Olympic Theatre
| 1806 Olympic Pavilion | |
1831 engraving of the Royal Olympic Theatre
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| Address |
Wych Street, Drury Lane Westminster, London |
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| Coordinates | 51°30′47″N 0°07′07″W / 51.513056°N 0.118611°W |
| Designation | Demolished |
| Type | Theatre and opera house |
| Capacity | 889 (1860s) 2,150 (1889) |
| Current use | Site of Kingsway |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1806 |
| Closed | 1899 |
| Rebuilt | 1870 C. J. Phipps 1890 W. G. R. Sprague and Bertie Crewe |
The Olympic Theatre, sometimes known as the Royal Olympic Theatre, was a 19th century London theatre, opened in 1806 and located at the junction of Drury Lane, Wych Street and Newcastle Street. The theatre specialised in comedies throughout much of its existence. Along with three other Victorian theatres (Opera Comique, Globe and Gaiety), the Olympic was eventually demolished in 1904 to make way for the development of the Aldwych. Newcastle and Wych streets also vanished.
The first Olympic theatre was built in 1806 on the site of Drury House (later Craven House), for the impresario Philip Astley, a retired cavalry officer. The original name of the house was the Olympic Pavilion. It was said to be built from the timbers of the French warship Ville de Paris. It opened on 1 December 1806 as 'a house of public exhibition of horsemanship and droll.' In 1813, Astley sold the theatre to Robert William Elliston, who refurbished the interior and renamed it the Little Drury Lane, reflecting its proximity to the large Drury Lane Theatre nearby. Elliston had the theatre substantially rebuilt and reopened it with William Thomas Moncrieff's comedy Rochester – or, King Charles the Second's Merry Days. John Scott purchased the playhouse at Ellison's bankruptcy auction in 1826 and gave the building gas lighting.
In 1830, Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (1787–1856) leased the house, becoming the first female actor-manager in the history of London theatre. She had already made her fortune as a singer, a dancer (of some repute) and an actor. Together with her business partner, Maria Foote, and later with her husband, the actor Charles James Mathews, who joined the company in 1835, Madame Vestris initiated several theatrical innovations, such as the use of historically correct costumes and more elaborate scenery, including a box set with ceiling, which she is said to have introduced in Britain. Her stewardship began with a programme of four pieces including Olympic Revels, and under her management the theatre continued to feature light comedies including music, which were legally styled burlettas and whose licence she had been granted by the Lord Chamberlain. Many were written by J. R. Planché and Charles Dance, featuring Vestris in breeches roles, and the popular comedian of the day, John Liston. The plays often burlesqued classical themes: My Great Aunt – or, Relations and Friends; The Loan of a Lover; The Court Beauties; The Garrick Fever; Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady; Olympic Revels – or Prometheus and Pandora; Olympic Devils – or Orpheus and Eurydice; The Paphian Bower – or Venus and Adonis; Telemachus – or The Island of Calypso. While Vestris' licence only allowed the performance of extravaganzas and burlesques, the quality of the performance was paramount, with much time spent on rehearsal and selection of the company.
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