Globe Theatre (Newcastle Street)
W. S. Penley in Charley's Aunt, the theatre's longest-running production
|
|
| Address | Newcastle Street (Aldwych) Westminster, London |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′47″N 0°07′07″W / 51.513056°N 0.118611°W |
| Owner | Sefton Parry |
| Designation | Demolished |
| Type | Theatre |
| Capacity | 1,800 |
| Current use | Site occupied by Bush House |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1868 |
| Closed | 1902 |
| Rebuilt | 1870 Walter Emden |
The Globe was a Victorian theatre built in 1868 and demolished in 1902. It was the third of five London theatres to bear the name. It was also known at various times as the Royal Globe Theatre or Globe Theatre Royal. Its repertoire consisted mainly of comedies and musical shows. The theatre's most famous production was Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas, which enjoyed a record-setting run at the theatre, having transferred to it from the Royalty Theatre.
Earlier theatres with the name "Globe Theatre" included Shakespeare’s Bankside house, which closed in 1642, and the former Rotunda Theatre in Blackfriars Road, which opened in 1833 for a few years and was renamed The Globe.
The new Globe was built to the commission of its proprietor, Sefton Parry, and stood on the corner of Wych Street and Newcastle Streets, on the site of Lyon's Inn, lately demolished, an old Inn of Chancery, belonging in former days to the Inner Temple. The Globe backed on to another theatre owned by Parry, the even more jerry-built Opera Comique, which opened two years before the Globe. The two theatres were known as 'the rickety twins': both were of such flimsy construction that performers could hear each other through the common wall. Parry built the theatre cheaply, hoping ‘to make handsome profits in compensation when the area was demolished, which was even then in contemplation’. It remained in contemplation for more than thirty years.
The Globe was taken over and partially rebuilt only two years after its opening. The architect was Walter Emden, whose surviving London theatres are The Duke of York’s, and (in collaboration) The Garrick Theatre and Royal Court Theatre. Old and New London described the theatre thus:
...
Wikipedia