Strand Theater (London)

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The Strand Theater is a former theater in the City of Westminster in London , which was housed in several buildings: the first was converted into a theater in 1832, the last built in 1882. In 1905 the theater at Aldwych station had to give way to the underground.

history

In 1801 Thomas Edward Barker built a panorama , then a popular media attraction, at the address 168/169 Strand . In 1832, the building was converted into a theater in seven weeks, initially called Rayner's New Subscription Theater .

In November 1832 it had to close due to a lack of success, but was reopened as The New Strand Theater in 1833 by Fanny Kelly . A drama school was also located in this place. Because the theater had no license and therefore was not allowed to operate a box office (which was circumvented by selling tickets in neighboring shops), it ran into difficulties with the privileged patent theaters and was closed in 1835. Now, with official permission, it was structurally expanded in 1836 and reopened under the direction of Douglas William Jerrold . In 1850 it was called the Strand Theater and in 1851 it was renamed Punch's Playhouse and Marionette Theater by William Robert Copeland .

After a renovation by William Swanborough, the building was reopened on April 5, 1858 as the Royal Strand Theater and successfully played with pantomimes , antics and melodramas . After a fire in 1866, the theater was rebuilt. The famous British theater character Widow Twankey , played by James Rogers in Lord Byron's play Alladin , first appeared here in 1861. The theater was the venue for Victorian burlesque and operettas such as Jacques Offenbach's successful play Madame Favart .

Due to insufficient fire protection, the building was closed in 1882, the theater was rebuilt and opened on November 18th. Early variants of musical comedy have now been performed here.

The beach had become a slum since the end of the 18th century and still had narrow medieval streets that were unsuitable for modern traffic. The London County Council started a general renovation in 1901, which also included the new subway. In 1905, despite protests by actors, the theater owners were expropriated to make room for the Aldwych underground station.

literature

  • John Earl, Michael Sell: Guide to British Theaters 1750-1950 , London: Theaters Trust 2000. ISBN 0-7136-5688-3
  • Jane W. Stedman: WS Gilbert, A Classic Victorian & His Theater, Oxford University Press 1996. ISBN 0-19-816174-3

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Hadley: From Stage to Platform: The Metamorphosis of the Strand Theater 1830-1905 , London Passenger Transport 1984, No. 12 April, pp. 588-593
  2. ↑ Lee, Amy Wai Sum. Henry J. Byron  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Hong Kong Baptist University@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / whaleyween.com  
  3. ↑ Royal Strand Theater, Aldwych (Arthur Lloyd Theater history) accessed April 11, 2012