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Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - Information & History

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is one of London's oldest and most famous Theatres still in existence today and still entertaining theatre goers every day. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is located in the Covent Garden area of London, facing onto Catherine Street and backing on to Drury Lane.

The History of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane goes well beyond all of the other West End Theatres, which mostly date from the late Victorian era, from 1880 onwards. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane stands in a time class of its own. The Theatre originally opened on its current location back in 1674, 332 years ago!! The Theatre Royal is without doubt the most famous English Theatre in the English Speaking world.

During the Puritanical parliamentarian decade reign of Oliver Cromwell's government, frivolous activities such as performing theatre had been banned, so the bustling population of London had been devoid of such light entertainment for over a decade. With the return of the monarchy with Charles II in 1660, there was a desperate need for entertainment to be restored for the enjoyment of the people and to relax tensions. The origins of the re-birth of London's theatre and of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane can be founded here.

The exact history of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane's creation can be traced back to 1660 when the Master of the Revels issued a permit, following a royal decree from King Charles II, to Thomas Killigrew and Sir William Davenant to "erect two companies of players" and to construct 2 houses or theatres to house them. One was known as the Kings Company, who occupied a site near the Drury Lane site at a Bridges Street, and the other was called the Dukes Company, who occupied the Lincoln Inn Fields location nearby. Thomas Killigrew and Sir William Davenant had the monopoly to create theatres and to perform legally in London to effectively create a monopoly for the production of so termed 'legitimate drama' which remained unchallenged right up to 1843.

Killigrew purchased from the Earl of Bedford a forty one years lease on a piece of ground in the parish of St Paul's Covent Garden and St Martin's-in-the-Fields. Whilst the theatre was being constructed 'the players' performed in a nearby temporary building in Bear Yard near Lincoln's Inn Fields. The first true performing location for the Kings Company was in Bridges street. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane cost about £1,500 to construct and its original size was 112 feet by 59 feet. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane finally opened its doors in 1663 with a comedy performance by Beaumont & Fletcher called 'The Humorous Lieutenant'. Samuel Pepys, the famous London diarists who recorded the plague and the great fire of London, recorded in his diary about the play as being "a silly play I think only the spirit in it grows very tall and then sinks again to nothing, having two heads breeding upon one, and then Knipp's singing did please us."

The Second Theatre Royal Drury Lane was built buy none other than Sir Christopher Wren the royal architect of St Paul's Cathedral and was opened in March 26th 1674. Here for many years the Actor Silvertone Betterton served his theatrical apprenticeship and remained a favourite at the Old Drury until his farewell in 1709.

It is said that the famous Nell Gwynne, who befriended King Charles II, used to sell oranges as a child from the pit in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane to the audiences and went on to actually perform on the stage at a tender age of only 15. Samuel Pepys also writes in his diary about meeting Nell Gwynne and that he enjoyed kissing Nell.

There have actually been 4 Theatres on the Drury Lane site, 1623, 1674, 1794 and finally 1812. The last building has stood the test of time, although much of the interior has been replaced, with a complete refurbishment, including some of the exterior, in 1922.

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is steeped in history and virtually any actor of note or fame has trodden the boards at the Theatre Royal. Names from the past, such as James Quin, Macklin and Peg Wolfington, Sarah Siddons, John and Charles Kemble and John Henderson to name but a few of the early actors. Colley Cibber was a manager and dramatist for 27 years. Then David Garrick, who was at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 1747 to 1776, restored the playing of Shakespeare at the Drury Lane, which had been neglected for many years prior.

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is without doubt the most important theatre in the UK and its history spans almost 350 years. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane was also renowned for attracting danger, with both Kings of England, George II and George III, escaping assassination attempts in the theatre. In 1800, when James Hadfield fired pistol shots towards the Kings royal box, narrowly missing King George III, and once Hadfield had been restrained and removed, the King regained his composure and instructed the performance to continue. The Orchestra were thankful to be covered by a cage which protected them from all manner of situations and objects.

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane was also the first venue in England in the early years of the 17th Century where women were first permitted to perform on stage. Prior to this all female parts were played by men dressing up, which is still a tradition carried on in pantomimes. It was very hard for females to gain the audience's respect and perhaps the most famous one would be Nell Gwynne, who developed her comedic skills at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane as well as selling fruit to the audiences. The entrance of Ms.Sarah Siddons, 100 years later in 1780 brought a degree of respect for women performers.

The current stage of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is huge, at 24 meters deep and the back stage is big enough to house the huge casts the theatre is famous for presenting.

There are back stage tours operated and accompanied by actors called 'Through the Stage Door', where the history of the Theatre Royal is brought to life from its original construction in 1663 thorough its numerous rebuilds, fires, tragedies, bankruptcy, famous actors and actresses, to the most famous murder and the incumbent ghost who occupies the Theatre Royal.

Tour Times -
Mondays 2.15 pm 4.45 pm
Tuesdays 2.15 pm 4.45 pm
Wednesdays 10.15 am 12.00 midday
Thursdays 2.15 pm 4.45 pm
Fridays 2.15 pm 4.45 pm
Saturdays 10.15 am 12.00 midday
Sundays (by appointment only)
Advance bookings
Tel: 020 7494 5091
Group Bookings: Tel: 020 7494 5454


The Theatre Royal Drury Lane took on numerous names, such as the 'Kings Playhouse'. King Charles II was a frequent visitor to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane during the 1660's and this is where it is alleged that the King first met the commoner and young bewitching stage entertainer Nell Gwynne with her voluptuous and openly exposed figure.

Samuel Pepys the London diarist recalls the opening of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and his diary entries recall the experiences of London, including attending the theatre on the second day after the theatre Royal opened, when Pepys attended the performance of Francis Beaumont & John Fletchers 'The Humorous Lieutenant'. His entry reads:

"The house is made with extraordinary good contrivance, and yet hath some faults, as the narrowness of the passages in and out of the Pitt, and the distance from the stage to the boxes, which I am confident cannot hear; but for all other things it is well, only, above all, the musique being below, and most of it sounding under the very stage, there is no hearing of the bases at all, nor very well of the trebles, which sure must be mended."

The performance usually started at 3pm to take advantage of the natural light, as the main floor of the building had no roof in order to let in the light. But, due to inclement weather, it was decided to build a glazed dome. However, this proved to be less than water proof, as Pepys writes in a diary entry, he and his wife had to flee the theatre during a hail storm which came through the poorly waterproof roof.

The Theatre Royal production company The Kings Company were forced to learn from their only competitor and more technically advanced The Dukes Company, which was performing in nearby alternative location Lincoln Inn Fields, where they had invented the moving scenery. The Kings Company under Killigrew were forced to commission the designer for the Dukes Company to recreate the same facility for the Theatre Royal, and a Proscenium Arch was created to form side wings so as to 'hide' the moving scenery and to facilitate easier scene changes. This was breaking ground for English Theatre, even though such concepts had been around for some time abroad.

For many years the London Theatres, including the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, had forestages which protruded into the audience as they used to do on Elizabethan Theatres 100 years before. This enabled the performers to come amongst the audience, bearing in mind there was no amplification so the performers really had to develop a good voice to make their performance heard throughout the theatre.

The main difference between the more experienced older actors of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and those at the Lincoln Inn Fields location, was that they preferred more monologue talk drama at the Theatre Royal, trying to out-smart the more graphical and dramatic scenery productions and visual effects at the Lincoln Inn Fields performances. It was in fact a battle of gaining the audiences. It is said that the battle between visual affect and contemporary theatre led to the development of English theatre as we know it in the desire for excellence in gaining and holding the audiences attention and inspiring them to stay with words rather than by use of visual stimuli.

Within a few years of opening, the Great Plague of London forced the closure of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the summer of 1665, along with all other public entertainment by order of the Mayor of London and it remained closed for 18 months until the plague had passed. A year later in 1666, the Great Fire of London struck. Fortunately the Theatre Royal Drury Lane survived, only to be burnt to the ground 6 years later in January 1672.

The second theatre that was constructed in 1674 following the fire was designed by the great London architect Sir Christopher Wren, on a much grander scale, which finally opened its doors on March 26th 1674. The new theatre was the first to be called Theatre Drury Lane and had a huge seating capacity of nearly 2,000. However the previous losses and constant investment sustained by Killigrews Company had forced them to sell more shares to raise capital and to increase ticket sales to compete with the Dukes Company from the new more expensive and more luxurious theatre. This new theatre was far more complex in its construction with 10 connected structures covering a total of 13,314 sq ft adjoining Drury Lane [East], Bridges Street [West], Great Russell Street [North] and Little Russell Street [South], containing a warren of offices, practice rooms and dressing rooms as well.

Seating costs were high for the period and divided into class. Box seats were used by nobility and wealthy gentry at 5 shillings [25p], the benches in the stalls pit where some gentry sat as well as scholars, critics, for 3 shillings [15p], Tradesmen and professionals occupied the first gallery costing 2 shillings [10p], while servants and the ordinary folk paid 1 shilling [5p] for the upper gallery furthest away from the stage. All seats were sold on a first come first served basis. The theatre's stage was 45' feet wide and 30' feet deep with a raked floor. The angle of the slope meant that an actor standing at the back of the stage was in fact 15 inches higher than the actor at the front. This gave the audience a clear view of all the Actors' faces.

Both the Kings Company and the Dukes Company struggled financially through many years, but in particular the political unrest of 1678-84 with the popish plot and the exclusion crisis, which distracted audiences away from light entertainment and thus reduced revenues for both companies. This affected the Kings Company so much so that it was forced to be merged into the Dukes Company in 1682 and renamed as the 'United Company' which chose the Theatre Royal Drury Lane as their preferred location, leaving the Lincoln Inn Fields venue.

The joint management of Davenant's and Killigrew's sons, who were now in charge, proved to be less than successful, as by 1693 the sons were forced to flee the country due to embezzlement charges. Eventually the Theatre Royal Drury Lane came into the hands of the pursuing lawyer Christopher Rich, who labelled both sons as nothing more than crooks. In an attempt to restore the indebtedness caused by the sons' fraudulent extravagance and waste, it was necessary for Rich to make cut backs, including actors' salaries. By 1695 the actors had had enough and eventually walked out to set up a cooperative on their own, including great names such as Elizabeth Barry and Anne Bracegirdle. A total of 16 main actors and actresses left the United Company thus crippling the company's ability to put on productions to attract the audiences.

This was almost the end for the Theatre Royal and it hung on by its finger tips with relatively young and inexperienced actors and actresses, and managed to survive until 1709 with Christopher Rich still at the helm. Finally the patent licences were revoked and another lawyer William Collier was given the right to stage performances at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, but by 1710 this had reverted to the actors' control.

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane managed to keep going through a series of managerial changes to 1737, when a change of theatre policy prevented footmen gaining free access to the theatre, which led to riots in the streets. It was following this event during 1747 that Charles Macklin rose to fame for his powerful performances as Shylock in a production of The Merchant of Venice, which brought audiences flocking back to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane once more. In 1775 the façade on Bridges Street gave the Theatre Royal Drury Lane it's very first on-street entrance, as previously the theatre was cloaked by buildings and accessed via alley ways and archways.

David Garrick who had previously worked under Macklin was the serving manager and lead actor of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane for a further decade until 1777. He is remembered as one of the finest stage actors associated with Shakespearian tradition which embraced and enhanced the popularity of Shakespeare as the heart and soul of English Theatre, with the Drury Lane as its home.

By the close of the 18th century a series of small spikes tracked the edge of the stage so as to prevent members of the audiences climbing onto the stage, which was sometimes a temptation for the audience and a nuisance for the actors. At the back of the stage a door was placed which opened on to Drury Lane itself. The prohibition of audiences being able to mount the stage also took place during Garricks reign which was yet another landmark in theatre rules and traditions.

The Third Theatre Royal Drury Lane was reconstructed in 1794, as the previous building had been in great need of refurbishment and was eventually demolished in 1791. The third theatre was huge, in fact it was too big, with a seating capacity of more than 3,600 spectators. It was a mistake, as it lost the closeness of performer and audience and the ambience was diluted and the theatre's warmth lost for ever. The stage was 83' feet wide and 92' feet deep and according to the Architect it was said to be the largest theatre in Europe and, except for churches, it was the tallest building in London.

The Actress Sarah Siddons was part of the new company and called it "a wilderness of a place", and finally left the company in 1803. After standing only 15 years, this gargantuan Theatre Royal Drury Lane was burnt to the ground in 1809. The financial loss ruined Sheridan the owner and he turned to his close friend Samuel Whitbread the brewer to help rebuild the theatre once more, which he did.

The latest and fourth re-building of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1812 was designed by Benjamin Wyatt on behalf of the committee led by Whitbread brewery and opened its doors on 10th October 1812 with a performance of Hamlet. The new theatre made attempts towards intimacy by reducing seating capacity to 3,060. Further structures were added over the years such as the Portico, which still stands at the entrance on Catherine Street, and in 1822 gas lighting was added. The Romanesque colonnade was added in 1831.

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane changed hands often throughout the remainder of the 19th Century and even ballet was staged there. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane had survived and finally entered the 20th century and managed, through innovative scenery and props, to keep the audiences coming back for more. The last major interior refurbishment took place in 1922 which reduced the seating capacity by a 1/3rd to a more respectable 2,200, still spread across 4 tiers. The composer and performer Ivor Novello presented musicals at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 1931 until 1939, when the Drury Lane theatre was temporarily closed due to the Second World War, when the theatre provided the headquarters for the Entertainments National Service Association, responsible for the nation's entertainment programmes to promote unity and entertainment. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane re-opened in 1946 with a production of Noel Coward's 'Pacific 1860'. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane staged numerous huge success post war performances, including the debut of Rogers and Hammerstein's 'Oklahoma' 1946, 'South Pacific' in 1951, 'The King and I' in 1953 and 'My Fair Lady' which enjoyed a 5 year run from 1958.

The current theatre is owned by the Really Useful Theatres, a division of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's companies. Recent long running performances of '42nd Street' and 'Miss Saigon' are all block busting productions staged at the most famous of English Theatre, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

This theatre is English Theatre Heritage with a legacy of tradition dating back to King Charles II in 1660 and is still today entertaining audiences from all over the world.

A final mention must be made about the ghosts that inhabit the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is said to be the World's most haunted theatre and the appearance of 5 ghosts are said to be frequent signals of a good luck omen for the actors and production. The most famous ghost is the 'Man in Grey' who appears dressed as a nobleman dating from the late 18th century fully dressed in hat and cape and wearing a sword. He is said to be the recurring vision of the skeletal remains of a knife stabbed murder victim that were found walled up in a passageway in 1848. The ghosts of former actors Joe Grimaldi and Charles Macklin are often seen wandering the corridors and back stage, the apparition of Charles Macklin is allegedly due to an incident where he argued with a fellow actor called Hallam and stabbed him accidentally in the left eye with his stick. Joe Grimaldi is a more mellow ghost that has often been seen as a helpful ghost purporting to assist and guide nervous actors on stage on a number of occasions at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane | Performances | Information | Directions | History

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