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Her Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket, London, SW1

Formerly Queen's Theatre / King's Theatre / His Majesty's Theatre / Italian Opera House

Above - Her Majesty's Theatre during the run of 'The Phantom Of The Opera' in October 2006.

Her Majesty's Theatre, opposite the Theatre Royal Haymarket, opened on the 28th of April 1897 with a play called 'Seats of the Mighty' by Gilbert Parker. Before the play an Inaugural Address was given by Mrs. Tree, whose husband, Beerbohm Tree, produced the play.

The present Her Majesty's Theatre is actually the fourth Theatre on the site, the first was the Queen's Theatre, named in honour of Queen Anne, which was built by Sir John Vanbrugh on land which was a former Stable Yard in the Haymarket. The land was bought at the considerable cost, considering the time, of £2000 and the Theatre opened under the management of William Congreve on the 9th of April 1705 with an opera called 'The Loves of Ergasto' by Giacomo Greber. The Theatre was not a success and was described as being better looking than it was functional, apparently the acoustics were terrible. The Theatre was later turned over to Italian Opera in 1709. It was here that Handel produced his first opera in England, 'Rinaldo' which was finally a success for this massive Theatre, and Handel went on to produce a number of operas there. After Queen Anne died the Theatre was renamed the King's Theatre, in 1714, and Handel continued successfully at the Theatre until 1734. The interior was remodeled in 1778 by the infamous Robert Adam, and then again in 1782, but less successfully, by Michael Novosielski. The Theatre burnt to the ground on the 17th of June 1789.

Right - The fourth and present Theatre when it was known as 'His Majesty's Theatre' from a postcard of 1902.

The second Theatre on a now enlarged site retained the former's name of King's Theatre. This Theatre was built by Michael Novosielski and opened on the 26th of March 1791 with a song and dance entertainment.

Left - Programme for 'The Gordian Knot' at His Majesty's Theatre during the Reign of Beerbohm Tree.

On opening it was the largest Theatre in England and thought of at the time as the most resplendent in the world. For three years until 1794 the Theatre was home to the Drury Lane Company whilst their Theatre was being rebuilt, (a Theatre which would itself burn down only a few years later.) The King's Theatre was reconstructed by John Nash and George Repton from 1816 to 1818 when the auditorium was remodeled with a new capacity of 2,500, a colonnade was added to the exterior, and the Royal Opera Arcade was added at the rear of the building. Despite the alterations the Theatre was not successful until 1830 when it became known as the Italian Opera House, and also became the place to visit, and to be be seen in, in London and was even mentioned in guide books. Indeed the Theatre became a social magnet for the elite of society. During this time the Theatre was home to Ballet and Opera. In 1837 the name was changed to His Majesty's Theatre, Italian Opera House, but the Italian Opera House part was dropped in 1847.

On May the 4th of that year the debut of an unknown actress sparked something of a sensation at the Theatre, her name was Jenny Lind and she was so successful that her period at the Theatre was later to become known as 'Lind Mania.'

Right - 'The Illustrated London News' August 26th 1848 reports on Jenny Lind at Her Majesty's Theatre. Click for more.

The Theatre's end came in 1867 when it was destroyed by fire in less than an hour, taking with it many of the shops in the adjoining 'Opera Arcade'.

The third Theatre on the site, and called Her Majesty's Theatre, was designed by Charles Lee and Sons and Pain, and was built by George Trollope and Sons, within the shell of the previously destroyed Theatre.

Building began in 1868 and was finished in 1869. The new Theatre had a capacity of 1,890 but remained empty until 1874 when it was bought for £31,000 and used for Revivalist Meetings.

The Theatre didn't finally open as a proper Theatre until the 28th of April 1877 when it opened with the opera 'Norma' by Bellini.

This was the Theatre in which the first performance of Bizet's 'Carmen' was staged, on June the 22nd of 1878, and in 1882 the first performance in England of 'The Ring' opened there. However even this Theatre was demolished in 1892 leaving the Royal Opera Arcade, designed by John Nash, still standing behind in its remains.

Right - Programme for 'The Merry Wives Of Windsor' at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1902, during the Reign of Beerbohm Tree.

The fourth and present Theatre

Above - An early postcard depicting the fourth Theatre on the site, here as it was renamed in 1902 to His Majesty's Theatre with the permission of Edward VII .

The fourth and present Theatre, also named Her Majesty's, was built by C. J. Phipps on part of the long vacant site of the third. Its foundation stone was laid on the 16th of July 1896, some four years after the last building was demolished. The rest of the previous Theatre's site was later to become The Carlton Hotel, a companion to the Theatre, and also designed by Phipps, but only completed after his death by Isaacs and Florence. The Carlton Hotel was eventually demolished to make way for the present and rather obtrusive New Zealand House next door.

Right - An advertisement for the Carlton Hotel - From a Programme for Her Majesty's Theatre in the 1930s.

Her Majesty's Theatre was built for Herbert Beerbohm Tree by C J Phipps and Romaine Walker at a cost of £55,000 and opened on the 28th of April 1897 with a capacity of approximately 1,319 on four levels, Stalls, Dress Circle, Upper Circle, and Gallery. The current capacity in 2006 is a more modest 1210. The stage was 34' wide by 45' 6" deep.

The manifest for this new theatre, reprinted in 'The Theatres Of London' by Mander and Mitchenson, said:

'On the ground floor, level with the street, will be found Orchestral Stalls, Pit Stalls and the Pit. The first floor will be devoted to the Dress Circle and Family Circle. The second tier consists of the Upper Circle, Amphitheatre and the Gallery behind.

The five doorways in the centre of the Haymarket facade underneath the loggia open into a vestibule exclusively for the use of the two classes of the Stalls and the Dress and Family Circles, and the Stalls have a third way out, level with the pavement in Charles Street.

Left - A Programme for 'Trilby' at Her Majesty's Theatre during the Reign of Beerbohm Tree.

Right - A Programme for 'King Henry VIII' at Her Majesty's Theatre during the Reign of Beerbohm Tree.

The style adopted for the auditorium of the theatre is Louis XIV. There are private boxes on each of the tiers adjoining the proscenium and separated from it and other parts of the auditorium by marble columns. The hangings are of cerise-coloured embroidered silk and the walls generally are covered with a paper of the same tone. The seating for Stalls, Dress and Family Circles is in arm chairs, covered with velvet the same colour as the curtains.The Tableau curtains are of velvet of a similar tone behind which is the Act Drop of tapestry copied from one of the Gobelin Tapestries now in Paris.

Left - Programme for 'The Ballad-Monger', 'Flodden Field' and 'The Man Who Was' at His Majesty's Theatre during the Reign of Beerbohm Tree.

The whole of the theatre and annexes are lighted by the Electric Light taken from three centres, so that should any one centre fail, the other systems are always available. Hanging from the ceiling is a cut glass and brass electrolier and brackets of Louis XIV style are fixed round the box fronts and on the side walls.'

Right - The Royal Opera Arcade, designed by John Nash, behind Her Majesty's Theatre in October 2006 - Photo M.L.

Her Majesty's Theatre was run for many years by Herbert Beerbohm Tree and very successfully too, with 'spectacular revivals of Shakespeare's plays' amongst many others. In1902 the Theatre changed its name to His Majesty's Theatre with the permission of Edward VII and in 1904, the year of Arthur Lloyd's death, Tree founded a school of dramatic art which was later to become the now famous RADA.

In 1911 a Gala was held at the Theatre in honour of the coronation of George V. In 1916 the Theatre staged the phenomenally successful 'Chu Chin Chow which opened on the 31st of August. This 'Musical Tale of the East,' as it was described at the time, ran for 2,238 performances, and became the longest running production in history until it was superseded by 'The Mousetrap' in 1958.

(The Mousetrap opened at the Ambassadors Theatre on the 25 November 1952 and transferred to the St. Martin's Theatre in 1974 where it is still going strong in 2006 despite being in its 54th year.)

Right - Programme for 'Drake' at His Majesty's Theatre in 1914.

Her Majesty's Theatre has had many other successes throughout the years, to mention them all here would be too much but just a few of them follow; 'The Co-Optimists' in 1925 and 1926; Noel Coward's 'Bitter Sweet' in 1929...

Left - Programme for Noel Coward's 'Operette' at His Majesty's Theatre in 1938.

Right - Programme for Noel Coward's 'Conversation Piece' at His Majesty's Theatre in 1934.

...Henry IV, part 1 in 1935; 'The Happy Hypocrite' with Ivor Novello and Vivien Leigh in 1936; 'The Merry Widow' in 1943; 'Irene' in 1945; 'Brigadoon' in 1949; 'West Side Story' from 1958 to 1961 ; 'The Pirates of Penzance' and 'H.M.S. Pinafore' in rep in 1962; 'The Right Honorable Gentleman' in 1964; 'Fiddler on the Roof' from 1967 to 1971 and 2,030 performances; 'Pippin' which wasn't a success but was much talked about in 1973; 'Hair' in 1975 when I worked at Her Majesty's myself on my first professional West End production; 'Bugsy Malone' in 1983; and of course 'The Phantom Of The Opera' which opened on the 9th of October 1986 and is still there in 2009, nearly twenty three years later!

Above - Her Majesty's Theatre during the run of 'The Phantom Of The Opera' which opened on the 9th of October 1986 and is still there in 2009, nearly twenty three years later! - Photo - M.L. October 2006.

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