 |
 |
|
|
____________________________________________________________________________________________ Theatre Royals, Shakespeare Square and Broughton Street, Edinburgh, Scotland
|
||
|
Theatre Royal, Shakespeare Square, Edinburgh
Right - The Pre 1830 Shakespeare Square Theatre Royal, Edinburgh. The patent Theatre Royal opened in 1769 with the patentee, David Ross, as leading man, and here were given mainly plays from London with English actors in the chief roles. Among the distinguished visitors were the Yateses, the Barrys, Shuter, Samuel Foote, and, in 1781, John Kemble, whose brother Stephen controlled the theatre from 1791 to 1800. The family connexion with Edinburgh was continued by Henry, son of Mrs. Siddons, who was there from 1809 till his death in 1815, with his wife as his leading lady, and such visitors as Munden and the elder Mathews. From 1815 to 1850 the theatre was most successful, with an excellent stock company and visits from practically all the stars of the day. It was pulled down in 1859, Toole and Irving being members of its last stock company, and the General Post Office was built on the site. - The Oxford Companion to the Theatre - Phyllis Hartnoll - 1951. This website has much information and images from the first Theatre Royal Edinburgh. |
||
|
Theatre Royal, Broughton Street, Edinburgh Formerly Jones and Parkers Circus / Sadler's Wells / New Theatre Royal / Corri's Rooms / Pantheon / The Caledonian Theatre / Adelphi Theatre / The Queen's Theatre and Operetta House / Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Theatre Royal, Broughton Street, Edinburgh The Sadler's Wells Theatre was replaced by a concert hall in 1811, called Corri's rooms, after the owner Mr. Corri. This was later renamed the Pantheon and remained as a concert hall until 1815. Right - Programme for 'Oh! Susannah' at the fifth Theatre Royal, Edinburgh 1899 - Click to see the entire programme. After 1815 the building was known as the Caledonian Theatre and then in 1830 it was renamed The Adelphi Theatre but the building was destroyed by fire on the 23rd May 1853. The Adelphi Theatre was replaced by a new Theatre which opened as the Queen's Theatre and Opereta House on the 19th of December 1855, but this too succumbed to fire and another new and very elaborate Theatre was built on the site in 1857, this time by David Bryce, and named the Queen's Theatre and Opera House. The Royal Patent from the Theatre Royal, Shakespeare Square, Edinburgh was transferred to the Queen's Theatre in Broughton Street in 1859 after the Shakespeare Square Theatre was demolished. In 1865 the
Queen's Theatre was rebuilt again and renamed the Theatre Royal. Another
fire in 1876 destroyed this
Theatre too and yet another one was built, this time by the well known
Theatre architect, C. J. Phipps.
The Theatre Royal The Theatre Royal was again reconstructed in 1935 after yet another fire but this too was to be destroyed by fire in 1946 and it was demolished, this time never to be rebuilt again. M.L. Right - Horatio Lloyd's Newhaven Fishwife, as sung at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh. - Click to Enlarge. Horatio Lloyd is known to have performed at the Caledonian Theatre from Monday the 1st of October, 1832 and later at the Adelphi Theatre until 1848, and his son Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed at the Theatre Royal in July 1870, details of which are all below. |
||
|
Above - Burning of The fourth Theatre Royal, Edinburgh - From 'The Illustrated London News' 5th July 1884. |
||
|
The Adelphi Theatre from Horatio Lloyd's Autobiography 1856 As I have just mentioned the Adelphi, this may
be as good a place as any to give a brief glance at the history of that
house from 1830 down to the present
date. As the reader is aware, my first appearance of all in Edinburgh
was at the Caledonian Theatre, to the manager of which, Mr Bass, I had
brought a letter of introduction from my eccentric friend the agent,
Mr Smythson. Mr Bass having made a complete "burst up" of
it in 1830 - soon after I left
to go to Alexander in Glasgow - Mr Murray,
to prevent opposition, became the lessee of the house, and re-christened
it - "The Adelphi Theatre." In this speculation he was at
the outset joined by Mr Yates, of the London
Adelphi; but that gentleman retired at the end of the first season,
and Mr Murray remained sole lessee of this as well as the Theatre Royal,
until his retirement from the stage and from business in November 1851.
Mr R. H. Wyndham then became lessee, and continued so until the house
was burned down on 23rd May, 1853,
when he got the Theatre Royal. The Adelphi, having been rebuilt, got
into the hands of a Mr Black, a merchant of Leith, who opened it on
19th December, 1855, under
the name of "The Queen's Theatre and Operetta House." As,
however, he knew nothing of theatrical management, the result was that
he became bankrupt. Mr Wyndham then acquired the management, in addition
to carrying on the Royal. As the Queen's Theatre, it was twice destroyed
by fire during this gentleman's management - the last time being in
January 1865. The old theatre,
having been purchased by Government to make way for the new Post Office,
Mr Wyndham transferred the title and patent to the Queen's, which it
remained until it was again burned down, the fourth time, on 30th June,
1884, under the management
of Mr Hislop. On it being again re-built, the ownership came into the
hands of Mr H. Cecil Beryl, of the "Princess's
Theatre", Glasgow, in the beginning
of 1885. The Era - 17th July 1870 - MR. ARTHUR LLOYD has accomplished a feat never attempted by any other vocalist or public performer. He sang on Saturday last at the Canterbury Hall, Pavilion and Sun, at Knightsbridge. On Monday night he appeared at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, for the benefit of his father, Mr. Lloyd, the celebrated comedian, who has been so long connected with the Edinburgh and Glasgow Theatre. He was on the stage at Edinburgh at half-past nine o'clock Monday night and on Tuesday evening he was doing his turns at the various Halls, as usual, in London, thus appearing in Edinburgh and London within twenty-four hours and travelling a distance of over eight hundred miles, not having rested in a bed from Saturday till the Tuesday night. Mr. Arthur Lloyd felt that it was "something attempted, something done" and he had earned his nights repose. The Era 17th July 1870 EDINBURGH THEATRE ROYAL (Sub Lessees. Miss Rhodes and Mr. Fisher) Formosa, having enjoyed a run of three weeks’ duration, was withdrawn
from the boards of the Theatre Royal on Saturday (9th) and the performances
have since been of a varied nature. On Monday Mr.
Lloyd took his benefit and got
|
||
|
Excerpts from 'Life of an Actor' by Horatio Lloyd ...And now, dear friends, who have followed me thus far, I approach the commencement of the longest and pleasantest period of my professional life. A Londoner born and bred, it was fated that my career should be carried out in Scotland; and it is on that considerable portion of it constituted by the sixteen years I remained under Mr W. H. Murray, of the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, that I look back with the completest satisfaction. It was one morning at Dunlop Street that the prompter brought me a letter from the stage door. "Here's a letter for you from Edinburgh," he said; "and its Mr Murray's handwriting, I'm certain." This was on 24th August, 1832. The letter was from Mr Murray; and it contained the offer to me of an engagement at the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, for the first low-comedy," in room of Mr George Stanley, who was leaving. I was delighted at the chance; and yet I feared that my youth and inexperience in the profession would scarcely justify me in accepting such a responsible position as that proposed. For it must be born in mind that at this time in Edinburgh, theatre was looked upon as the first in the provinces, and the stepping-stone to London. I accordingly wrote to Mr Murray, stating the doubts that I had of my capability of filling the position he had been so kind as to offer me: and I also said that, having become a favourite in Glasgow, I feared to change certainty for an uncertainty. Two days later I received the following:- Edinburgh, 27th August, 1832 Upon receipt of this I regretted that I had written in a style to produce such a reply and possibly lost myself an opportunity I might never have again. I resolved to try and undo the mischief, if possible, and so wrote a reply stating that, having thought the matter well over, I was prepared to accept the engagement -merely hoping that he would not put me into any characters which Mr Stanley had made a special feature of. By return of post I received a note requesting me to forward a list of the parts I wished for and was willing to play and state my expectations as to terms. With this I was well pleased, and in reply sent a list of parts I wished to play, and a salary of £2 10s a week. Two days later there came to me the following:- Edinburgh, 1st September, 1832. I immediately replied, accepting the engagement. I felt proud to think I had so rapidly arrived at the top of the tree, and that, without encountering any-at all events, but few- of those harassing and disgusting experiences that young beginners have so often to come through. I can scarcely believe, when I think of my youth and inexperience at that time, how it came about that I should have attained such a position in a first-class theatre, and been called upon to take the place of a talented and favourite actor of 40 years like George Stanley. Such was the fact, however, and I made my first appearance on the boards of the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, on Monday, 1st October, 1832. I played the little part of Lopez in "The Honeymoon." I was exceedingly well received by the audience, and next morning had the further gratification of being complimented by my manager, who-let me say it here and at once-fully kept up his word with me in regard of promoting my professional interests in every way he could. In fact, his kindness was unbounded. He seemed proud of me, and treated me more like a son than a servant. As already stated, I remained under the banner of Mr Murray for the long period of 16 years-that is, in theatrical management, 32 seasons, winter and summer respectively-and, during all that time, never one angry word passed between us. Excerpts from 'Life of an Actor' by Horatio Lloyd, serialised in the Glasgow Weekly Herald 1886.
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
There
have been five Theatre Royals in 
