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Sadler's wells theatre

The discovery of a medicinal spring in the grounds of a Mr Sadler in the year 1683 – 84 led to the establishment of a popular pleasure-garden there, which became known as Sadler's Wells. Entertainments of a varied nature were given, and Sadler, in partnership with a dancing-master named Forcer, erected a wooden “Music House” with a platform to serve as a stage. Saddler's Wells then stood in open country, and though it seems to have been a well-conducted place as a rule, a murder was committed there in 1712, when a naval lieutenant was killed by a lawyer “near the organ loft”.

In 1855 the Rural Calender refers to it saying: “This theatre – for such it now is – is now so well regulated, under the present manager, that a better company is not anywhere to be met with.”

In 1705 the old wooden building was demolished and a stone theatre was raised, the whole thing being completed in seven weeks.

In 1801 a small boy named Master Carey appeared at the theatre. He afterwards became the great Edmund Kean.

In 1804 a large tank was installed on the stage filled with water and Sadler's Wells became the home of Aquatic Drama. The first of these was the siege of Gibraltar, complete with naval Bombardment. The vogue for these spectacles continued for some years, during which time the house was known as the Aquatic Theatre.

In 1807 a false alarm of fire caused a panic in the theatre; twenty-three people were killed and many injured.

In 1893 it became a music-hall and later it was used as a cinema. A project to reopen it in 1921 came to nothing. A new theatre rose on the site in 1931.

Old vic theatre

Old Vic Theatre (in the Waterloo Road) is famous for its Shakespeare productions. The theatre opened in 1818; It was originally the Royal Cobury. Owning to the state of the roads the rank and fashion of town were unwilling to risk the journey across the river, and the Cobury became a local house for melodrama of the most sensational kind, but the plays were apparently well-staged. The interior was handsomely decorated, one of the most interesting features being the famous curtain installed in 1820 – 21, which consisted of sixty-three pieces of looking-glass and reflected the whole house. Its weight put too great a strain on the roof, and it had to be removed. In 1871, after a period as a music-hall the theatre was sold by auction and became the New Victoria Palace. It closed in 1880. Then it was reopened on Boxing Day in 1880 as a temperance amusement-hall. It was named the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern. It was intended as a cheap and decent place for family entertainment at reasonable prices, and in spite of considerable misgivings, it prospered. In 1900 the first opera was produced there and scenes from Shakespeare supplemented the usual vocal and orchestral concerts. In 1914 the first regular Shakespeare season was given.

A succession of excellent actors and directors assured the success of the Old Vic far beyond the confines of its own territory.

In 1963 on 15 June the Old Vic closed and was reopened after extensive alterations as the temporary home of the National Theatre company under the direction of Laurence Olivier.

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