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Theatre Royal, Haymarket |
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Theatre
Royal, Haymarket |
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Theatre Royal,
Haymarket |
Currently showing:
A Man For All Seasons |
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The Theatre Royal Haymarket
or Haymarket Theatre is a theatre on The Haymarket in
London which dates back to 1720. The original building
was a little further north in the same street. It has
been at its current location since 1821, when it was
redesigned by John Nash.
The Haymarket has been the site of a couple of
significant innovations in theatre. In 1873, it was the
venue for the first scheduled matinée performance,
establishing a custom soon followed in theatres
everywhere. Six years later, its auditorium was
reconstructed and the stage was enclosed in the first
use of the picture frame proscenium.
Its managers have included Squire Bancroft, John Baldwin
Buckstone, Cyril Maude, and Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Its
current capacity is 888.
History
Its first major success was a 1729 production of Samuel
Johnson's Hurlothrumbo, or The Supernatural, which ran
for 80 nights -- a record surpassing John Gay's The
Beggar's Opera and not to be matched until The Dragon of
Wantley. In the 1720's, the Haymarket was an alternative
to the patent theatres in every sense. When there was an
actor's revolt at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1719, for
example, the actors walked out to go to the Haymarket.
They returned when they won their demands. In the eight
to ten years before the Licensing Act of 1737, the
Haymarket was an alternative to John Rich's Covent
Garden theatre and the opera-dominated Drury Lane. In
particular, it was an alternative to the pantomime and
special-effects dominated stages, and it presented
opposition (Tory) satire. Hurlothrumbo was just one play
in that series of anti-Walpolean satires. Henry Fielding
staged his plays at the Haymarket, and so did Henry
Carey. Hurlothrumbo would be followed by Tom Thumb, The
Dragon of Wantley, Pasquin and others. Additionally,
refugees from Drury Lane's and Covent Gardens's internal
struggles would show up at the Haymarket, and thus
Charlotte Charke would act there in a parody of her
father, Colley Cibber, one of the owners and managers of
Drury Lane. The Theatrical Licensing Act, however, put
an end to the anti-ministry satires, and it all but
entirely shut down the theatre.
In 1862, the theatre was host to a 400-night run of Our
American Cousin, with Edward Southern as Lord Dundreary.
The play's success brought the word "dreary" into common
use.
Stage and proscenium
John Gielgud produced a 1939 repertory season, including
Maugham's The Circle, Congreve's Love for Love, and
Shakespeare's Hamlet.
In 1893, Oscar Wilde premiered A Woman of No Importance,
his first comedy, at the Haymarket. The play returned
for a 2003 production directed by Adrian Noble and
starring Rupert Graves, Samantha Bond, Prunella Scales
and Rachael Stirling.
The theatre underwent a major refurbishment in 1994. In
May 2004 it closed for two nights after bits of the
ceiling fell down during a performance. About 13 people
suffered mainly cuts and bruises when plaster fell into
the auditorium during the "When Harry Met Sally..."
Show. Since then, the theatre has played host to a
short-lived run of Becket directed by John Caird
followed in January 2005 by the world premiere of
Victoria Wood's new musical Acorn Antiques - based upon
the TV series of the same name. This starred Julie
Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Neil Morrissey,
Sally Ann Triplett and Josie Lawrence and ran until 21
May 2005. The Genius Of Ray Charles - a new American
musical followed in the Summer of 2005 running for eight
weeks to 13 August 2005. More recently, Bill Kenwright's
new production of A Few Good Men played to packed houses
starring Rob Lowe, Suranne Jones, John Barrowman and
Jack Ellis. Bringing us up to the present day, the
theatre is currently hosting Bill Kenwright's A Man For
All Seasons starring Martin Shaw.
Judi Dench is set to return to the theatre in April 2006
with a new production of Hayfever. |
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Theatre
Royal, Haymarket seating plan |
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