Theatre Royal Haymarket - History
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is located in Haymarket, London. Its nearest underground stations are Charing Cross and Piccadilly Circus and its nearest train station in Charing Cross.
Dating back to 1720, the Theatre Royal Haymarket has a long, rich history that includes successful plays as well as the moving of the entire venue to a new location, albeit one just a little bit down the street. As a result the theatre was originally known as The First Haymarket Theatre or Little Theatre (with design by John Potter). Upon opening the French play La Fille a la Morte, ou le Badeaut de Paris appeared under the company that went on to be known as ‘The French Comedians Of His Grace The Duke Of Montague’.
The first big success there was the production of Samuel Johnson’s Hurlothrumbo (The Supernatural), which was part of a number of plays that mocked the Tory party of the time. Other anti-Walpolean satires included Tom Thumb, The Dragon of Wantley and Pasquin amongst others. The Theatre Royal stood out at the time as an alternative to the other London theatres that offered pantomimes and fancy effects. This often made it competition to Covent Garden Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, particularly when, during the actor’s revolt in 1719, the actors ventured over to the Haymarket. The Theatre Licensing Act of 1737 put a stop to this though, and it nearly removed the theatre from existence.
In 1821, the theatre moved to its new location and was redesigned by John Nash. It has remained in this spot to this day and since then has been part of major renovations in the way people viewed theatre. It also managed to help in bringing a new word into the English lexicon when Our American Cousin, starring Edward Southern as Lord Dundreary brought the word ‘dreary’ into common usage. In 1873, the first ever schedule matinee performance took place, which was a renovation in the way that theatres carried out customs, and soon enough other theatres were following their lead. 1893 brought with it the premiere of Oscar Wilde’s A Woman Of No Importance, the first comedy from the famous English writer.
The twentieth century then arrived and continued the success of the venue, including John Gielgud’s repertory season with Maughum’s The Circle, Congreve’s Love For Love and Shakespeare’s Hamlet in 1939. This was followed by his production of The Beggar’s Opera in 1940.
The theatre was closed for renovations in 1994 and subsequently reopened with An Evening With Peter Ustinov and Arcadia. In 2004 further repair work was required when part of the ceiling’s plaster fell in the auditorium, causing minor injuries during a showing of When Harry Met Sally... This was followed by Becket (2004) and Acorn Antiques (2005), with Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, Duncan Preston, Neil Morrissey, Sally Ann Triplett and Josie Lawrence. Today’s most recent productions are Girl With A Pearl Earring (2008), Treasure Island (2008-9) and Waiting For Godot (2008-9).
