About this sheet
Antique print titled 'Interior of the late Theatre Royal Drury Lane (..)'.
Old print of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, as it was between 1794 and 1809 showing the tiers of boxes stage left and the chandelier-lit auditorium with a small party of visitors standing in one of the boxes, as if being shown around.
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theater and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drury Lane. The building is the most recent in a line of four theaters which were built at the same location, the earliest of which dated back to 1663, making it the oldest theater site in London still in use. According to the author Peter Thomson, for its first two centuries, Drury Lane could "reasonably have claimed to be London's leading theater". For most of that time, it was one of a handful of patent theaters, granted monopoly rights to the production of "legitimate" drama in London (meaning spoken plays, rather than opera, dance, concerts, or plays with music).
The first theater on the site was built at the behest of Thomas Killigrew in the early 1660s, when theaters were allowed to reopen during the English Restoration. Initially known as "Theatre Royal in Bridges Street", the theater's proprietors hired prominent actors who performed at the theater on a regular basis, including Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart. In 1672, the theater caught fire and Killigrew built a larger theater on the same plot, renamed the "Theatre Royal in Drury Lane"; it opened in 1674. This building lasted nearly 120 years, under the leaderships of Colley Cibber, David Garrick and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the last of whom employed Joseph Grimaldi as the theater's resident Clown.
In 1791, under Sheridan's management, the building was demolished to make way for a larger theater which opened in 1794. This new Drury Lane survived for 15 years before burning down in 1809. The building that stands today opened in 1812. It has been the residency of well known actors including Edmund Kean, comedian Dan Leno and the musical composer and performer Ivor Novello. From the Second World War, the theater has primarily hosted long runs of musicals, including Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, 42nd Street and Miss Saigon, the theater's longest-running show. The theater is owned by the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Since January 2019, the venue has had ongoing renovations, and in July 2021, the theater reopened after over two years' of extensive work and closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney's Frozen made its West End debut at Drury Lane on 27 August, with general shows starting from 8 September 2021.
Artists and Engravers: Published by R. Wilkinson.
