Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. An earlier theatre also named the Royalty existed in Wells Street, Wellclose Square, London from 1787 until the early part of the nineteenth century.
The Royalty Theatre opened on May 25 1840 as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School, it had several names during the nineteenth century. It was The Royal Soho Theatre from January 1850, the New English Opera House from November 5 1850, and the Theatre Francais briefly in 1861. After considerable interior reconstruction, the theatre reopened as the New Royalty Theatre on November 12 1861.
In 1872, the theatre became know as the Royalty Theatre and retained this name (although it was occasionally known as the New Royalty Theatre). The theatre was managed by the singer-comedienne Kate Santley from c.1875 to c.1905. Many French opera-bouffes were played there during this time. Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial by Jury premiered on March 25 1875 at the Royalty Theatre together with Offenbach's La Périchole. The hit comedy, Charley's Aunt, played there beginning in 1892. There was further reconstruction in 1883 and again in 1895 and 1906. Henry Daniell starred as Bobby Gilmour in The Man from Toronto at the theatre in May 1918.
The theatre finally closed on November 25 1938. Although several schemes were considered for its rebuilding, the theatre soon became derelict and was damaged in the World War II Blitz. It was demolished in 1953 and an office building, Royalty House, was built on the site.
A modern Royalty Theatre was opened in the basement of an office block at Portugal Street near Aldwych in 1960. This was bought by the London School of Economics and renamed the Peacock Theatre in 1996. It is a lecture hall by day and a venue for the Saldler's Wells theatre company by night.
References
- Who's Who in the Theatre, edited by John Parker, tenth edition, revised, London, 1947, pps: 477-478.