RSS
The history of Britain theatre can be traced back to the year 1576 when the first playhouse called “The Theatre” was built at Shoreditch. It was constructed on rented land, and as the 21-year lease was ending, attempts were made to renew it. When the lease on “The Theatre” ran out in 1597, its industrious owner Richard Burbage transported its timber across the Thames and used it to build the first (of three) Globe theatre on the South Bank. The Globe opened in 1599 with a company led by Burbage, who established himself as the first of London’s great actor/impresarios.
After that the West End theatre district came to light, which was the largest theatre district in the world and is the epicenter of British commercial theatre. The West End originally took its name from the fact that it was situated to the West of the City of London. A vast majority of West End theatres can be identified because of their location in the area which is popularly known as Theatreland. Theatreland is the heart of the West End and is bordered by The Strand to the south, Oxford Street to the north, Regent Street to the west and Kingsway to the east. We can divide the UK theatre chronology in the following ways:
The Globe
When the “The Theatre's” acting troupe dismantled the old building, its materials became the bones of perhaps the most famous London Theater of all, The Globe. Between 1597 and 1598, work proceeded for The Globe building on the South Bank of the River Thames. The Globe opened in 1599 where England's most celebrated playwright, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) had a stake in The Globe. He acted in some of his own plays that were performed there, including the role of the ghost in "Hamlet." The Globe was only in use until 1613, when a canon fired during a performance of Henry VIII caught the roof on fire and the building burned to the ground. The site of the theatre was rediscovered in the 20th century and reconstructed. In 1596, public presentations of plays were banned within London's city limits. The writing was on the wall for the London Theater, as the English Civil War approached between the Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, and the Royalists, who supported King Charles I. In 1642, all stage plays were suppressed, and in 1644, The Globe 2 was demolished. By 1648, orders went out to destroy all playhouses. The death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658 would lead to the reopening of theaters and the restoration of the English monarchy under King Charles II in 1660.
David Garrick 
Following this, one of the many managers of the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane David Garrick dominated West End and London theatre throughout the 18th Century. Garrick played his first great role in 1741 in Shakespeare’s Richard III. Over the next 30 years, Garrick had a huge influence on London theatre.
The modern look of the West End began taking shape in the 19th Century when many of the imposing and beautiful theatre buildings still standing today and became highly fashionable among the middle and upper classes. The backbone of the West End was finally put in place when Shaftesbury Avenue was created towards the end of the century.
Dury Lane
This is the first West End venue opened in 1663 when the first of several theatres was opened on Drury Lane. This venue played host to the earliest West End stars such Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart. After it was destroyed by fire in 1672, a new theatre, called the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane was designed by Christoper Wren and opened on the same site again in 1674.
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, is one of the many London theaters owned by The Really Useful Group, headed by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Really Useful Group also owns the London Palladium, which was established in 1910. Over the years, the London Palladium has hosted a long list of top performers from America.
GOWEALTHY.COM © 2011
For comments: editor@gowealthy.com
