Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel

The Pavilion Theatre at 191–193 Whitechapel Road, London, was the first major theatre to open in London's East End. It was destroyed by fire in 1856 and rebuilt as the New Royal Pavilion Theatre, which operated until 1935.

The Pavilion Theatre in 1858
1855 playbill

History

The theatre was opened in 1828 on the site of a former factory, and was the first major theatre to open in London's East End.[1] The first managers were William Wyatt and John Farrell.[2]

The first Pavilion Theatre was entirely destroyed by fire on 13 February 1856, and was rebuilt in 1858 as the New Royal Pavilion Theatre, with a capacity of 3,500.[3] It was further reconstructed in 1871 by the architect J. T. Robinson, and the capacity increased to 4,000.[3] Charles Dickens, Jr. (eldest child of Charles Dickens), in his 1879 book Dickens's Dictionary of London, described the Pavilion this way: "A large East-end theatre capable of holding considerably over 3,000 persons. Melodrama of a rough type, farce, pantomime, &c."[4]

In the early 20th century it became the home of Yiddish theatre, catering to the large Jewish population of the area, and gave birth to the Anglo-Jewish 'Whitechapel Boys' avant-garde literary and artistic movement.

In later years, it operated under the names, Royal Clarence Theatre, Eastern Opera House, and New Royal Pavilion Theatre,[3] continuing in business until 1935. The building was demolished in 1962.

gollark: ++remind 2bee projects
gollark: - Imagining programs is programming
gollark: - Turning on servers is programming
gollark: - Excel is programming- Writing flowcharts on paper is programming- Telling employees to do something is programming- Training a dog is programming
gollark: Do so immediately.

References
  1. Jim Davis; Victor Emeljanow (1 April 2005). Reflecting the Audience: London Theatregoing, 1840-1880. University of Iowa Press. pp. 55–70. ISBN 978-1-58729-402-0. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  2. "East London Theatre Archive". elta-project.org. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  3. "Pavilion Theatre and Wonderland, Whitechapel Road, Stepney". arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  4. Dickens, Charles, Jr. (1879). "Pavilion Theatre". Dickens's Dictionary of London. Retrieved 22 August 2007.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.