The Theatre Royal, Marylebone (also known as the Marylebone Theatre, among other names) was a

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

theatre in the

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...

area of London. Built in 1831, at various other times it was a music hall, a

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

and

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

until it was damaged by fire in 1962, when it was demolished.

Early history

Over the course of its history the theatre had many names and many owners. Located on Church Street in Marylebone, it opened in 1831 as the Royal Sussex Theatre. Built at a cost of about £9,000 by Messrs Ward, Eggerton, and Abbott, the theatre's foundation stone was laid on 17 May 1831 but by the following year it was refused a performing licence as being 'unfinished'. Despite this setback it reopened in 1832 as the unlicensed Royal Pavilion Theatre for performances of 'crude melodrama and comic songs'. In 1833 the still unfinished theatre was renamed the Portman Theatre but following its owner's bankruptcy it was put up for auction in July 1833. In its early years the theatre was a cheap venue or "penny gaffe" for the working classes which put on crude melodramas while in 1835 it was raided by the police and was under threat of closure by the local magistrates. The Portman Theatre was renovated and improved in 1837 following which it was renamed as the Marylebone Theatre.

Royal Marylebone Theatre

On 13 November 1837, the theatre officially opened as the Royal Marylebone Theatre, under the management of Arthur Walker Hyde, the first of proprietor John Loveridge's many tenants. Hyde was a disciplinarian. A printed list of Rules and Regulations, 26 in all, with accompanying fines if disregarded, was posted in the theatre. Charles Zachary Barnett's early

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

adaptation, the three-act

burletta In theater and music history, a burletta (Italian, meaning "little joke", sometimes burla or burlettina) is a brief comic opera. In eighteenth-century Italy, a burletta was the comic intermezzo between the acts of an ''opera seria''. The extended ...

''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', opened at the theatre on 21 May 1838.Theatres in Victorian London - Victorian Web
/ref> It was only the second stage production of the work: Dickens had not yet completed the novel. Hyde left the Royal Marylebone Theatre on 1 September 1838.

Theatre Royal, Marylebone

The theatre was relaunched under the management of John Douglass as the Theatre Royal, Marylebone with a production of the drama ''The Saxon Maid; or The Days of William the Conqueror'', followed by the farce ''Tea With My Aunt'' and finishing the evening with ''Passion And Repentance''. Later performances included Shakespeare's '' Richard III'' and ''

The Cricket on the Hearth ''The Cricket on the Hearth: A Fairy Tale of Home'' is a novella by Charles Dickens, published by Bradbury and Evans, and released 20 December 1845 with illustrations by Daniel Maclise, John Leech, Richard Doyle, Clarkson Stanfield and Edwin ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

, who at the time was living nearby in Tavistock House in Devonshire Terrace.Theatre Royal, Marylebone - Church Street Memories website
/ref> Under Douglass the theatre could seat about 2,500 patrons and was quite successful. He put on melodramas and

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s until he retired in 1847.The West London Theatre, Church Street, London - Arthur Lloyd.co.uk: The Music Hall and Theatre History Site dedicated to Arthur Lloyd, 1839-1904
/ref>

Marylebone Theatre

In 1847 the

actor-manager An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the business, sometimes taking over a theatre to perform select plays in which they usually star. It is a method of theatrical production used co ...

Mary Warner retired from the management of Sadler's Wells Theatre and took on that of the Marylebone Theatre where she tried to stage

legitimate theatre Legitimate theatre is live performance that relies almost entirely on diegetic elements, with actors performing through speech and natural movement.Joyce M. Hawkins and Robert Allen, eds. "Legitimate" entry. ''The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dict ...

, opening on 30 September 1847 with ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some crit ...

'' with Warner herself playing Hermione. She took on parts such as Julia in '' The Hunchback'' (Knowles), Lady Teazle, and Lady Townley in ''

The Provoked Husband ''The Provoked Husband'' is a 1728 comedy play by the British writer and actor Colley Cibber, based on a fragment of play written by John Vanbrugh. It is also known by the longer title ''The Provok'd Husband: or, a Journey to London''. Vanbrugh ...

'' ( John Vanburgh and

Colley Cibber Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757) was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir ''Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber'' (1740) describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling ...

) for which her years began to disqualify her. She revived in November ''

The Scornful Lady ''The Scornful Lady'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a comedy written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, and first published in 1616, the year of Beaumont's death. It was one of the pair's most popular, often revived, and frequently reprint ...

'', adapted by Serle, playing in it the Lady; and in 1848 ''Lucille'' and '' The Double Marriage'', the latter again in Serle's adaptation. In 1847 Martha Cranmer Oliver made her London début at the Theatre Royal,Obituary, ''The Era'', 1 January 1881, p. 8 which was the same year the actress Sarah West made her last appearance at the theatre before retiring. Warner's period of management at the Marylebone Theatre was not a success and she was succeeded by Edward Tyrrel Smith (1850–1852), and J. W. Wallack (1853–1857) in joint management with William Shaftoe Robertson, the father of

Madge Kendal Dame Madge Kendal, (born Margaret Shafto Robertson; 15 March 1848 – 14 September 1935) was an English actress of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, best known for her roles in Shakespeare and English comedies. Together with her husband, W. ...

. They similarly failed to make the Marylebone a success. Lucille Marylebone Theatre 1848

In 1854, during her father William Robertson's joint-management of the theatre, the 6 year-old

made her stage debut as Marie in the drama '' ''The Struggle for Gold and the Orphan of the Frozen Sea'' by Edward Stirling which had a scene of a Danish vessel breaking up on sea ice.Brown, T. Allston
A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 ..., Volume 2
pp. 128-29 (1902) In 1857 the actor

Samuel Anderson Emery Samuel "Sam" Anderson Emery (1814–1881) was an English stage actor, the father of the actress Winifred Emery and grandfather of the actress Margery Maude and the judge John Cyril Maude. Early life The son of John Emery, he was born in Hyde ...

was briefly the manager, being succeeded in 1858 by Joseph Arnold Cave, who had performed there as a boy; while he remained for some years he was no more successful than his predecessors. In 1862 the musician Arthur Lloyd appeared at the theatre. In 1864 the theatre was rebuilt and enlarged while in 1868 under the management of Amy Sedgwick it was renamed the Royal Alfred Theatre in honour of

Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh Alfred (Alfred Ernest Albert; 6 August 184430 July 1900) was the sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893 to 1900. He was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was known as the Duke of Edinburgh from 1 ...

. In 1869 Sedgwick directed herself in the play ''Pindee Singh, the Pearl of Oude'' by C. H. Stephenson but unfortunately the play was not a success. By 1873 the theatre was once again known as the Marylebone Theatre when it began staging melodramas once again.

West London Theatre of Varieties

From Easter 1871 to Easter 1872 actor Charles Harcourt was lessee of the theatre. Over the years the theatre put on

s and melodramas, to suit the taste for such entertainments at that time, when it became known as "the home of East London theatre in the West". By December 1892 when

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

became popular the Theatre Royal underwent renovation and began operating as the West London Theatre of Varieties in order to take financial advantage of the then fashion for music hall. The theatre reopened in April 1893 with a performance lasting about five hours and which included

Charles Coborn Colin Whitton McCallum (4 August 1852 – 23 November 1945), known by his stage name Charles Coborn, was a British music hall singer and comedian. In a long career, Coborn was known largely for two comic songs: "Two Lovely Black Eyes", and " T ...

in the drama ''Brought to Bay''; a racing piece called ''Terry; or, True to his Trust''; ''The Clue'' performed by the Collinson combination, and a 'Negro Farce' performed by Rice, Melrose, Davis, and Co. '' The Era'' wrote of the evening:- "Comedians in galore were there. Ryland and Golden and

R. G. Knowles Richard George Knowles (October 7, 1858 – January 1, 1919) was a Canadian-American singer and comedian, who was successful in the British music halls and internationally in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, billed as "The Very Peculia ...

excelled in American wit, while the Brothers Griffiths, the Brothers Poluski,

Gus Elen Ernest Augustus Elen (22 July 1862 – 17 February 1940) was an English music hall singer and comedian. He achieved success from 1891, performing cockney songs including "Arf a Pint of Ale", "It's a Great Big Shame", "Down the Road" and "If It ...

,Cullen, Frank. ''Vaudeville Old & New: an Encyclopedia of Variety performances'', Elen Gus, Volume 1, pg 351 – 354 Pat Rafferty, and Edgar Granville represented some of the many phases of English and Irish humour. Among the ladies Miss Kate James, soubrette; Miss

Nellie Navette Nellie Navette (1865–3 August 1936) was a well-known British music hall Comedy drama, serio-comic performer of the late Victorian era. Famous as a pantomime Principal boy, comedienne, dancer and singer, she made frequent appearances at such ...

, danseuse; Miss Ethel Buchanan and Miss Clara Bell, ballad singers, were particular favourites, and the volunteers for the stage on Saturday night also included Arthur Thomas, Sisters Palmer, Jessie Wild, Medley, Jesmond Dene, Charles Vincent, the Tortajados troupe, Jessie Prince, Dora Fielding, Harry Walton, Rosie Sylvester, Sisters Idris, Norris and Delmont, Daisy De Roy, Arthur Stevens, Mark Antony, Aubyn and Allen, Daisy May, Mr Melville, and Jessie Wynn.'

Final years

In 1895 the theatre underwent another name change when it reverted to being the Royal West London Theatre where it continued to show variety acts until 1910, when it converted to a

. In 1932 it became the West London Cinema, being owned by the New Biograph Trading Company and known as the 'Bug Hole' by locals. In 1941 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the building was damaged by bombs and the cinema finally closed in 1945 after which the building was used as a warehouse. The building burned down in 1962 and was demolished. A parade of shops with flats above stands on the site today with a

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pl ...

marking the former connection with the theatre.Plaque: Theatre Royal Marylebone - London Remembers website
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Royal, Marylebone Marylebone Former theatres in London Theatres completed in 1831 1941 disestablishments in England Buildings and structures demolished in 1962 Demolished buildings and structures in London 1832 establishments in England