The Norwich Theatre Circuit was a prominent network of theatrical venues in East Anglia established in the eighteenth century. It remained one of the foremost institutions of provincial theatre in England until the mid nineteenth century. Aside from

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, the circuit also included

Kings Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

, Great Yarmouth,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, Bury St Edmunds,

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

and

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

. The

Norwich Company of Comedians The Norwich Company of Comedians was an acting company based in Norwich, East Anglia, during the 18th and 19th centuries. They used to perform on what was known as the Norwich Theatre Circuit, which consisted of an annual tour of six theatres. Th ...

was for many years the principal troupe to use the circuit. They carried their costumes, scenery and musical instruments from venue to venue. At each location they would spend six to eight weeks generally timed to coincide with a special event in the town. From 1786 for and initial 7 year contract the circuit was leased by John Brunton until, in 1799, William Wilkins – who had been an investor since 1768 – took over running the business.

References

{{reflist 18th-century theatre 19th-century theatre History of East Anglia