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{{Short description|Former theatre in Hampshire, England (1803–1884)}} |
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{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Theatre Royal, Southampton|timestamp=20220721045956|year=2022|month=July|day=21|substed=yes}} |
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{{Infobox theatre |
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| name = Theatre Royal, Southampton |
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| image = Theatre Royal Southampton 1805.jpg |
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| address = French Street |
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[[File:Poster for a Southampton performance of the play ‘The Country Girl’.jpg|thumb|Playbill for a 1790 performance of the play ''[[The Country Girl (1766 play)|The Country Girl]]'' and the opera ''[[The Poor Soldier]]'' at the Theatre Royal]] |
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| city = [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire, England|Hampshire]] |
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The '''Theatre Royal''' was a theatre in [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England. It opened in 1766 and was destroyed by a bomb in 1940.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Southampton.htm |title=Theatres and Halls in Southampton}}</ref> |
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| country = England |
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| opened = 12 September 1803 |
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| expanded = 2 September 1880 |
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| closed = 19 November 1884 |
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}} |
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The '''Theatre Royal, Southampton''' was a theatre in [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England. It opened in 1803 and was located near the [[Medieval Merchant's House]] on French Street.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=12 September 2006 |title=City takes great pride in Austen connections |work=Southern Daily Echo |url=https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/heritage/917442.city-takes-great-pride-in-austen-connections/ |access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Patterson |first=A. Temple |title=A History of Southampton, 1700–1914 |publisher=University of Southampton Press |year=1966 |volume=1 |pages=41,115}}</ref> [[Jane Austen]] and her family visited the theatre in 1807.<ref name=":3" /> The building was later renovated and expanded, and reopened as '''New Theatre Royal''' in 1880.<ref name=":1" /> It was destroyed by a fire in 1884.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=22 November 1884 |title=Southampton News – The Fire in French Street |page=8 |work=The Hampshire Advertiser |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106336949/fire-in-french-street-southampton/ |access-date=26 July 2022 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> |
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== History == |
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=== Early years === |
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In 1766, a disused silk mill on French Street was converted into a theatre, which came under the management of John Collins in the 1770s.<ref name=":5" /> Collins, an actor who also ran theatres in Chichester and Salisbury, acquired the site of the old St John's Hospital on French Street in 1798.<ref name=":5" /> He built a new theatre, designed by an architect named Mr Slater, which finally opened five years later on 12 September 1803.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite news |date=19 September 1803 |title=Southampton |work=Hampshire Chronicle |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000230/18030919/012/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 July 2022 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> Billed as the "Southampton New Theatre, Built on the exact Model of the Theatre-Royal Drury-Lane",<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 September 1803 |title=Southampton New Theatre |work=Salisbury and Winchester Journal |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000361/18030912/022/0004 |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 July 2022 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> the opening was well attended and well received.<ref name=":6" /> ''The Hampshire Chronicle'' applauded "the liberal and spirited manner" in which the building had been decorated, adding that "a more elegant, convenient, and brilliant Theatre is not to be met out of London."<ref name=":6" /> After Collins's death in 1807, the theatre was run by his sons Stephen and Thomas, and his son-in-law Henry Kelly.<ref name=":5" /> |
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=== Jane Austen connection === |
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In early 1807, Jane Austen and her family moved to Castle Square, not far from the theatre.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Gay |first=Penny |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RngUpumIlhoC |title=Jane Austen and the Theatre |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780521024846 |pages=11}}</ref> On 14 September of that year, they went to the theatre to see [[John Bannister (actor)|John Bannister]] in ''[[The Way to Keep Him]]'' by [[Arthur Murphy (writer)|Arthur Murphy]].<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tomalin |first=Claire |title=Jane Austen: A Life |publisher=Penguin UK |year=2012 |isbn=9780141954950 |pages=226}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> In ''Jane Austen and the Theatre'', historian Penny Gay writes that the theatre on French Street in Southampton was "smaller and less prestigious than Bath's [[Old Orchard Street Theatre|Orchard Street Theatre]]", and mainly featured performances by provincial companies.<ref name=":4" /> [[Charles Kemble]] and [[Maria Theresa Kemble]] played at the theatre in August 1808.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sandell |first=Elsie M. |title=Collected Essays on Southampton |publisher=Southampton City Council |year=1968 |pages=79 |chapter=Georgian Southampton: Watering-Place and Spa |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/collected-essays-on-southampton-small/page/74/mode/2up |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> |
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=== Business operations === |
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Until the 1860s, the Theatre Royal on French Street changed management frequently.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Patterson |first=A. Temple |title=A History of Southampton, 1700–1914 |publisher=University of Southampton Press |year=1971 |volume=2 |pages=4,134–135}}</ref> According to ''A History of Southampton'', the house managed to attract crowds intermittently.<ref name=":0" /> One of the most well attended productions featured [[Charles Kean]], the son of actor [[Edmund Kean]], performing in Shakespearean plays for four nights during Race Week.<ref name=":0" /> Former actress [[Harriet Mellon]], the Duchess of St Albans, also drew crowds when she was in the audience.<ref name=":0" /> More often, ticket sales were "'middling' to 'thin'", as the theatre struggled to compete with other forms of entertainment, such as travelling circuses, which were popular with groundlings.<ref name=":0" /> For four seasons from 1842 to 1845, a lessee named Abington, a Shakespearean player himself, worked diligently to "raise the tone" of the Theatre Royal, but did not renew his lease after operating the theatre at a loss.<ref name=":0" /> |
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In the eight years thereafter, the Theatre Royal had no fewer than five different lessees.<ref name=":0" /> The fifth lessee, Holmes, tried to address major complaints about the theatre, which had become notorious for disorderly behaviour, such as objects being thrown into the pit from above during performances.<ref name=":0" /> From 1850, the Theatre Royal belonged to Charles Deacon, the Southampton town clerk.<ref name=":0" /> Its most commercially successful season in years was from 1853 to 1854, when shows ran through 2 May.<ref name=":0" /> In the late 1850s, the theatre finally started to receive more positive reviews in the local press on a regular basis.<ref name=":0" /> Starting in the early 1860s, the Theatre Royal came under more stable management as J. W. "Joey" Gordon, who was also the proprietor of the Rainbow music hall next door, took over as the lessee.<ref name=":0" /> |
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=== Reopening as the New Theatre Royal === |
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On 2 September 1880, Gordon re-opened the theatre as the New Theatre Royal, after a major renovation and expansion, in which the old building was adjoined with the neighbouring hall and modern "comforts" were added.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=12 September 1880 |title=Provincial Theatricals |work=[[The Era (newspaper)|The Era]] |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000053/18800912/022/0009 |url-access=subscription |access-date=25 July 2022 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> The main entrance was still in the same location, but the old dress circle was converted into a "ladies' cloak and crush room".<ref name=":1" /> The new theatre could hold up to 150 moveable seats with spring backs in front of the stage; the stage itself was also larger than in the old building.<ref name=":1" /> Behind the orchestra stalls, in the centre of the hall, were the pit stalls, which could seat about 100.<ref name=":1" /> Up above, there were two tiers of private boxes.<ref name=":1" /> One gallery was dedicated to upper boxes, while the second was a balcony which could be accessed through staircases on either side of the new building from the street.<ref name=":1" /> |
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=== Fire === |
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On 19 November 1884, the Theatre Royal burned down in a large fire,<ref name=":2" /> which also destroyed the adjoining building, by then known as the Gaiety Theatre.<ref name=":2" /> The ''[[Hampshire Advertiser]]'' wrote:<blockquote>The final and grandest "transformation" scene has been witnessed, the "unsubstantial pageant" has faded, and "not a wrack" is left of the plain, unpretending edifice which had for so long been known as the "Theatre Royal, Southampton."<ref name=":2" /></blockquote> |
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== Heritage trail == |
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[[File:French Street - geograph.org.uk - 1715917.jpg|thumb|The site of the Theatre Royal is now occupied by modern flats (left), next to the Medieval Merchant's House (right).]] |
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The old Theatre Royal is now part of the Jane Austen Heritage Trail in Southampton.<ref name=":3" /> In 2013, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' commented that the site of the old Theatre Royal had "morphed into a hideous high-rise".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smardz |first=Zofia |date=23 May 2013 |title=Jane Austen's Britain: A traveler haunts her haunts |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/jane-austens-britain-a-traveler-haunts-her-haunts/2013/05/23/4e2abcb2-be43-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html |access-date=26 July 2022}}</ref> |
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== Further reading == |
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* {{Cite book |last=Austen-Leigh |first=Richard Arthur |title=Jane Austen and Southampton |publisher=Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co |year=1949 |location=London}} |
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* {{Cite book |last=Butler |first=Cheryl |title=Jane Austen and Southampton Spa |publisher=Diaper Heritage Association |year=2017 |isbn=9780955748837}} |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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{{Buildings in Southampton}} |
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[[Category:Former theatres in England]] |
[[Category:Former theatres in England]] |
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[[Category:Southampton]] |
[[Category:History of Southampton]] |
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[[Category:1803 establishments in England]] |
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[[Category:Theatres completed in 1803]] |
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[[Category:Theatres in Hampshire]] |
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[[Category:1884 disestablishments in England]] |
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[[Category:Buildings and structures in Southampton]] |
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[[Category:19th-century fires in the United Kingdom]] |
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[[Category:1884 disasters in the United Kingdom]] |
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[[Category:1884 fires]] |
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Latest revision as of 22:53, 1 May 2023
50°53′54″N 1°24′20″W / 50.8982°N 1.405417°W
 | |
| Address | French Street Southampton, Hampshire England |
|---|---|
| Construction | |
| Opened | 12 September 1803 |
| Expanded | 2 September 1880 |
| Closed | 19 November 1884 |
The Theatre Royal, Southampton was a theatre in Southampton, Hampshire, England. It opened in 1803 and was located near the Medieval Merchant's House on French Street.[1][2] Jane Austen and her family visited the theatre in 1807.[1] The building was later renovated and expanded, and reopened as New Theatre Royal in 1880.[3] It was destroyed by a fire in 1884.[4]
History
[edit]Early years
[edit]In 1766, a disused silk mill on French Street was converted into a theatre, which came under the management of John Collins in the 1770s.[2] Collins, an actor who also ran theatres in Chichester and Salisbury, acquired the site of the old St John's Hospital on French Street in 1798.[2] He built a new theatre, designed by an architect named Mr Slater, which finally opened five years later on 12 September 1803.[2][5] Billed as the "Southampton New Theatre, Built on the exact Model of the Theatre-Royal Drury-Lane",[6] the opening was well attended and well received.[5] The Hampshire Chronicle applauded "the liberal and spirited manner" in which the building had been decorated, adding that "a more elegant, convenient, and brilliant Theatre is not to be met out of London."[5] After Collins's death in 1807, the theatre was run by his sons Stephen and Thomas, and his son-in-law Henry Kelly.[2]
Jane Austen connection
[edit]In early 1807, Jane Austen and her family moved to Castle Square, not far from the theatre.[7] On 14 September of that year, they went to the theatre to see John Bannister in The Way to Keep Him by Arthur Murphy.[7][8][1] In Jane Austen and the Theatre, historian Penny Gay writes that the theatre on French Street in Southampton was "smaller and less prestigious than Bath's Orchard Street Theatre", and mainly featured performances by provincial companies.[7] Charles Kemble and Maria Theresa Kemble played at the theatre in August 1808.[9][7]
Business operations
[edit]Until the 1860s, the Theatre Royal on French Street changed management frequently.[10] According to A History of Southampton, the house managed to attract crowds intermittently.[10] One of the most well attended productions featured Charles Kean, the son of actor Edmund Kean, performing in Shakespearean plays for four nights during Race Week.[10] Former actress Harriet Mellon, the Duchess of St Albans, also drew crowds when she was in the audience.[10] More often, ticket sales were "'middling' to 'thin'", as the theatre struggled to compete with other forms of entertainment, such as travelling circuses, which were popular with groundlings.[10] For four seasons from 1842 to 1845, a lessee named Abington, a Shakespearean player himself, worked diligently to "raise the tone" of the Theatre Royal, but did not renew his lease after operating the theatre at a loss.[10]
In the eight years thereafter, the Theatre Royal had no fewer than five different lessees.[10] The fifth lessee, Holmes, tried to address major complaints about the theatre, which had become notorious for disorderly behaviour, such as objects being thrown into the pit from above during performances.[10] From 1850, the Theatre Royal belonged to Charles Deacon, the Southampton town clerk.[10] Its most commercially successful season in years was from 1853 to 1854, when shows ran through 2 May.[10] In the late 1850s, the theatre finally started to receive more positive reviews in the local press on a regular basis.[10] Starting in the early 1860s, the Theatre Royal came under more stable management as J. W. "Joey" Gordon, who was also the proprietor of the Rainbow music hall next door, took over as the lessee.[10]
Reopening as the New Theatre Royal
[edit]On 2 September 1880, Gordon re-opened the theatre as the New Theatre Royal, after a major renovation and expansion, in which the old building was adjoined with the neighbouring hall and modern "comforts" were added.[3] The main entrance was still in the same location, but the old dress circle was converted into a "ladies' cloak and crush room".[3] The new theatre could hold up to 150 moveable seats with spring backs in front of the stage; the stage itself was also larger than in the old building.[3] Behind the orchestra stalls, in the centre of the hall, were the pit stalls, which could seat about 100.[3] Up above, there were two tiers of private boxes.[3] One gallery was dedicated to upper boxes, while the second was a balcony which could be accessed through staircases on either side of the new building from the street.[3]
Fire
[edit]On 19 November 1884, the Theatre Royal burned down in a large fire,[4] which also destroyed the adjoining building, by then known as the Gaiety Theatre.[4] The Hampshire Advertiser wrote:
The final and grandest "transformation" scene has been witnessed, the "unsubstantial pageant" has faded, and "not a wrack" is left of the plain, unpretending edifice which had for so long been known as the "Theatre Royal, Southampton."[4]
Heritage trail
[edit]
The old Theatre Royal is now part of the Jane Austen Heritage Trail in Southampton.[1] In 2013, The Washington Post commented that the site of the old Theatre Royal had "morphed into a hideous high-rise".[11]
Further reading
[edit]- Austen-Leigh, Richard Arthur (1949). Jane Austen and Southampton. London: Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co.
- Butler, Cheryl (2017). Jane Austen and Southampton Spa. Diaper Heritage Association. ISBN 9780955748837.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "City takes great pride in Austen connections". Southern Daily Echo. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Patterson, A. Temple (1966). A History of Southampton, 1700–1914. Vol. 1. University of Southampton Press. pp. 41, 115.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Provincial Theatricals". The Era. 12 September 1880. Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d "Southampton News – The Fire in French Street". The Hampshire Advertiser. 22 November 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 26 July 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Southampton". Hampshire Chronicle. 19 September 1803. Retrieved 26 July 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Southampton New Theatre". Salisbury and Winchester Journal. 12 September 1803. Retrieved 26 July 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d Gay, Penny (2006). Jane Austen and the Theatre. Cambridge University Press. p. 11. ISBN 9780521024846.
- ^ Tomalin, Claire (2012). Jane Austen: A Life. Penguin UK. p. 226. ISBN 9780141954950.
- ^ Sandell, Elsie M. (1968). "Georgian Southampton: Watering-Place and Spa". Collected Essays on Southampton. Southampton City Council. p. 79 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Patterson, A. Temple (1971). A History of Southampton, 1700–1914. Vol. 2. University of Southampton Press. pp. 4, 134–135.
- ^ Smardz, Zofia (23 May 2013). "Jane Austen's Britain: A traveler haunts her haunts". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
