 Royal
Haymarket Theatre -
Built in 1720 by John Potter and called the Little
Theatre in the Haymarket, this theatre has witnessed
many dramatic events, and not always on the stage. Early
satires aimed at both political parties and the
Royal Family led to the censoring by the Lord
Chamberlain of all plays. At a Royal
Command performance in 1794 fifteen people were
crushed to death in a stampede, and in 1805 hundreds
of tailors protested at the staging of The
Tailors,
which was viewed as an affront to their craft. As
a result of alterations in 1800 the theatre boasted
the first picture-frame stage, and accompanied
by strong protests, orchestra stalls replaced
the pit, which had previously offered cheap seats
near the front. The present
interior is a result of refurbishment carried
out in 1905. Many great names in
theatre have appeared on the Theatre Royal's
stage, including: John
Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Ralph Richardson, Alec
Guinness, Claudette Colbert, Christopher Reeve,
Lauren Bacall, and Jack Lemmon and more recently
Dame Judi Dench. |
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