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Theatre Royal Haymarket

The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. 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. It is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888.[2] The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate.[3]

Not to be confused with Queen's Theatre at the Haymarket.

Address

Suffolk Street, Haymarket
London, SW1
United Kingdom

Access Entertainment[1]

888 on 4 levels

4 July 1821 (1821-07-04) (current structure)

1879: proscenium and removal of pit
1904: auditorium
1994: major refurbishment

1720–present

The Haymarket Theatre (Theatre Royal)

14 January 1970

The Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Its managers have included Benjamin Nottingham Webster, John Baldwin Buckstone, Squire Bancroft, Cyril Maude, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and John Sleeper Clarke, brother-in-law of John Wilkes Booth, who quit America after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Famous actors who débuted at the theatre included Robert William Elliston (1774–1831) and John Liston (1776–1846).

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History of the theatre[edit]

Origins and early years[edit]

The first Hay Market theatre was built in 1720 by John Potter,[4] carpenter, on the site of The King's Head Inn in the Haymarket and a shop in Suffolk Street kept by Isaac Bliburgh, a gunsmith, and known by the sign of the Cannon and Musket. It was the third public theatre opened in the West End. The theatre cost £1000 to build, with a further £500 expended on decorations, scenery and costumes. It opened on 29 December 1720, with a French play La Fille a la Morte, ou le Badeaut de Paris performed by a company later known as The French Comedians of His Grace the Duke of Montague.[5] Potter's speculation was known as The New French Theatre.[6] Its name was changed to Little Theatre in the Hay.[4]

Ainger, Michael (2002). Gilbert and Sullivan – A Dual Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  978-0-19-514769-8.

ISBN

Earl, John and Sell, Michael Guide to British Theatres 1750-1950, pp. 116 (Theatres Trust, 2000)  0-7136-5688-3

ISBN

Gater, Sir George and (ed): Survey of London, Vol XX, Greater London Council, London 1940

Walter H Godfrey

Gielgud, John, (ed Richard Mangan): Gielgud's Letters, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2004,  0-297-82989-0

ISBN

Goodman, Andrew: Gilbert and Sullivan's London, Spellmount Ltd, London, 1988,  0-946771-31-6

ISBN

Lesley, Cole: The Life of Noel Coward, Jonathan Cape, London, 1976,  0-224-01288-6

ISBN

Maude, Cyril and Ralph Maude. , E. P. Dutton, 1903

The Haymarket Theatre: Some Records & Reminiscences

Plantamura, Carol, The Opera Lover's Guide to Europe, New York: Citadel Press, 1996.  0-8065-1842-1

ISBN

Sinden, Donald: A Touch of the Memoirs, Futura, London 1983,  0-7088-2285-1

ISBN

Theatre History and Archive Material

Profile of the theatre and other Victorian theatres

Official website

Theatre shuts after ceiling fall (published 2004-05-17)

bbc.co.uk

The New York Times, 1 November 1879.

"Death of J.B. Buckstone; A Veteran Actor, Playwright, and Manager"