The Theatre Royal Drury Lane is one of the world’s most haunted theatres. The most famous ghost is the Man in Grey, who appears during matinees in a long grey coat and tricorn hat. During renovations in the 1840s, a skeleton in grey rags with a knife through his heart was discovered on the spot where the ghost disappears. The appearance of almost any one of the handful of ghosts that are said to frequent the theatre signals good luck for an actor or production. [1]
The first Theatre Royal in London opened on 7 May 1663 and still operates from the same site to this day, making this the oldest theatre site in London still in use. In Restoration-era London it would have been a bustling hub of entertainment and culture, hosting a wide variety of plays, musical performances, and other forms of entertainment for audiences of all social classes.
In 1662 Thomas Killigrew, a prominent figure in the theatre scene, obtained a royal patent from King Charles II, a patron of the arts himself, to build and operate a theatre. The location in Drury Lane was chosen due to its proximity to the fashionable areas of London and its accessibility to both affluent patrons and the general populace.
Designed by an unknown architect, it was a relatively simple yet grand three-tiered wooden structure, that could hold an audience of 700 people. Set well back from the broader streets, the theatre was accessed by narrow passages between surrounding buildings.
Initially known as “Theatre Royal in Bridges Street”, the new theatre was intended to provide a venue for staging plays, musical performances, and other forms of entertainment that were gaining popularity among the aristocracy and the general public. It would have had a grand and opulent atmosphere, with richly dressed patrons mingling in the lobby and eagerly anticipating the performances to come.
Prominent actors including Nell Gwyn and Charles Hart performed at the theatre regularly and it quickly became one of the leading cultural institutions in London, hosting numerous productions.
In 1672, the theatre caught fire and Killigrew built a larger theatre on the same plot, renamed the “Theatre Royal in Drury Lane”. The present building opened in 1812, is the most recent of four theatres that stood at the location since 1663, making it the oldest theatre site in London still in use.
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