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The Royal Globe Theatre, Newcastle Street, London

Also known as - The Globe Theatre

Above - A Programme for 'Bootles' Baby' at the Globe Theatre on May the 8th 1888 - Click for details.

The Globe Theatre on Newcastle Street, London is not to be confused with Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the South Bank, or the Globe Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, which is now called the Gielgud Theatre.

Old and New London, published in 1897, writes about the old Globe Theatre, Newcastle Street thus: 'The property of "Lyons Inn" was sold about the Year 1863, and on its site now stand two theatres, the Globe," as if in memory of Shakespeare's theatre and the "Opera Comique."

Right - Programme for 'The Glass Of Fashion' at The Royal Globe Theatre - Monday 26th November, 1883.

The Globe Theatre which covers its western portion, was built and opened in 1868. It has a narrow frontage in Newcastle Street. On this site the Architectural Association had its first home. The theatre was built from the instructions of Mr. Sefton Parry, the proprietor, and will seat 1,500 persons. The auditorium is effectively decorated in relief, and has a domed ceiling, with a sunlight in the centre. The site having been excavated very considerably for the proposed hotel, the floor of the pit has been made many feet below the line of the street, and is approached by a steep flight of steps from Wych Street. In Wych Street also are the entrances to the gallery stairs, and that to the "royal box." The ordinary boxes are entered from Newcastle Street, and are on a level with the street, so that stairs are avoided. Here, too, enter the occupants of the stalls. The seats are all fairly commodious, and conveniently placed, so that all that is passing on the stage can be distinctly seen and heard from any part of the house. The house opened with Mr. H. J. Byron's comedy of "Cyril's Success," which in itself proved a great success from a financial point of view.'

Text in quotes above from 'Old And New London' 1897

Left - Programme for 'The Pickpocket' at The Royal Globe Theatre - Sunday 27th November, 1886.

The Globe Theatre was demolished when London's Aldwych, named after the Old Wych Street, was constructed. This vast operation began in the last years of the nineteenth century and was not finally completed until after the First World War. Four theatres were demolished during the early stages of the work. The Olympic Theatre in Wych Street and the Opera Comique in the Strand were closed in 1899, the Globe Theatre in Newcastle Street shut its doors in 1902. This was followed by the closure of the Gaiety Theatre in the Strand in June of the same year.

Above - Detail from a Programme for 'Bootles' Baby' at the Globe Theatre on May the 8th 1888