The parish church of St. James the Great consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and a west tower. There are also modern vestries north of the chancel and south of the tower. The sequence of the earlier development of the building is a little uncertain owing to the proximity of the various periods, added to the marked differences in detail, and some confusion caused by later alterations. The south arcade probably dates from the latter half of the 13th century and the north from the early 14th century, but the similarity of the windows in both aisles suggests that after the north aisle was built the south aisle was widened to .
Notable buildings
Snitterfield
Snitterfield | Notable buildings
The parish church of St. James the Great. The parish church of St. James the Great which consisted of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and a west tower The parish church of St. James the Great The parish church of St. James the Great
how old was william shakespeare when he wrote hamlet
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Between 1589 and 1613 at the age of 49.
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who is he?
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He was an English playwright, poet, and actor.
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name a few of his poems?
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"Venus and Adonis", "The Rape of Lucrece", "Metamorphoses", "A Lover's Complaint".
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what is the third poem about?
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It is the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework.
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what are its themes?
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Mutability, love, violence, artistry, and power are just some of the unifying themes.
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what is metamorphosis in it?
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It is the transformation is a unifying theme amongst the episodes.
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describe the writing style of the author of the poem?
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It is conventional style extended, sometimes elaborate metaphors and conceits, and the language is often rhetorical in written.
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did he influence how plays are classified?
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It is classified as comedies, histories, and tragedies.
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what was his sexual orientation?
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Has evidence of heterosexual liaisons, expression of intense friendship rather than romantic love.
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where was he from?
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Snitterfield.
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with what did he start his theatrical career?
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In 1587,  "Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland".
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any notable structure where he was from?
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Here he began his career as a writer, winning the Newdigate Prize for his poem "Ravenna". His studies were cut short during his second year at Oxford when his father died leaving large debts.
Irish theatre | 19th century
He is buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.
Irish theatre | 18th century
Born in Tirawley, on the Mayo–Sligo border, Owenson established a National Theatre Music Hall at Fishamble Street, Dublin, the theatre where Handel's Messiah had been first performed in 1742. Here plays and songs were performed in English and in Irish. Owenson was introduced as an actor by Oliver Goldsmith and David Garrick; he had his London debut at Covent Garden in 1774. He opened his Dublin theatre at Fishamble Street in 1785. Owenson's elder daughter, the novelist Sydney, Lady Morgan wrote of his theatre: "The National Theatre Music Hall": ‘The first performance [of the National Theatre at Fishamble St.] was to be altogether national, that is, Irish, and very Irish it was.
Robert Owenson | Career
to match the other. The chancel, built of rubble, is of severer detail and may have followed soon after the 14th-century north aisle; it is of great length compared with the nave and has large windows. The west tower was evidently erected in several successive stages: the lowest . in the early 14th century, continued up another 8 or . about 1340 with ashlar walling, the west window having moulded jambs rather like those of the south doorway, and completed c. 1400 in ashlar of larger stones. The clerestory was added early in the 16th century: there seems to have been some trouble from weakness in the arcades, especially the northern, which shows inequalities in the arches resulting probably from partial reconstructions, and most of its capitals have been rather crudely remoulded.
Snitterfield | Notable buildings
He also visited the United Kingdom and apparently performed in Liverpool, although documentary evidence of this is limited. His career seems to have entered into a decline by and after 1834, when he was imprisoned for larceny. He is reported to have died around 1849. George Thompson, who has researched the history of the theatre, concluded that Hewlett was a tailor and may have been an emigrant from the West Indies.
James Hewlett | Introduction
McKinnel's first stage appearance was in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex in 1894 and he soon based himself in London to further his career. He became known over the course of his career for playing many Shakespearian roles, and his stage work took him the U.S., Australia and South Africa. He was known for writing several easily stageable one-act plays, the most successful of which was "The Bishop's Candlesticks" (1901). McKinnel's film career began in 1899 in "King John", the earliest known example of Shakespeare on film. The work consisted of four brief scenes from the play, and a two-minute fragment survives at the EYE Film Institute in Amsterdam.
Norman McKinnel | Career
Several of these houses, including 9 St Agnes Road and 110 and 112 Oxford Road are now listed buildings. He was probably also the architect of "Blackhill", the home of Birmingham Repertory Theatre founder Barry Jackson in the Malvern Hills.
William de Lacy Aherne | Career
The parish church of St. James the Great consists of a chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and a west tower. There are also modern vestries north of the chancel and south of the tower. The sequence of the earlier development of the building is a little uncertain owing to the proximity of the various periods, added to the marked differences in detail, and some confusion caused by later alterations. The south arcade probably dates from the latter half of the 13th century and the north from the early 14th century, but the similarity of the windows in both aisles suggests that after the north aisle was built the south aisle was widened to .
Snitterfield | Notable buildings
In 1793 he accepted an offer from Wignell, manager of the Philadelphia Theatre, and started for America. Between 1797 and 1806 he acted at many theatres in New York, Boston, and elsewhere without establishing a position. He gave readings and recitations at College Hall, Philadelphia, and for a time kept an academy at Charlestown, Massachusetts. In 1814 he established salt-works near New London, Connecticut, and sometimes, in intervals of other occupations, resorted to manual labour. He also tried to establish in Philadelphia a school similar to Eton or Westminster. William Dunlap in his "History of the American Theatres", pp. 231–3, and elsewhere, says he was a remarkably handsome man, over six feet in height, with light complexion and hair, and light grey eyes.
James Fennell | In America
John Styan says it "seems a questionable statement about so makeshift a theatre." Killigrew's competition, Davenant, would take another seven months to open his new theatre in nearby Lisle's Tennis Court; working more from the model of court masque venues such as Inigo Jones’ Cockpit-in-Court, he equipped it with a stage complete with a proscenium arch and moveable scenery, painted onto a series of sliding panels. Opening in late June, 1661, Davenant's theatre would steal much of Vere Street's thunder. Before then, though, Killigrew would generate some more excitement of his own, by being the first to stage plays with actresses, instead of actors, playing female roles.
Gibbon's Tennis Court | Competition
There are differing views concerning the origin of the building, which possibly dates back to the 15th century, but more likely was built in the mid-16th century. Records show that in 1552 John Shakespeare was fined for leaving a pile of muck outside his home in Henley Street, proving that he resided in a house there at the time. In Jephson's account of Shakespeare's time in Stratford he states that at the time of Shakepeare's birth his father was renting the property and that ten years later he was able to purchase two freehold houses in Henley Street. The house remained in the family until it was handed down for the final time to William Shakespeare’s daughter and, given that he was born in 1564, it is fairly certain that he was born and brought up there.
Shakespeare's Birthplace | History
These include Hall's Croft (the one-time home of Shakespeare's daughter, Susanna, and her husband Dr. John Hall) and Nash's House, which stands alongside the site of New Place which was owned by Shakespeare himself, wherein he died. In Shottery is Anne Hathaway's Cottage, the home of Shakespeare's wife's family prior to her marriage. Mary Arden's House (Palmer's Farm), the family home of his mother, is in Wilmcote. Elsewhere in the district are farms and buildings at Snitterfield, that belonged to the family of Shakespeare's father. In addition, King Edward VI School, located on the corner of Church Street and Chapel Lane, is a grammar school thought to have been attended by William Shakespeare.
Stratford-upon-Avon | Museums and Shakespeare's houses
Killip & Collister of Tynwald Street. The new entrance facade, with its upstairs loggia, pedimented towers and flamboyant stucco decoration, took its inspiration from the buildings of the Italian Renaissance, while the interior, with its ceiling paintings and ornate plasterwork, combined Baroque and Elizabethan elements. An ingenious feature also found in Matcham's theatre in Buxton, Derbyshire, was what was known as a ""sunburner"". This consisted of a main roof air vent about a large circular glass window in which there was originally a gaslight. As the window heated up, it caused the air around it to rise and then fresh air would rush in through vents to replace it.
Gaiety Theatre, Isle of Man | Gaiety Theatre
In 1729 he appeared at Thomas Odell's Goodman's Fields Theatre appearing in a wide variety of different roles in classic plays often appearing alongside his wife. After some brief work at the King's Theatre in Haymarket he took over management of Goodman's Fields Theatre from the 1731-32 season. He supervised construction of a new playhouse on Ayliff Street with a capacity of around seven hundred. In 1735 he returned to tour Ireland, appearing at the new Aungier Street Theatre in Dublin. Back at Goodman's Fields in 1736 he celebrated the marriage of George II's daughter Anne and William of Orange with a revival of Richard Steele's popular "The Conscious Lovers".
Henry Giffard | Goodman's Fields Theatre
In 1785 Palmer, yielding to his own ambition and the counsel of friends, began to build the Royalty Theatre in Wellclose Square. Deaf to remonstrances, he persisted in his task, though the only licenses, wholly ineffectual, which he could obtain were those of the governor of the Tower and the magistrates of the adjoining district. This building he opened, 20 June 1787, with a performance of "As you like it", in which he was Jaques to the Rosalind of Mrs. Belfille, and "Miss in her Teens", in which he was Flash to the Miss Biddy of Maria Gibbs. The contest for places was violent.
John Palmer (actor) | Royalty Theatre and debtors' prison
The end of the 17th century was a period of intense rivalry amongst London's actors, and in 1695 there was a split in the United Company, who had a monopoly on the performance of drama at their two theatres. Dramatist and architect John Vanbrugh saw this as an opportunity to break the duopoly of the patent theatres, and in 1703 he acquired a former stable yard, at a cost of £2,000, for the construction of a new theatre on the Haymarket. In the new business, he hoped to improve the share of profits that would go to playwrights and actors.
Her Majesty's Theatre | History
Cooke was born in Birmingham, England, in 1883. His early works include the original Birmingham Repertory Theatre (1913), for director Barry Jackson. This was the first purpose-built repertory theatre in the UK. Jackson and Cooke took inspiration from the democratic nature of theatres they had visited in Germany. The design of The Repertory Theatre was particularly influenced by Max Littmann's 1908 "" in Munich. The Birmingham theatre is still in use, now known as the Old Rep. Cooke also designed the city's civic war memorial, the Hall of Memory (1922–1925), in collaboration with W. N. Twist. The designs included a Doric colonnade, which was moved to St.
S. N. Cooke | Early career
His last major theatre was the Palace of Varieties in Manchester. Other buildings designed by Darbyshire include Pendleton Town Hall, Manchester Corporation Abattoir, Alston Hall in Lancashire, the Carnegie Library in Knutsford and the churches of St Cyprian and St Ignatius in Salford. He made designs for temporary exhibitions, including a military bazaar in Manchester in 1884, a Shakespearean show in the Royal Albert Hall the same year and in the Royal Jubilee Exhibition in Manchester in 1887. Darbyshire was also involved in the design of several distilleries and factories for the Jameson family and was later engaged by Andrew Jameson to design a Tudor revival style mansion house for the family on Howth Head in the Northern suburbs of Dublin called Sutton House.
Alfred Darbyshire | Works
Phipps. Matcham was impressed at Phipps's ability to build a normal-sized theatre on a small, awkward plot, and it is probable that Matcham gained inspiration from the Gaiety in some of his later buildings which were also built on restricted plots of land. It is not known how long Matcham spent in London, although it was not uncommon for an architect to take up to six years to become qualified. The theatre historian Görel Garlick estimates that Matcham spent three years in the capital during this time, which would seem probable as by 1871 Matcham was back in Torquay and again under the guidance of Bridgeman, this time as his chief assistant.
Frank Matcham | Early life
George's Fields in rural Surrey. The Theatre was constructed in Shoreditch in 1576 by James Burbage with his brother-in-law John Brayne (the owner of the unsuccessful Red Lion playhouse of 1567) and the Newington Butts playhouse was set up, probably by Jerome Savage, some time between 1575 and 1577. The Theatre was rapidly followed by the nearby Curtain Theatre (1577), the Rose (1587), the Swan (1595), the Globe (1599), the Fortune (1600), and the Red Bull (1604).
English Renaissance theatre | Establishment of playhouses
He also designed two theatres for Dublin, two for Belgium, one for Brazil, and two for different parts of India. Beazley's biographer, G. W. Burnet, wrote in 1885, "Without presenting much artistic attraction, his theatres possessed the merit of being well adapted to their purposes." Earl added, "[Beazley's] theatre designs were invariably neo-classical and not strikingly innovative; he drew on European architectural precedents but adapted them skilfully. … His experience as a playwright and his intimate knowledge of the physical demands of dramatic presentation gave him a significant advantage over his rivals." Beazley's non-theatre work included several buildings in Leamington Spa, Ashford Town Hall, and Studley Castle in Warwickshire.
Samuel Beazley | London theatres and other work
In 1574 the City authorities banned the building of playhouses in the City of London area, consequently theatres were built in the suburbs, beyond its jurisdiction. The first of these came in 1576, when James Burbage built the first playhouse in England, known as "The Theatre", on the site of the Priory (commemorated today by a plaque on Curtain Road, and excavated in 2008, by MoLAS). William Shakespeare lived nearby in a property overlooking St Helen's churchyard in the Bishopsgate Within area of the City. His early plays were first performed in Shoreditch, at The Theatre and at the nearby Curtain Theatre, built the following year and to the south (marked by a commemorative plaque in Hewett Street off Curtain Road).
Shoreditch | Shakespeare and the Elizabethan theatre
To the north of the Hall are the remains of an angled fishing pond and fishing house which may be linked to Isaak Walton who was a Milward cousin and fellow Royalist. This, with a moated enclosure towards the north-east, either the site of an even earlier manor house or another landscape feature created by John Milward, has been designated as a Scheduled Monument.
Snitterton Hall | Architecture
Cibber was born in Southampton Street, in Bloomsbury, London. He was the eldest child of Caius Gabriel Cibber, a distinguished sculptor originally from Denmark. His mother, Jane née Colley, came from a family of gentry from Glaston, Rutland. He was educated at the King's School, Grantham, from 1682 until the age of 16, but failed to win a place at Winchester College, which had been founded by his maternal ancestor William of Wykeham. In 1688, he joined the service of his father's patron, Lord Devonshire, who was one of the prime supporters of the Glorious Revolution. After the revolution, and at a loose end in London, he was attracted to the stage and in 1690 began work as an actor in Thomas Betterton's United Company at the Drury Lane Theatre.
Colley Cibber | Life
The Century Theatre or 'the Blue Box' is a portable theatre, built on a series of ex-RAF trailers in 1952. The theatre was designed by John Ridley who used an ingenious design; an aluminium superstructure and hydraulic rams, to create a professional quality theatre building that could be folded up and moved by road. Following its opening night in Hinckley in September 1952, the theatre toured Britain until 1974, remaining only a few weeks in each venue. From 1974 until 1997 the Century was used as the town theatre of Keswick in Cumbria, and then, thanks to support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, it was saved from the scrapyard, refurbished and brought home to Leicestershire, where it is located next to the buildings and headstocks of Snibston Colliery.
Snibston | Century Theatre
In August 2008 archaeologists from the Museum of London excavating in New Inn Broadway, Shoreditch, announced they had found the foundation of a polygonal structure they believed to be the remains of the north-eastern corner of The Theatre. The Theatre and Shakespeare's involvement with it are commemorated by two plaques on 86–90 Curtain Road, the building at the corner with New Inn Yard currently occupied by a Foxtons office. Berry, Herbert. "John Brayne and his other brother-in-law." Shakespeare Studies (2002): 93+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.
The Theatre | Archaeological investigation
The house itself is relatively simple, but for the late 16th century it would have been considered quite a substantial dwelling. John Shakespeare, William's father, was a glove maker and wool dealer, and the house was originally divided in two parts to allow him to carry out his business from the same premises. The building is not outstanding architecturally, and typical of the times was constructed in wattle and daub around a wooden frame. Local oak from the Forest of Arden and blue-grey stone from Wilmcote were used in its construction, while the large fireplaces were made from an unusual combination of early brick and stone, and the ground-floor level has stone-flagged floors.
Shakespeare's Birthplace | Description
There is some evidence to suggest that Shakespeare may have performed in the Great Hall. In about 1580 Shakespeare had been sent, by his Stratford schoolmaster, to be an assistant teacher in the household of Alexander Hoghton at Lea Hall near Preston, and the "wilim Shakeshaft nowe dwellynge with me", referred to by Hoghton in his will, is almost certainly Shakespeare. In his will Hoghton, who died in 1581, had bequeathed to Sir Thomas Hesketh his musical instruments and "playe clothes". By about 1585 Shakespeare had joined a company of players kept by Lord Strange, son of Lord Derby, probably having been recommended by Sir Thomas.
Rufford Old Hall | Shakespeare connection
His most important building in London was the Imperial Institute (1887–93), of which only the central tower remains, now part of Imperial College. In 1899 Collcutt designed the Lloyd's Register of Shipping Building in London, extensively decorated with allegorical sculpture by George Frampton and a major landmark of the New Sculpture movement. For Richard D'Oyly Carte, Collcutt designed the Savoy Hotel, which has been subsequently altered, and the Palace Theatre, London (1889) in Cambridge Circus, Charing Cross Road, which was built as the Royal English Opera House. Sir Arthur Sullivan's grand opera, "Ivanhoe", was the first production at the theatre.
Thomas Edward Collcutt | Career
The poet Thomas Flatman was born in a house in Aldersgate Street in 1633. As with most historic buildings on this stretch of road, the building no longer stands. At Nos. 35-38 stood Shaftesbury House, built around 1644 by Inigo Jones. It was demolished in 1882. Lauderdale House was demolished in 1708, the London home of the Duke of Lauderdale and earlier the house of his mother-in-law, the Countess of Home. No. 134 for many years had a sign claiming: "This was Shakespeare's House". Although the building was very close to the nearby Fortune Playhouse, there is no documentary evidence surviving to indicate that Shakespeare resided here; a subsidy roll from 1598 shows a "William Shakespeare" as owner of the property, but there is nothing to indicate that it is the playwright.
Aldersgate | The arts
Bannister was born in Gloucestershire. When he was seven his father moved to Deptford. He was possessed of 'a manly form, an ardent mind, and an uncommon flow of wit.' He a company of players who visited his neighbourhood, and aspired to their profession. At 18 he made amateur appearances in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Richard III" in Deptford. Drury Lane turned him down, but after successful work in Norwich, Ipswich and other eastern towns, Samuel Foote gave him his first London appearance in 1762 at the Haymarket Theatre, as Will Tirehack in "The Orators", opposite John Palmer as Harry Scamper, who also made his debut on that occasion.
Charles Bannister | Origins and debut
After Sheridan, the next Irish dramatist of historical importance was Dion Boucicault (1820–1890). Boucicault was born in Dublin but went to England to complete his education. At school, he began writing dramatic sketches and soon took up acting under the stage name of Lee Morton. His first play was "Legend of Devil's Dyke" 1838 in which he acted himself in Brighton. His first London production was "London Assurance" 1841. This was a great success and he seemed set to become the major writer of comedies of his day. However, his next few plays were not as successful and Boucicault found himself in debt.
Irish theatre | 19th century
A building "something like a stable" in Castle Yard between High Street and Moor Street was used for dramatic performances from 1730. The standard of production in this new venue was reflected in the remarks of William Hutton, writing later in the century: "here the comedian strutted in painted rags, ornamented with tinsel. The audience raised a noisy laugh, half real and half forced, at three-pence a head." Not all of the performances of this era were of such low quality, however: later playbills suggest that George Hallam had visited Birmingham with a company of actors from London, and that a repertoire of good quality was being presented in the town, by 1730 at the latest.
Theatre in Birmingham | Early performers and venues
No important changes occurred before the 19th century, but there was some deterioration, as a description of 1858 mentions that the chancel was heavily buttressed on the north side and its windows had lost their tracery. The closing of the side doorways and insertion of the west doorway were done before that time. Scars and repairs in the arcades are evidence of the damage caused to the masonry by the erection of galleries in 1841. Probably the vestry south of the tower was then added. Since then the church has been well restored, the chancel windows provided with tracery, and the north vestry and organ chamber added.
Snitterfield | Notable buildings
The inside of the building was demolished, the furniture ransacked, and the fixtures destroyed. It was not until troops from Edinburgh Castle had come to the relief of the city guard that the rioters were dispersed, and the theatre saved from further injury. James Aickin, who had particularly offended the rioters, left Edinburgh, and, accepting an engagement at Drury Lane, made his first appearance there in December 1767 as Colonel Camply in Kenrick's comedy "The Widowed Wife". He continued a member of the 'Drury Lane company, with occasional appearances at the Haymarket Theatre during the summer months, until his retirement in 1800.
James Aickin | Biography
The plan of the building was originally a simple rectangle. From north-west to south-east, the ground-floor consisted of a parlour with fireplace, an adjoining hall with a large open hearth, a cross passage, and finally a room which probably served as John Shakespeare's workshop. This arrangement was mirrored on the first-floor by three chambers accessed by a staircase from the hall, probably where the present stairs are sited. Traditionally, the chamber over the parlour is the birthroom. A separate single-bay house, now known as Joan Hart's Cottage, was later built onto the north-west end of the house, and the present kitchen was added at the rear with a chamber above it.
Shakespeare's Birthplace | Description
It runs along the rear of the theatre. In 1818–20, 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, and the theatre became known as the Italian Opera House, Haymarket by the 1820s. In 1797, he was elected as member of Parliament for Leominster, 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. Taylor paid little of the agreed receipts to performers, or composers, and lived for much of his period of management in the King's Bench, a debtors' prison in Southwark.
Her Majesty's Theatre | William Taylor
He was born in London, the son of a Strand tradesman named Thomas. The name Moncrieff he assumed for theatrical purposes. Moncrieff's first success was at Astley’s circus with "The Dandy Family" an equestrian drama, and in 1820 "The Lear of Private Life", with Junius Brutus Booth as hero, enjoyed a long run. He supplied Drury Lane with a romantic melodrama called "The Cataract of the Ganges; or, The Rajah’s Daughter" which gave the national theatre an opportunity of displaying upon its stage both real horses and a real waterfall. This work became very popular with performances at provincial theatres throughout England.
William Thomas Moncrieff | Biography
The center section extended upward to a wall dormer with four closely set windows topped by a fully pedimented gable. The theater was built in 1880 to a design by Robert Hill, a prominent local architect. Unusual for similar buildings in other cities, it was not built for local businessmen, but for what was termed at the time "comparatively speaking, working men" of Irish descent. It houses theatrical and vaudeville productions for many years and was eventually adapted for the showing of movies. By the time of its listing on the National Register in 1977, it had been reduced to showing X-rated films and had become isolated from the rest of the downtown by the highway construction.
New Britain Opera House | Description and history
O'Hare began his career in 1964 by designing the sets and costumes for the Victoria Hall theatre in Leatherhead, Surrey. He went on to design the costumes and sets for many theatrical productions especially in Dublin, Ireland.
James Haldane O'Hare | Theatrical career
His next appearance in London was at the Queen's Theatre, Tottenham Street on 16 February 1835, as Horace Meredith in Douglas William Jerrold's comedy, "Schoolfellows." Returning to touring in York, he played the leading part in "Ion", continuing to tour in the provinces. In April 1839, he appeared at the Lyceum Theatre, London, first in "Silver Crescent". In 1839 Creswick and his wife travelled to the U.S., staying for nearly four years, where Creswick greatly increased his reputation. They began with engagements in New York and then joined the company of the Tremont Theatre in Boston for the season of 1840-41, afterwards touring throughout North America.
William Creswick | Early years
During the season, James Lycett, a Shakespeare-loving English businessman who had organised amateur dramatics in Cape Town for many years, was accidentally wounded on stage while playing Macduff to Parry's "Macbeth".
Sefton Henry Parry | Harrington Street Theatre 1857 - 1859
Doggett was born in Dublin, and made his first stage appearance in London in 1691 as Nincompoop in Thomas D'Urfey's "Love for Money". In this part, and as Solon in the same author's "Marriage-Hater Matched", he became popular. He followed Betterton to Lincoln's Inn Fields, creating the part of Ben, specially written for him, in William Congreve's "Love for Love", with which the theatre opened (1695); and the following year played Young Hobb in his own play, "The Country Wake". He was associated with Colley Cibber and others in the management of the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, and Drury Lane, and he continued to play comedy parts at the former until his retirement in 1713.
Thomas Doggett | Biography
In 1830, he conceived the operatic drama Van Diemen's Land, concerning the notorious bush-ranger Michael Howe. But his most popular production was "Tom and Jerry" (1821), a dramatization of "Life in London" by Pierce Egan, whose "Boxiana" Moncrieff had begun to publish in 1818. He managed Vauxhall Gardens in 1827 and in 1833 leased the City Theatre. Soon afterward his sight failed, and in 1843 he became totally blind. The following year he entered the Charterhouse in London. Moncrieff's theatrical reminiscences were published in the "Sunday Times" in 1851. He edited "Selections from Dramatic Works" (London, 1850), containing 24 of his own plays.
William Thomas Moncrieff | Biography
In 1848 he had become a student at the Royal Academy, and even while assisting his father found time to devote to works of his own. The first of these was St. Saviour's Church, Haverstock Hill, in 1855–56. His designs for St. Giles's schools, Endell Street, which were carried out under his own superintendence in 1859–60, gave him a recognised position. It was to the originality displayed in these works that he owed his admission, in 1861, as an associate to the Royal Academy. The reconstruction, in 1857, in the short space of eight months, of the theatre at Covent Garden, which had been destroyed by fire, and the erection in the following year of the Floral Hall adjoining, afford examples of his energy, constructive skill, and artistic ability.
Edward Middleton Barry | Biography
He first appeared on the stage in Birmingham with the Pilgrim Players (which subsequently developed into the Birmingham Repertory Theatre), on 5 April 1910, in "Fifinella"; and made his first appearance on the London stage at the Garrick Theatre, 26 December 1913, in "Where the Rainbow Ends", a fairy play by Clifford Mills and John Ramsey, with music by Roger Quilter, which ran at various theatres for over 25 years. He then studied with a view to becoming an architect, but, having had considerable amateur experience in Birmingham, and with Liverpool's Green Room Club, he obtained an engagement under Robert Courtneidge, and appeared at London's Savoy Theatre, opening on 26 December 1923, as Jack O'Hara in a revival of "Paddy the Next Best Thing", the play by W.
Brian Aherne | English stage
Snotterton Hall was a former fortified manor house dating back to the 15th century, demolished in 1831 and now rebuilt as a farmhouse.
Staindrop | Notable buildings
S. Eliot became less popular from the mid-1960s. Ronald Duncan was instrumental in setting up and naming the English Stage Company at London's Royal Court Theatre, which opened in 1956. Regrettably, during its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2006, the theatre did not acknowledge his initial work. Yet theatre historian Irving Wardle wrote, "without Duncan there would have been no English Stage Company".
Ronald Duncan | Dramatic works
By 1720, Vanbrugh's direct connection with 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, with Vanbrugh himself building a new home in Greenwich. After the fire, the Vanbrugh family's long association with the theatre was terminated, and all their leases were surrendered by 1792.
Her Majesty's Theatre | Fire
Keene’s range went well beyond comedy. He was involved in several ambitious archaeological reconstructions of scenery and costumes, such as the Egyptian drama Nitocris staged at Drury Lane in 1855, but they never brought him the success of the pantomimes. He also designed the monument in Kensal Green Cemetery to the pantomime clown Richard Flexmore (1862).
Dykwynkyn | Work for the London stage
William Wilkins (1751–1815), a building contractor, was proprietor of a chain of theatres in East Anglia known as the Norwich circuit. Performers included the Norwich Company of Comedians, and performances had been given since the late 18th century on Stourbridge Common, north of the city of Cambridge, at the annual Stourbridge fair. Wilkins and his son, also William (1778–1839), built a theatre in 1807 at Sun Street, Barnwell. The younger Wilkins – a prominent architect who had designed Downing College and went on to work at other colleges and the National Gallery – designed a new theatre nearby to replace the 1807 building.
Theatre Royal, Barnwell, Cambridge | 19th century
His Majesty's Theatre in Aberdeen is the largest theatre in north-east Scotland, seating more than 1,400. The theatre is sited on Rosemount Viaduct, opposite the city's Union Terrace Gardens. It was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1906. On its centenary in 2006, the theatre was "twinned" with His Majesty's Theatre in Perth, Western Australia. The granite-clad theatre is the brainchild of Robert Arthur, of Glasgow, who started his group of theatres in the 1880s focusing on Her Majesty`s Theatre, Dundee , and others in England. He took a lease of Her Majesty`s Opera House, Aberdeen (later named the Tivoli) in Guild Street from 1891 and started to look for a site to build one according to his own specifications.
His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen | Introduction
The Newington Butts Theatre may have been built as early as 1575, certainly actor Jerome Savage renewed a lease on the site on 25 March 1576, three weeks before Burbage's lease in Shoreditch. Newington Butts was clearly established by Lady Day 1577, and Wickham "et al." interpret the available documents as saying that Savage was adapting an existing building constructed by Richard Hicks rather than building from scratch.
The Theatre | History
He also designed sets for some of the productions.
Kenton Theatre | Introduction
He was born in Frodsham, Cheshire in 1734. He was admitted on the foundation of Westminster School in 1746, but ran away; in 1748, he was received back at the school. He ran away a second time, and making his way to Leicester attached himself to a theatrical company. He was encouraged by J. G. Cooper of Thurgarton, Nottinghamshire, once also a Westminster boy, to make acting his profession, and joined the company at York. He quickly became popular, and was known as the ‘York Garrick.’ Tate Wilkinson thought his Hamlet of a high standard. He rarely left York. He died 21 October 1768 at Kingston upon Hull, his end being accelerated by drink.
Bridge Frodsham | Life
On December 23, 1850, Irish actor-manager John Brougham opened his Lyceum at 485 Broadway near Broome Street. The next day, the "New York Herald" reported: This new temple of Thespis was opened last evening, before a brilliant and crowded audience, with an "éclat" which prognosticates its future career to be triumphant. ... [It] is capable of containing about 1,800 or 2,000 persons. ... The whole presents a very pretty little theatre. ... Mr. Trimble, the well-known builder, has added another 'story' to his architectural fame. ... The opening entertainments commenced with a humorous and appropriate address, entitled 'Brougham and Co.,' in which the whole company were introduced.
Wallack's Theatre | 485 Broadway
His early life may remain a mystery, but we can be certain of his age at death. His family's surname was McLaughlin, but "seeming somewhat uncouth to the pronunciation of an English tongue,” he changed it for the English stage. He found various jobs as an actor in London, but, apparently, his Ulster accent was an obstacle to success and he could not find a steady theatre home until he was noticed in a small character role in Henry Fielding's "Coffee-House Politician" at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1725. It was after that fine performance, that would go unnoticed by a lesser actor, that he was snatched up by the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane as an actor and a resident acting manager, serving with James Quin.
Charles Macklin | Early life
The publication brought Tennyson to the notice of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, among others. In 1848 Wilson wrote and published a pamphlet entitled "A House for Shakespeare" in which he proposed the creation of a national theatre company. This inspired the foundation of the Royal National Theatre. His proposal was supported by Henry Irving, Charles Dickens and Matthew Arnold among others.
Effingham Wilson | Career
He failed to establish any strong position, and discovered at the close of the second season that his presence was necessary on the Suffolk circuit. On 7 November 1823 he appeared at Bath in 'Hamlet', and subsequently as Shylock, Leon, and Jaffier. He was pronounced a sound actor, but with no claim to genius, and failed to please. Returning again to the eastern counties, he built theatres at Bungay, Beccles, Halesworth, Eye, Lowestoft, Dereham, North Walsham, and other places. About 1838 he retired to Woodbridge, where he died 20 August 1858. He was a musician and a scene-painter, and in the former capacity was leader for some time of the Norwich choral concerts.
David Fisher (II) | Biography
According to Hotson, he was a 'man of substance', and Honigmann notes that, 'starting with nothing', he 'amassed a very considerable fortune'. At the time of his death Savage owned at least five houses in the City of London, one of which was occupied by the actor and editor of the First Folio, John Heminges (bap. 1566, d.1630), also one of London's seacoal-meters, from whom Savage had purchased it. Another of the houses owned by Savage was in the parish of St Olave Silver Street; Hotson notes that William Shakespeare lodged for a time in Silver Street at the house of the London tire-maker (head-dress-maker) Christopher Mountjoy.
Thomas Savage (Shakespeare's trustee) | Career
His also performed widely in Irish provincial theatres, with visits to Belfast, Cork and Limerick amongst others. In 1769 he was in London at the Haymarket Theatre and also again featured again at Drury Lane. His last known acting appearances were in Dublin at Crow Street in 1771.
Isaac Sparks | Introduction
Born in Bath, his first major work was the rebuilding of Theatre Royal, Bath in 1862/3, after the old theatre had been destroyed by fire. Moving to London, he quickly established himself as the leading theatrical architect, building, in rapid succession, the Queen's Theatre (1867), the Gaiety Theatre (1868), the Olympic Theatre (1870) and the Vaudeville Theatre (1871). Phipps designed the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin for John and Michael Gunn, opened in November 1871. Phipps's Savoy Theatre (1881), a state-of-the-art facility, was the first public building in the world lit entirely by electric light. Other major London theatres included the Strand (1882), the Prince's (1884), the Lyric (1888), the original Shaftesbury Theatre (1888), the Garrick (1889), the Tivoli (1890) and Daly's (1893).
Charles J. Phipps | Biography
In 1925, after his father's early death, McBean moved with his mother and younger sister Rowena to a three bedroomed cottage at 21 Lowfield Road, West Acton. For the next seven years he worked for Liberty's department store in the antiques department learning restoration, while his personal life was spent in photography, mask-making and watching plays in the West End theatre. In 1932 he left Liberty's and grew his distinctive beard to symbolise the fact that he would never be a wage-slave again. Meeting the stage designers Motley Theatre Design Group he helps in creating theatrical props, including a commission of medieval scenery and some shoes for John Gielgud's 1933 production of "Richard of Bordeaux".
Angus McBean | Early work
Born in Barnsley, son of the manager of a glass factory, he was educated at Sedbergh School in Cumbria, King's College, Cambridge and the Edinburgh College of Art, where he studied architecture. He first gained critical attention for the radio play "The Life of Man" in 1956 shortly after finishing his studies. Arden was initially associated with the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre in London. His 1959 play, "Serjeant Musgrave's Dance", in which four army deserters arrive in a northern mining town to exact retribution for an act of colonial violence, is considered to be his best.
John Arden | Career
He was the son of Richard Shakespeare of the Warwickshire village of Snitterfield, a farmer. John Shakespeare moved to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1551, where he became a successful businessman involved in several related occupations. At this time, Stratford had a population of 1500 people and only 200 houses. From 1556 to 1592, several official records identify him as a glovemaker, which was probably his primary trade, as tradition remembers him as following that trade even into his old age, but the records of his real estate purchases and legal expenses indicate an income much higher than that of a small-town tradesman.
John Shakespeare | Career and municipal responsibilities
There was a courtyard in the centre of building for wagons. The courtyard was also used to mount theatrical productions. Actors were mainly gentlemen of the Navy, the Army, and the town. There were several famous productions that were mounted for various benefits: playwright David Garrick's The Guardian and The Lying Valet and Benjamin Hoadly's "The Suspicious Husband" and "The Rake".
Great Pontack (Halifax) | Theatre
Davidson's principal theatrical genre was that of the "drawing-room entertainer"; Cullen describes this kind of performance as "An answer to the demand of a rising middle class which was neither cultured nor resourceful, but which wanted desperately to be diverted". Within a few months of leaving Whitgift in 1894, Davidson appeared on the London stage, at Steinway Hall in Lower Seymour Street, performing a comic routine. He was reasonably successful and in the next few years found provincial engagements with Masonic lodges, literary societies and similar social organisations. Cullen suggests that his greatest triumph was as a comic actor in a touring production of Brandon Thomas's popular farce "Charley's Aunt".
Harold Davidson | Theatre, Oxford and ordination
The theatre's interior and exterior were designed separately. James Davidson designed the building itself. He was a well known Coatbridge architect who designed many churches, schools, banks and offices in Lanarkshire and the King's is typical of his Lanarkshire municipal building design. The building's facade is distinctly symmetrical, and looks more like the offices of an insurance company than a theatre. The building originally had a glass canopy spanning over the pavements, however this was replaced with a more modern design in the mid 20th century. The facade has neatly arranged double windows, and a central feature design with pillars, bay windows and a semi-circular window above the entrance.
King's Theatre, Edinburgh | The building
The theatre was run by its own company expressly created to take quality drama to communities throughout Britain and helped greatly with post-war cultural reconstruction. Many of the company’s actors and technicians went on from touring with the Century to make important contributions to theatre in Britain and abroad.
Snibston | Century Theatre
Born in Dublin, he was educated there in a private school. While a schoolboy he achieved some reputation as a writer of farces and musical extravaganzas, and his dramatic essays were performed at the Dublin theatres in Smock Alley, Crow Street, Capel Street, and Fishamble Street. Most of these pieces were published. About 1786, Oulton left Dublin, still a youth, to try his fortunes in London. John Palmer, the lessee of the Royalty Theatre in Wellclose Square, accepted the offer of his services, and in 1787 he produced Oulton's ‘Hobson's Choice, or Thespis in Distress,’ a satire on contemporary theatrical enterprise.
Walley Chamberlain Oulton | Life
The nearby Globe Theatre (1599) was larger, at 100 feet (30 metres). Other evidence for the round shape is a line in Shakespeare's Henry V which calls the building "this wooden O", and several rough woodcut illustrations of the city of London. Around this time, the green room, a place for actors to wait until required on stage, became common terminology in English theaters. The Globe has now been rebuilt as a fully working and producing theater near its original site (largely thanks to the efforts of film director Sam Wanamaker) to give modern audiences an idea of the environment for which Shakespeare and other playwrights of the period were writing.
Theater (structure) | Elizabethan England
Cibber began his career as an actor at Drury Lane in 1690, and had little success for several years. "The first Thing that enters into the Head of a young Actor", he wrote in his autobiography half a century later, "is that of being a Hero: In this Ambition I was soon snubb'd by the Insufficiency of my Voice; to which might be added an uninform'd meagre Person ... with a dismal pale Complexion. Under these Disadvantages, I had but a melancholy Prospect of ever playing a Lover with Mrs. Bracegirdle, which I had flatter'd my Hopes that my Youth might one Day have recommended me to." At this time the London stage was in something of a slump after the glories of the early Restoration period.
Colley Cibber | Actor
The building opened to audiences for the first time on 8 December 1906, with a festive production of "Cinderella" with Violet Englefield as the Prince and Phyllis Dare as Cinderella. The theatre began a successful career as a variety touring house with later visits from Carl Rosa Opera and Richard D'Oyly Carte's company. Under Cruikshank the bill of fare was widened to include drama, musicals, large scale pantomime, revues and opera. Cruikshank later realised that his theatre was at a disadvantage by not being part of a larger circuit. In 1928 he sold his theatre to Howard and Wyndham, becoming managing director of the group under the chairmanship of Ernest Simons.
King's Theatre, Edinburgh | History of the theatre
For 10 years, he went through an arduous training in various stock companies in Scotland and the north of England, taking more than 500 parts. He gained recognition by degrees, and in 1866 Ruth Herbert engaged him as her leading man and sometime stage director at the St. James's Theatre, London, where she first played Doricourt in "The Belle's Stratagem". One piece that he directed there was W. S. Gilbert's first successful solo play, "Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack" (1866) The next year he joined the company of the newly opened Queen's Theatre, where he acted with Charles Wyndham, J.
Henry Irving | Early career
Throughout Colley Cibber's long and successful acting career, audiences continued to demand to see him as Lord Foppington in "The Relapse", while Sir John Brute in "The Provoked Wife" became, after being an iconic role for Thomas Betterton, one of David Garrick's most famous roles. With the completion of Castle Howard, English baroque came into fashion overnight. It had brought together the isolated and varied instances of monumental design, by, among others, Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren. Vanbrugh thought of masses, volume and perspective in a way that his predecessors had not.
John Vanbrugh | Legacy
The library holds various items of early modern and restoration English drama, mainly within the Bute Collection. Notable items that can be found here include early editions of William Shakespeare's plays, namely "A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet", and "Othello." The Bute Collection hosts other Elizabethan, Jacobean and Caroline dramatists as well, namely Lyly, Chapman, Middleton, Dekker (including an intact copy of the Converted Curtezan of 1604), Massinger, and Webst
National Library of Scotland | Pre 20th century theatre
Two 18th century theatres bearing the name Goodman's Fields Theatre were located on Alie Street, Whitechapel, London. The first opened on 31 October 1727 in a small shop by Thomas Odell, deputy Licenser of Plays. The first play performed was George Farquhar's "The Recruiting Officer". Henry Fielding's second play "The Temple Beau" premièred here on 26 January 1730. Upon retirement, Odell passed the management on to Henry Giffard, after a sermon was preached against the theatre at St Botolph's, Aldgate. Giffard operated the theatre until 1732. After he left, the theatre was used for a variety of acrobatic performances. Giffard constructed a new theatre down the street designed by Edward Shepherd who also designed the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Goodman's Fields Theatre | Introduction
However during the 1736-37 season he moved his company to the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre. Although initially denying this mean that the Goodman's Field venue had been abandoned by the company, he soon after unsuccessfully tried to sell it. His further progress was dramatically ended by Prime Minister Robert Walpole's strict new Licensing Act 1737 which meant that he could no longer legally stage plays in London because he didn't control one of the patent theatre licences. He then went back to Ireland, appearing once again at the Smock Alley Theatre and then moved to Edinburgh. In London he joined the Drury Lane company, playing Sir Harry Wildair in "The Constant Couple" amongst other roles.
Henry Giffard | Goodman's Fields Theatre
In the 1910s Triggs was in partnership with the architect William Frederick Unsworth (1851–1912), and his son Gerald Unsworth (1883–1946), in Petersfield, Hampshire. W. F. Unsworth had previously designed the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1879, which was destroyed by fire in 1926 and replaced in 1932 with the present Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Inigo Triggs | Career
After 1709, the theatre was devoted to Italian opera and was sometimes known informally as the Haymarket Opera House. Young George Frideric Handel produced his English début, "Rinaldo", on 24 February 1711 at the theatre, featuring the two leading castrati of the era, Nicolo Grimaldi and Valentino Urbani. This was the first Italian opera composed specifically for the London stage. The work was well received, and Handel was appointed resident composer for the theatre, but losses continued, and Swiney fled abroad to escape his creditors. John James Heidegger took over the management of the theatre and, from 1719, began to extend the stage through arches into the houses to the south of the theatre.
Her Majesty's Theatre | Vanbrugh's theatre: 1705–1789
Ingram uses Commissions of Sewers records of 1576–1578 to deduce that the actor Jerome Savage lived adjacent to the sewer and thus the playhouse was in the northern part of the plot. The Reliance Building used to occupy the site; it is now under the southern roundabout of the Elephant and Castle junction. Lurklane was out of leased in 1566 from the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral by Richard Hick(e)s. Hicks was a grocer and member of the royal retinue, sometimes described as a "yeoman of the guard". Hicks sublet Lurklane to Jerome Savage on or about Lady Day (25 March) 1576, some three weeks before the lease was signed for The Theatre in Shoreditch.
Newington Butts Theatre | Establishment
He began a theatrical career, out of a desire to be self-supporting, when the dramatist William Gorman Wills, who had seen him in private theatricals, offered him a role in his play "Mary Queen of Scots". His many performances led him into, among other things, travel to the U.S., and work with Sir Henry Irving. He was hailed as one of the most individual and refined of English actors. He was a personal friend of the Duke of Sutherland and his family and often stayed with them at Trentham Hall; he is known to have recommended to them various writers and musicians in dire need of assistance.
Johnston Forbes-Robertson | Early life
He was born in Skinner's Row, Dublin, the son of a silversmith, to whose business he was brought up. He took over the business but was not successful. His first appearance on the stage was at the Theatre Royal, Smock Alley, Dublin, on the 5 February 1744, and his engagement at once increased its prosperity. His first London appearance was made in 1746 as Othello at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Here his talents were speedily recognized, and in "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" he alternated with David Garrick, arousing the latter's jealousy by his success as Romeo. This resulted in his leaving Drury Lane for the Covent Garden Theatre in 1750, accompanied by Mrs Cibber, his Juliet.
Spranger Barry | Life
McKinnel was born in 1870 at Maxwelltown, Kirkcudbrightshire (since incorporated into Dumfries) and originally intended to follow his father into the engineering business before deciding to enter the acting profession. As a playwright he is known for the play, "The Bishop's Candlesticks", an adaptation of a section of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables".
Norman McKinnel | Early years
In 1608, Michael Drayton and Thomas Woodford, nephew of the playwright, Thomas Lodge, leased the mansion house of the old priory from Lord Buckhurst, for a term of seven years. They constructed what was then called a "private" theatre (as opposed to the large open-air "public" theatres like the Globe) in the refectory or hall of the building. The new theatre was occupied at first by the King's Revels Children during that company's brief life. In 1609 their place was taken by the Children of the Queen's Revels; that company acted Nathan Field's play "A Woman is a Weathercock" there, as well as Ben Jonson's "Epicene", George Chapman's "The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois," Beaumont and Fletcher's "The Scornful Lady," John Marston's "The Insatiate Countess," and Robert Daborne's "A Christian Turn'd Turk." The Queen's Revels Children were joined in 1613 by the Lady Elizabeth's Men.
Whitefriars Theatre | Theatre
He began his theatre career by diverting the audience with a few tricks between plays, but by 1834 he was providing the whole programme at Wolverhampton's Assembly Rooms. These were on the first floor of the , built 1829 in Queen Street. The performance was in three parts. In Part I he demonstrated the Chest of Archimedes and the Column of Rosbach. These were entertaining pieces of mechanical apparatus previously shown at the Cabinet of curiosities in Paris. This was followed by numerous illusions, including A Game at Whist, Time Flies, The Wax Candles Enchanted, Elephant of Knowledge, Vulcan's Forge, Miraculous Printing, Flying Watch, Magic Bottle, Apples of Beelzebub, Magic Eggs and Loyal Metamorphose.
Ching Lau Lauro | His act
O'Flaherty escaped via Denmark (which had no extradition treaty with Britain) to the U.S. under the alias of 'Captain William Stuart'. To earn a living he began by writing for the papers, made some money, and began a partnership with the actor Dion Boucicault, another expatriate Irishman. Together they leased Wallack's Theatre in 1855-1856, and put on a short season at the Washington Theatre in Washington D.C. After this they took over the Winter Garden Theatre, where Stuart was joint lessee and manager. It opened in September 1859 with John Jefferson in Boucicault's "Dot", an adaptation of Charles Dickens's "The Cricket on the Hearth".
Edmund O'Flaherty | 'William Stuart'
Extract from 'Nicholas Nickleby' "They groped their way through a dark passage, and, descending a step or two, threaded a little maze of canvas screens and paintpots, and emerged upon the stage of the Portsmouth Theatre. 'Here we are,' said Mr Crummles. It was not very light, but Nicholas found himself close to the first entrance on the prompt side, among bare walls, dusty scenes, mildewed clouds, heavily daubed draperies, and dirty floors. He looked about him; ceiling, pit, boxes, gallery, orchestra, fittings, and decorations of every kind,--all looked coarse, cold, gloomy, and wretched. 'Is this a theatre?' whispered Smike, in amazement; 'I thought it was a blaze of light and finery.' 'Why, so it is,' replied Nicholas, hardly less surprised; 'but not by day, Smike—not by day.' "
New Theatre Royal | Dickens and early theatre in Portsmouth
Johnston was born to John Moffat Johnston and Margaret Parke (Boyd). He was educated at Watson's School and the University of Edinburgh. He made his stage debut in 1905 at Theatre Royal, Manchester in Frank Benson's company and went on with them to perform more than 200 Shakespearean roles. In 1914 he toured with his own theatre company in Germany before the outbreak of World War I. During the war he was a Lieutenant of the 8th Sherwood Foresters. He returned to theatrical work after the war making his American debut in 1922 in the world premier of George Bernard Shaw's "Back to Methuselah".
Moffat Johnston | Career
On 5 May 1773, he produced at the Haymarket theatre an oratorio, 'Goliah' which failed disastrously, though it was afterwards repeated at West Wycombe on 13 Aug. 1775, on the occasion of the burial of the heart of Paul Whitehead in the mausoleum of Lord Le Despencer.
Luffman Atterbury | Introduction
Cruikshank, by now one of the leading theatre directors in Britain, became chairman in 1944 on the passing of Ernest Simons.
King's Theatre, Edinburgh | History of the theatre
In 1796 his address was given as 12, Mansfield Place, St. Georges Fields, London: by 1798 he had moved to 16, Charles Street, Covent Garden. After 1798 his address is given as Norwich or King's Lynn, sometimes with alternative London addresses provided.
James Sillett | Artistic career
Gibbon's Tennis Court was a building off Vere Street and Clare Market, near Lincoln's Inn Fields in London, England. Originally built as a real tennis court, it was used as a playhouse from 1660 to 1663, shortly after the English Restoration. As a theatre, it has been variously called the "Theatre Royal, Vere Street", the "Vere Street Theatre", or (as in Samuel Pepys' diary) simply "The Theatre". It was the first permanent home for Thomas Killigrew's King's Company and was the stage for some of the earliest appearances by professional actresses. The theatre was destroyed by fire in 1809. The London School of Economics, which covers most of Clare Market nowadays, retains some squash and real tennis courts in its older buildings.
Gibbon's Tennis Court | Introduction
From this time his reputation dwindled. Padreen Gar in "Giovanni in Ireland", Loney Mactwolter in the "Review", and other Irish parts were assigned him. After a time he practically forsook the stage and became a comic vocalist at city entertainments. About 1845 he retired on an annuity from the Drury Lane Theatrical Fund, and died at his house in Regent Street 30 March 1852.
Edward Fitzwilliam | Introduction
He was born in Australia in 1863 the son of actress Dolores Drummond who returned with acclaim to London in 1874. Sprague was an articled clerk for Frank Matcham for four years, then in 1880 was an articled clerk for Walter Emden for three years. He was in a partnership with Bertie Crewe until 1895. He went on to design a large number of theatres and music halls, almost all of them in London. At the height of his career he showed a productivity worthy of mentor Frank Matcham, producing six theatres in Westminster in less than four years. Unlike Matcham and Emden, Sprague studied architectural forms and conventions and used his knowledge in his designs, saying of himself that he "liked the Italian Renaissance" as a style for his frontages, but would take liberties when needed ""to get the best effects"" In 1902, the theatre newspaper "The Era" was describing him as ""Britain’s youngest theatrical designer, with more London houses to his credit than any other man in the same profession."" In 1898, William Morton, owner and manager of the Greenwich Theatre, commissioned Sprague to produced plans for a 3000-seat theatre to replace his existing theatre on a new site on London Street, but this was never followed through.
W. G. R. Sprague | Biography
After a year at the Westminster School of Art where his tutors included Walter Sickert he began to create a career for himself. He found an influential friend and supporter in the art critic Haldane MacFall and as an early commission executed illustrations for MacFall's essay on art and aesthetics entitled "The Splendid Wayfaring". Through MacFall he also gained an introduction to the Actor Manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, proprietor of His Majesty’s Theatre in Haymarket. Tree in turn, at MacFall’s instigation, commissioned him to supply the illustrations for "Thoughts and Afterthoughts", his volume of reminiscences and also gave him free run of his private suite in the theatre’s dome; Fraser began to get to know theatre people, and they him.
Claud Lovat Fraser | Early life
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. The tennis courts were not used exclusively for tennis. In 1653, seven years before it saw lawful use as a theatre, an underground production of Killigrew's "Claricilla" was planned for Gibbon's court. The production was broken up before it debuted, reportedly betrayed to the army by one of the actors. After the English Restoration in 1660, Charles II granted Letters Patent to two companies to perform "legitimate drama" in London: the Duke's Company under the patronage of the Duke of York, led by William Davenant, and the King's Company, led by Thomas Killigrew.
Gibbon's Tennis Court | Tennis-court theatres
Darbyshire admired the Gothic Revival style of Alfred Waterhouse but also designed in the neoclassical style. He is best known for his theatrical architecture. He designed Manchester's Gaiety Theatre and a theatre at Rawtenstall, and carried out alterations at Manchester's Theatre Royal and the Prince's theatres. In London he altered and decorated the Lyceum Theatre. Concerned by the danger of fire in theatres, he worked with the actor Henry Irving to develop the Irving-Darbyshire safety plan which consisted of isolating separate parts of the theatre and providing fireproof escape routes. He first implemented this plan when he rebuilt the theatre in Exeter which had been destroyed by a fire in 1887.
Alfred Darbyshire | Works
Shortly afterward he formed his own travelling company, the Sage Repertory Group, with £200 given to him by his mother and was joined by three other actors from Barnstaple. An advertisement in "The Stage" in 1949 offering actors no salary but a share of the profits was answered by John Osborne who joined the company in Ilfracombe. His company took their plays from village to village but enjoyed little success, they presented a summer residency at the Victoria Theatre on Hayling Island but this too was short-lived. Shortly after he collaborated on two plays with Osborne, the first "Personal Enemy" fell foul of the censors at the time, the second was "An Epitaph for George Dillon".
Anthony Creighton | Introduction
The Boar's Head Theatre was an inn-yard theatre in the Whitechapel area of London from 1598 to around 1616. It was based in the yard of the Boar's Head Inn. During its lifetime as a playhouse, it was home to the Earl of Derby's Men (summer 1599-summer 1601, summer 1602-March 1603), the Earl of Worcester's Men (summer 1601-summer 1602, April 1604–1605 or 1606), and Prince Charles's Men (summer 1609-March 1616); the historian Herbert Berry suggests that many other unidentified companies may have played there, as well.
Boar's Head Theatre | Introduction