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Theatre Royal, Haymarket

Haymarket Theatre
1720: Little Theatre (nearby)
1767: Theatre Royal
2008 Haymarket Theatre.JPG
The theatre in 2008, showing Edward Bond's The Sea
Address Suffolk Street, Haymarket
London, SW1
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°30′31″N 0°07′54″W / 51.508611°N 0.131667°W / 51.508611; -0.131667
Public transit London Underground Piccadilly Circus
Owner Crown Estate
Operator Louis I. Michaels Ltd
Designation Grade I listed
Type West End theatre
Capacity 888 on 4 levels
Production Love's Labour's Lost/Much Ado About Nothing
Construction
Opened 4 July 1821; 195 years ago (1821-07-04) (current structure)
Rebuilt 1879: proscenium and removal of pit
1904: auditorium
1994: major refurbishment
Years active 1720-present
Architect John Nash
Website
www.trh.co.uk

The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash. It is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate.

The Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Its managers have included Benjamin Nottingham Webster, John Baldwin Buckstone, Squire Bancroft, Cyril Maude, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, and John Sleeper Clarke, brother-in-law of John Wilkes Booth, who quit America after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Famous actors who débuted at the theatre included Robert William Elliston (1774–1831) and John Liston (1776–1846).

The First Haymarket Theatre or Little Theatre was built in 1720 by John Potter, carpenter, on the site of The King's Head Inn in the Haymarket and a shop in Suffolk Street kept by Isaac Bliburgh, a gunsmith, and known by the sign of the Cannon and Musket. It was the third public theatre opened in the West End. The theatre cost £1000 to build, with a further £500 expended on decorations, scenery and costumes. It opened on 29 December 1720, with a French play La Fille a la Morte, ou le Badeaut de Paris performed by a company later known as 'The French Comedians of His Grace the Duke of Montague'. Potter's speculation was known as The New French Theatre.


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