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It was during the Edwardian Era that Shaftesbury Avenue became London's street of theatres. Up to then the Strand was the centre of theatreland. And, indeed, Shaftesbury Avenue, when the Edwardian days dawned, had only two theatres standing actually in it, the Lyric, built in 1888, and the (original) Shaftesbury, built in the same year, whilst the Palace, not actually facing into the Avenue, but into Cambridge Circus, went up in 1891.

The London Pavilion, abutting on the Avenue, faces Piccadilly Circus, and was a music hall anyway. So theatre history in the Avenue is new and has its roots in Edward's time. For during that time up went the Apollo, in 1901, the Globe, (now the Guilguid,) in 1906 and the Queen's in 1907. At the extreme northern end of the Avenue, the Prince's, now the (current) Shaftesbury, arose in 1911, almost at the end of the era.

Left - The Royal English Opera on its opening in 1891 - Courtesy Really Useful Theatres.

Shaftesbury Avenue was a different place in those days. It was - for a main thoroughfare - very new and shiny. It had an air of gaiety and brightness, and no definite category.

Left - The Palace Theatre in 2004 - M.L. Click for more exterior views.

Right - Palace Theatre seating plan - Click to Enlarge.

It was a mixture of flats, jewellers', dress-shops, pubs and theatres, mingled with offices mixed in for luck. But it housed the old Eccentric Club, before that gay mixture of the stage, bohemia and the racecourse moved into the more select quarter of St. James's. In Edwardian days the Avenue had more pubs than it has now. There was the 'Prince Rupert,' on the corner of that thoroughfare, which perpetuates that noble cavalier leader of cavalry charges and forlorn hopes. The 'Prince Rupert' did a big trade with the actors, and was a very cheery place indeed, with a predominance of crystal in its decorations.Upstairs there was a curious bar, more like a club lounge than a public drinking place, which was called 'Fitz's Bar,' and was run by Aubrey Fitzgerald, a well-known actor himself. This place was one of London's minor night-life sights, for the habitues were the remnants of the young men who, in the days of Oscar Wilde, had sported the Green Carnation. Both pub and bar have vanished to make room for a shop. And on the corner of' Great Windmill Street and the Avenue was 'The Avenue Buffet,' now a bank. This was a great place for professionals to lunch at, and also to have snacks. In its later days it was controlled by a man called Moss Vernon, who had started as a costumier, made a lot of money and who had some very good racehorses.

Right - Palace Theatre of Varieties programme for 1894, just two years after opening as a variety theatre. Click to see the entire programme.

Left - The opening night music cover for the Palace Theatre November 1892 - Courtesy PeoplePlay UK

You got good food at the Avenue. On one occasion, during some hectic dress rehearsals, R. C. McCleery, the scenic artist, went there with a friend. - Both were in a hurry. The friend got there first and ordered Irish stew with apple pudding to follow. McCleery soon arrived. He was a curious character, who took his work very seriously, and who was always talking in a tone of nasal, grumbling, sad complaint-not that he was a dismal soul, quite the reverse. It was just his manner. Nobody could paint trees like he could. He asked what his pal was having. He decided on the same. "Here, miss," he said to the waitress. "Bring me some Irish stew and apple pudding, and as I'm in a hurry, bring 'em both together on the same plate. They all go down the same way in the end. May as well do so in the beginning." He got this strange mixture, and ate it with every sign of enjoyment, going back to his rehearsal like a giant refreshed.

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