer wheel.

Rain was made by crushing dried peas into a wooden box and shaking it. Prior to the dress rehearsal, a technical rehearsal would be made, supervised by the theatre manager, to insure that all the scenery and lighting worked properly. Any special effects would also be tested at this time.

Background and buttons are the creation of webmaster, B. These images have been watermarked and are not for use on another site. Site authored by webmaster. Saintsbury and Cecil Palmer London p. Victorian Playhouse and Production. Malheiro May not be reproduced in any way without express written permission of webmaster. Theatre and Society. Theatre Management. The Playhouse and Production. Victorian Theatres. Under the management of Robert Elliston , the ring was eliminated, and the name changed to The Surrey.

Cooke, ran for over three hundred nights. Here C. Melodramas, especially of the "transpontine" variety, continued to be the Surrey's stock and trade under the management of Shepherd and Creswick Later a cinema, it was pulled down in Sadler's Wells Microcosm of London , Vol 3, ed.

Sadler opened one of London's most celebrated theatres on 3 June ; initially, it was "a pleasure garden" with a wooden "Music House" and stage. It became known as "Sadler's Wells" because the wooden structure later known as "Miles's Music House" was built on the site of a medicinal spring.

The new owner, Rosoman, had the wooden structure replaced with a stone theatre constructed in just seven weeks. After the second owner's retirement in , the lease was acquired by the Drury Lane actor Thomas King In the first four decades nineteenth century, the theatre known as "The Aquatic Theatre" was used to stage sensational naval melodramas such as The Siege of Gibralter on the surface of a large tank flooded with water from the nearby New River.

Just the year after parliament broke the monopoly of Covent Garden and Drury Lane, actor Samuel Phelps became manager, successfully staging Shakespearian revivals over his tenure Charles Webb's adaptation of Dickens's A Christmas Carol was produced here under the new management, continuing the idea of adapting the novelist's works exploited with some success by Thomas Blake's Little Nell; or, The Old Curiosity Ship , which ran here from and January In the meantime, Phelps may be credited with giving Shakespearian production its first permanent home in London.

Although he excelled in the Bard's tragic roles, he gave an excellent performance as Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream. After Phelps, Sadler's Wells in was declared a dangerous structure, demolished, and reconstructed. Nevertheless, succeeding managements failed to make a go of it, and it closed in The present theatre, although refurbished after the Second World War, dates from ; since it has been used exclusively for ballet.

Manager Aired Bunn in , installed a German opera company here, renaming the theatre "The Prince's" in honour of Queen Victoria's new husband. However, in February it re-opened under its old name. After 12 years of losing money bringing in foreign acting companies and guest stars such as Charles Fechter , manager John Mitchell gave up in In , C. Hazlewood's highly popular adaptation of Mary Elizabeth Braddon's sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret starring the theatre's manageress, Louisa Herbert, took London by storm.

In , W. Under the succeeding managements of Mrs. John Wood, Hare, and Kendals the theatre was renovated, and redecorated. The St. James's most brilliant period came under the management of George Alexander The term "Savoyard" literally, a native of the Italian state of Savoy, then a member of Doyly Carte's acting company, and now generally one addicted to Gilbert and Sullivan musicals derives from Richard D'Oyly Carte's home for the comic operettas of collaborators W.

Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan, the series beginning here with Patience at the theatre's opening on 10 October Frederick and Lise-Lone Marker have omitted the Savoy from their Guide to London Theatres, , perhaps because of the year it opened and perhaps because it was never a venue for legitimate drama, and perhaps because its glory days with Granville-Barker and productions of Shaw and Noel Coward are well outside the Victorian era.

Originally, "The New Strand Theatre," it opened as a subscription theatre on 5 January under the management of Yorkshire comedian L. Rayner, who had transformed the panorama house on that site into a playhouse.

The venture failed, but next January Fanny Kelly re-opened it as a dramatic school, but transferred that operation to the Royalty. Finally, under new management it re-opened on 25 April , and achieved some success running burlesques by Douglas Jerrold, but only in , fully five years after the passing of the new theatres act, did The Strand become the home of legitimate drama.

Destroyed by fire in , it was redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren himself and rebuilt in Garrick, Lacy, Sheridan, and Kemble were the lessees in the eighteenth century, although under the management of the last the old building was condemned and a new theatre built on the same site in Another fire struck this enlarged theatre in , and new.

In Alfred Bunn gained control of both Drury Lane and Covent Garden, managing the former from to , and again from to In , actor-manager Samuel Phelps joined the company at Drury Lane, appearing with Macready in a number of Shakespeare plays. Under William Macready's brief tenure as manager, significant reforms were put in place as the gifted actor-manager staged Shakespearean productions there After a period of decline, the house's fortune's rose again under the management of Augustus Harris from Clarke's revival of Sheridan's The Rivals in , featuring Mrs.

Stirling as Mrs. Malaprop, The role that made her famous. On 7 November noted comedian and great friend of Charles Dickens, John Laurence Toole , took up the management; after a lengthy tour, he re-opened the theatre in under his own name.

After it was demolished in , its site was used for an extension of Charing Cross Hospital. In , the next owner, Brunton, renamed it the West London. His daughter Elizabeth married well known actor Frederick Yates, who starred in a number of the house's productions.

In it reopened as the Queen's or the Fitzroy. Opening in the Strand on 16 April under the management of H.

Here, H. Byron's Our Boys ran four years. Despite its early reputation for farce, its name goes down in theatre annals as the first theatre in England to stage Ibsen's Rosmersholm 23 February and Hedda Gabbler 20 April Here noted Dickensian actor Seymour Hicks appeared alongside his wife Ellaine Terriss in a series of Christmas entertainments, including Bluebell in Fairyland The 17th c. Built in for the variety magnate Sir Alfred Butt This was another of those houses south of the Thames that catered primarily to working-class audiences by providing thrilling melodramas.

Located opposite Waterloo Station, it was less than a block away from the Surrey Theatre. This quasi-private theatre opened under the management of T. Davenport in Although it never acquired any sort of licence, several noteworthy players began their careers here.

This playhouse is not to be confused withe the Westminster Theatre, located near Victoria Station on Palace Street, which opened in It belongs to the first generation of public house music halls that appeared in London during the s and which, only fifty years later, had all but disappeared.

Several landlords followed after John Wilton and, in , performances ceased when his final successor was unable to renew the licence due to new fire regulations. The pub had beautiful mahogany fittings and became known as the Mahogany Bar see below.

Designed by W. Sprague The Dickens Index. Oxford: Oxford U. Hartnoll, Phyllis, ed. The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Also, the benched pits in front of stages were replaced by more comfortable seats and carpeted aisles for the rich. Although theatre was enjoyed by much of the population, it was not always accessible throughout Britain. In rural areas of Wales the portable theatre was popular. These theatres toured the country and could be dismantled and moved easily.

They were well supported in the small towns and villages which could not sustain permanent theatrical venues, and lasted until World War I.

The Victorian period saw a number of innovations that impacted upon theatre design. Lighting changed from candle to gas and then later to electricity as a result of stringent health and safety legislation. Both emitted a more brilliant light that enabled directors to use lighting for theatrical effect. Further legislation required that audiences seated at all levels could be evacuated quickly and safely in the event of fire or panic evacuations.

Most theatre interiors used a lot of wood, including seats, balconies and structural supports. At that time the average life of theatres was just under twenty years owing to the risk of fire.

Tragedies such as the fire at the Theatre Royal, Exeter in , in which more than people lost their lives, led to more careful planning of new theatres or the refurbishing of older ones. Fire exits and escape routes became a statutory requirement. Sepia illustration of the fire at Her Majesty's Theatre, London. The development of cantilevered balconies was another innovation.

Concrete soon became a popular material for theatre interiors, not only for its resistance to fire, but also because it could be moulded into elaborate curved forms. The expansion of the railways in the nineteenth century enabled urban populations to travel to the coast. These visitors liked to take in the sea air, promenading along the sea front and the lengthy piers that stretched ever further into the sea and which were being built in greater numbers from the s.

Several of these commercial enterprises had theatres or variety halls built on them, and became an important element of the local seaside economy. Following the outbreak of World War II, though, many began to be neglected, and by the s changing holiday patterns and rising costs led to many being closed, to be replaced by lucrative amusement arcades.

Hippodromes or circuses, too, were a popular form of entertainment in the Victorian period and developed from the interest in equestrian entertainment in the late-eighteenth century, which took place in circular enclosures.

They were built in major cities and seaside resorts in theatre-like buildings to present live animal acts, though their shows would often include human acts. Tower Circus, Blackpool. Some hippodromes could even be flooded for spectacular water shows. Very few remain in use today, most converted to other uses or demolished, but they can often be recognised by the use of animal forms in their decoration. The period from the s to World War I was the greatest era of theatre building.

Over professional theatres were operating in Britain then, some built by syndicates, who created chains of touring houses. New architects such as W. Sprague and T. Verity became renowned for their work and could design theatres according to the changing stringent building regulations. Probably the most prolific was Frank Matcham, who designed or renovated over theatres. He was noted for his excellent planning and opulent interiors.

The development of hydraulic water powered stage machinery enabled more spectacular productions to be presented. Shows with increasingly ambitious special effects were devised to attract and retain audiences. However, this required more backstage space for storage and operation. Music halls were still very popular places of entertainment, but were usually called variety theatres, owing to the variety of the acts in their shows.

To make them more suitable for families the consumption of alcohol was banned in the auditorium, though it could still be consumed in bars at intervals or before and after performances. Internally, they became more like conventional theatres. Admission was by payment for designated seats, as had been the case with theatres showing drama, and which ensured that families could sit together. The beginning of the twentieth century saw the introduction of a new component in variety bills that would eventually lead to the closure of hundreds of theatres and music halls.

This was the bioscope, a forerunner of the cinema.