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The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772; the last was demolished in 1969, after a catastrophic fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was known as the Prince of Wales's Theatre (not to be confused with
Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...
).


Origins

The theatre began on this site as The New Rooms where concerts were performed, in Charlotte Street, in 1772, under the management of Francis Pasquali. Popularity, and royal patronage led to the building's enlargement by
James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...
, and its renaming as the King's Concert Rooms (1780–1786). It then became Rooms for Concerts of Ancient Music and Hyde's Rooms (1786–1802), managed by ''The Directors of Concerts and Ancient Music''. In 1802, a private theatre club managed by Captain Caulfield, the ''"Pic-Nics"'', occupied the building and named it the Cognoscenti Theatre (1802–1808). It became the New Theatre (1808–1815) and was extended and fitted out as a public theatre, with a portico entrance on Tottenham Street. It opened on 23 April 1810 with ''Love in a Village''. It continued under a succession of managers as the unsuccessful Regency Theatre (1815–1820), falling into decline. The theatre then reopened as the West London Theatre (1820–1831), Queen's Theatre (1831–1833, 1835–1837, and 1839–1865), and Fitzroy Theatre (1833–1835). The lessee of the theatre from 1839 to 1865 was a scenic artist, Charles James James, and the theatre became the home of lurid
melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...
, being nicknamed ''The Dusthole''.University of Kent, Scala Theatre
accessed 12 Mar 2007


Prince of Wales's Royal Theatre 1865–1882

In 1865, the theatre was renovated and named the Prince of Wales's Royal Theatre and this continued until it went dark in 1882. It was demolished in 1903. In 1865, in partnership with Henry Byron, Marie Wilton assumed the management of the theatre, having secured as a leading actor Squire Bancroft. He starred in J. P. Wooler's ''A Winning Hazard'', among other works. Wilton provided the capital, and Byron wrote a number of plays. His first was a burlesque of '' La sonnambula''. However, Wilton wanted to present more sophisticated pieces. She agreed to produce three more burlesques by Byron, while he agreed to write his first prose comedies, ''War to the Knife'' (a success in 1865) and ''A Hundred Thousand Pounds'' (1866). By 1867, Byron left the partnership. The house soon became noted for the successful domestic drama-comedies by
Thomas William Robertson Thomas William Robertson (9 January 1829 – 3 February 1871) was an English dramatist and stage director known for his development of Naturalism (theatre), naturalism in British theatre. Born to a theatrical family, Robertson began as an acto ...
, including his series of groundbreaking realist plays, ''
Society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...
'' (1865), ''Ours'' (1866), ''
Caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
'' (1867), ''Play'' (1868), ''School'' (1869), and ''M.P.'' (1870). In 1867, Wilton married Squire Bancroft and took his surname as Mrs. Effie Bancroft and regularly took the principal female parts in these pieces opposite her husband. Other plays were W. S. Gilbert's ''Allow Me To Explain'' (1867; this ran as a companion piece to Robertson's ''Caste'') and '' Sweethearts'' (1874), as well as ''Tame Cats'' (1868), Lytton's ''Money'' (1872), '' The School for Scandal'' (1874), a revival of Boucicault's ''
London Assurance ''London Assurance'' (originally entitled ''Out of Town'') is a five-act comedy co-authored by Dion Boucicault and John Brougham. While the play was collaboratively written by both playwrights, after the play's initial premiere Broughman, who o ...
'' (1877), and ''
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'' ( Clement Scott's 1878 adaptation of Sardou's ''Dora''). A number of prominent actors played at the theatre during this period, among them John Hare, Charles Coghlan, the Kendals, and
Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry (27 February 184721 July 1928) was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured ...
. A big success in 1881 was F. C. Burnand's '' The Colonel'', which went on to run for 550 performances, transferring to the Imperial Theatre. In 1882, the theatre went dark, and from 1886 the theatre buildings were used as a
Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
Hostel, until it was demolished in 1903. Another theatre near Leicester Square, London, began to use the name
Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...
in 1886.


Scala Theatre 1905–1969

In 1903, Dr. Edmund Distin Maddick bought the property, and adjoining properties, and enlarged the site. The main entrance was now in Charlotte Street, and the old portico in Tottenham Street became the stage door. The new theatre, designed by Frank Verity, opened in 1905, as The Scala Theatre, seating 1,139 and boasting a large stage. The new venture was not particularly successful and became a cinema, from 1911 to 1918, run by Charles Urban, who regularly showed Kinemacolor films there. In 1918, F. J. Nettlefold took over and ran the premises as a theatre again. It became known as the New Scala in 1923, with D. A. Abrahams as licensee for staging plays and showing films; he became owner in 1925. Amateur productions and pantomimes were performed, and for a while the theatre became home to the Gang Show. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, it again housed professional theatre, reverting to the ''Scala Theatre''. After the war, under the management of Prince Littler, amateur productions returned, with ''
Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...
'' being the annual pantomime. This continued until 1969 when, after a fire, it was demolished for the building of offices, known as Scala House (25 Tottenham Street). In 1964, the theatre was used by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
for the concert sequences in the film '' A Hard Day's Night''.


Cinema (1976–1980)

The Other Cinema opened in October 1976 in the basement of Scala House; it showed avant-garde films and closed in February 1977. The premises reopened as Scala Cinema in June 1978. It showed a daily programme of films. In 1980, the Scala House was taken over by
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
television, and in 1981 the former Odeon King's Cross cinema in Pentonville Road was renamed Scala Cinema.


References


Further reading

*Baker, Henry Barton. ''History of the London stage and its famous players (1576-1903)''. London: Routledge, 1904. *Howard, Diana. ''London Theatres and Music Halls 1850-1950''. London: The Library Association, 1970. *Leacroft, Richard. ''The Development of the English Playhouse''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1976. *Mander, Raymond & Mitchenson, Joe. ''The Lost Theatres of London''. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company: 1968. *Mander, Raymond & Mitchenson, Joe. ''The Theatres of London''. London: Harvest, 1963


External links


Scala Theatre
at the Arthur Lloyd website

at the
University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

Scala Theatre
an

at the
University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...
theatre collection {{Authority control Theatres completed in 1772 1905 establishments in England 1969 disestablishments Former theatres in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden Fitzrovia