1780
The original market cross was a medieval timber building which was used for theatrical performances during the annual Bury Fair. By the late 18th century it was decided that a town of Bury’s stature demanded a more dignified building and the fashionable London architect Robert Adam was commissioned to design a replacement. Adam’s Market Cross, completed in 1780, still stands today and its façade is adorned with carvings of theatrical masks and musical instruments. Although this was a vast improvement on the previous building, the new Market Cross was still too small to cater for the potential audiences and in 1818 the lessee, William Wilkins asked the council if he might ‘take the stage, box fronts, seats…traps, machinery, wings etc’ to a new site in Westgate Street and there build a theatre ‘of ample dimensions and elegance corresponding to the other public buildings of the place’ at a cost of £5000.
Market Cross
1815
William Wilkins Senior took over the lease of the Norwich Circuit of Theatre in 1757 [theatres were in Norwich, Cambridge, Colchester, Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and Great Yarmouth) and he enlisted the help of his son to renovate or redesign all of them over the next fifteen years. In 1815, on his father’s death William Wilkins junior took over the running of the Circuit. William was a scholar and architect who had studied at Cambridge University and travelled across Europe. It was while on this Grand Tour that he visited the ancient amphitheatre at Taormina in Sicily which was to inspire his design for the theatre at Bury St Edmunds.
Wilkins went on to design many famous buildings including the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and buildings at University College London and Cambridge University. Theatre Royal is the only original building from the Norwich Circuit to survive and is now the only Regency theatre in the country.
Date Unknown. Portrait Miniature of architect William Wilkins (Junior)å
1819
819 Deed plan of the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
1819 Deed plan of the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds
1821
Amongst the plays performed at the New Theatre in the 1820s was ‘Lover’s Vows’ by Elizabeth Inchbald (1753-1821), who as a young girl had attended performances at the Market Cross. Elizabeth’s family lived at nearby Stanningfield and had many theatrical friends; her brother even became an actor at Norwich, but when Elizabeth declared her wish to pursue a theatrical profession, it was prohibited, prompting her to run away to London where she eventually achieved her dream of becoming an actress. While she met with modest success on the stage, it was not until 1784 that she found her real talent lay in writing plays, for which she became famous. Although Inchbald died shortly before the first performance of her play Lover’s Vows at Theatre Royal in 1821, her work inspired many other writers, including the young Jane Austen whose early ambition was to become a playwright and who notably mentions the play in Mansfield Park.
1796 Mrs Joseph Inchbald, by Thomas Lawrence
Lovers Vows playbill
1828
In 1828 William Macready, one of the most celebrated actors of the day appeared at the theatre. He performed a different role every night for four nights; ‘Othello’, ‘Virginius’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘William Tell and ‘Hamlet’.
‘Speaking generally of Mr Macready, we should describe him as strongest in weakness, and weakest in power. He has extraordinary command over his features, but his voice is defective, and he moves us more by his fine touches of nature than by his bursts of violent passion. His conceptions are always chaste, but they have not the vigour and originality of Kean’s. There is a t times a stiffness in his manner, and a monotony in his undertone which ought to be remedied. He walks the stage with great dignity, and his attitudes are all of them fine enough for statuary, but sometimes smack a little of the posture of the posture-master. Above all (or rather most indispensable of all) he is very correct – a quality which we should be glad to see imitated by one or two of our company.’
1793-1873 William Macready
1828
At the same time as the serious tragedian William Macready was treading the boards at the theatre, another, very different act appeared. This was ‘Monsieur Gouffe’ the ‘man-monkey’, a talented performer who would imitate an ape by running around the box fronts knocking off people’s hats, kissing women and performing acrobatic feats. His signature move was to slide on a zip wire from the gallery down to the stage, supported only by three fingers and carrying a child on his back. While the real identity of Monsieur Gouffe was uncertain, recent research has suggested that Gouffe’s real name was John Hornshaw, an illiterate Londoner who happened to catch the eye of the theatre manager Charles Dibdin with his incredible strength. Hornshaw toured the character of Gouffe around the country and to America developing the act to include hanging with his neck in a noose – a stunt that resulted in near death experiences on several occasions and was written up as a medical curiosity in the journal The Lancet.
1828 Monsieur Gouffe Playbill
1829-1903
Jean Davenport was daughter of T.D Davenport, lessee of Theatre Royal from 1846 to 1848. Charles Dickens met the Davenports in London, and it is widely thought that they provided the real-life inspiration for the characters of Vincent Crummles, the manager of a touring stage company and his daughter Ninetta in his novel Nicholas Nickleby (1838). Ninetta is billed as ‘the infant phenomena’, a child acting prodigy (despite the fact that she is, in reality, far older than her father admits), and in this there may indeed be some comparisons with Jean, who was performing mature lead characters from an early age. Only 17 when she played Juliet at Theatre Royal, she was already a veteran of the stage having made her first professional appearance at the age of 8. Having already toured internationally, in 1849 she relocated to America, where, she continued to act, but life off-stage proved just as dramatic – during the civil war she supervised the training of nurses and in 1861 played a part in foiling a plot to assassinate president Lincoln.
Jean Davenport (1829-1903)
1830
In 1830 the famous political orator and reformer William Cobbett visited the theatre to lecture on the causes of agrarian distress (rural workers had seen worsening pay and conditions for some years, which were to erupt later that year in the Swing Riots).
‘Mr Cobbett began by stating that his object was to submit his opinions upon the [agrarian] distress, its causes, and its remedies, which he had a right to do. Strange it was that this country, gifted with advantages beyond all others, and once the greatest and the happiest in the world, should now be plunged in distress so deep that she durst not display her anger to other Powers: but it was not wonderful that they who had brought her to this state should seek excuses to make the people believed it was not their fault’.
Several ladies were present in the audience and ‘the Second Lecture was announced to commence at five in the evening, for the convenience of the farmers, by whom the Pit was crowded, and the lower-boxes were for the most part occupied: there were a few ladies as on the preceding night’
1835
Hilaire Ledu, Portrait of Charles Green, 1835
1845
Other theatre managers took note of these developments; keen to silence the competition posed by Vestris and her husband Charles Matthews , William Macready hired them to act at Drury Lane and then added insult to injury by billing Vestris as a ‘supporting player’. To counter growing debts, the couple embarked on a series of provincial tours in the 1840s, which included visiting Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds in September 1844, proceeds from which eventually allowed them to lease the Lyceum.
Madame Vestris visits in 1845
1845
1874 – 1907
Between 1874 and 1907 John Dick published a series of popular plays – cheap editions of scripts intended for performance by amateur groups and theatricals at home, which were very fashionable during the Victorian period. Many of the titles issued in the series were of plays performed at Theatre Royal, including classic works by Georgian female playwrights such as Elizabeth Inchbald and Hannah Cowley.
1874-1907 Dick’s Standard Plays
1892
1892 Charley’s Aunt postcard Front & 1892 Charley’s Aunt postcard Reverse
1893
Incidentally, Nina Boucicault, daughter of the famous Victorian playwright Dion Boucicault played the role of Kitty Verdun in Charley’s Aunt when the play relocated to London in December 1892. Twelve years later she was to make her fame playing the title role in the first production of Barrie’s famous play Peter Pan.
1893 JM Barrie visits the theatre
1893
In 1893 a production based on Harriet Becher-Stowe’s book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ appeared at Theatre Royal. The advertising boasted that the cast included ‘Fifty freed slaves’. There was perhaps an extra poignancy to this performance, given that Thomas Clarkson, one of the key figures of the Abolitionist movement lived just around the corner from the theatre – the plaque marking his residence can still be seen in St. Mary’s Square.
1893 Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Wikimedia Commons Heroes of the Slave Trade Abolition from NPG
1898
1989 Professor Crocker’s Horses
1900
1901
In 1898 Cody performed a play, written by himself, called the The Klondyke Nugget. This ‘spectacular American drama’ depicting ‘life as spent in the gold fields in Alaska’ was full of ‘wildly sensational incidents’ and proved a hit throughout Britain, appearing at Bury St Edmunds in November 1901. Cody used the proceeds from his theatrical work to fund his other love of aviation, a field in which he was an early pioneer – becoming the first man to fly an aeroplane in Britain in 1908.
1901 Samuel F Cody visits the theatre
1906
In 1906 the theatre was reopened after a period of renovation by new lessee Ede Montefiore – seen here at the front of the orchestra pit. Montefiore hired London architect Bertie Crewe to make the theatre more comfortable; adding carpets, crimson velvet seats and a bar on the first floor (now the Peter Hall Room). The image also shows how the rear box walls in the dress and upper circles were replaced with ‘half walls’ to allow standing room – when full the theatre could now accommodate up to 678 people.
1906 Reopening of the theatre
TRBSE collection. : SRO EE500/43/24 Report: 4 May 1908 Places of Public Resort – Exits
1906 St Edmundsbury Playbil
TRBSE collection
1910
1910 seating plan
1910
1910 Colour programme with inset photograph of lessee Auguste Peuleve,
1910
1910 Colour programme with inset photograph of lessee Auguste Peuleve,
1914
1920
1920 Iolanthe Programme
1920
Greene King brewery buy the theatre in 1920
c1923
A.E Henley / Dan Leno’s shoes
1953
953 Theatre is Grade 1 listed
c1960
Over the years the existence of the theatre was largely forgotten, until a chance conversation between a former actress named Ethel Groat and her friend, county drama co-ordinator Olga Ironside-Wood.
“Three or four years ago we were talking and I mentioned having acted in Bury theatre ,” said Mrs Groat. “Mrs Ironside-Wood couldn’t believe me. She had never heard of any theatre in Bury.” Mrs Groat particularly remembered appearing on stage at Theatre Royal in 1916, because she remembered leaving the theatre after the performance during a Zeppelin raid.
1961
Numerous events were held to raise funds for the restoration of the theatre, from coffee mornings to jumble sales. In 1961 Benjamin Britten held a fundraising concert at Ickworth House in aid of the theatre, issuing unique invitations in the shape of a fan which opened up to form the shape of Ickworth’s famous circular rotunda. Britten was one of several famous cultural figures who lent his name to the restoration advisory panel chaired by the Duke of Grafton. Other panel members included poet and architectural John Betjeman; theatre designer Oliver Messel; actress Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies; architect Hugh Casson; pianist Kathleen Long and director Peter Hall.
1961 Ickworth Concert Fan Invitation
TRBSE collection a Zeppelin raid.
1964
Although the theatre officially reopened on 1st April 1965, the first performance, Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit took place in May 1964. Although a huge amount of work had been done, the orchestra pit still had a bare earth floor and the musicians had to sit on wooden crates!
1966
‘I was rehearsing and directing one of our first productions, ‘Ghosts’… and I remember putting my spectacles down on the ledge of the dress circle and when I came to collect them later they had gone…. The manager of the theatre scoured the whole theatre and couldn’t find them, he even emptied all the dustbins… a fortnight later I went back to where I had been sitting and there were my glasses in exactly the same place as I had left them. [a colleague] remembers seeing a lady in black sitting in that seat soon after I had vacated it after the play…. Whilst rehearing another play some weeks later I saw a woman in black sitting in the same seat’ but the theatre manager confirmed that nobody had entered the building… On another occasion late at night after a performance, our carpenter and I were sitting in his office when we heard the sound of footsteps coming across the stage and down the stairs, we looked to see but could see nothing. The footsteps came down the stairs and straight through the wall at the bottom and you have never seen two people leave a theatre so quickly’ as we did! There have been a number of reported sightings of this spectral lady – who, at one point attended dress rehearsals so regularly that the theatre manager used to leave a programme on the seat for her!
1968
In August 1968 the Theatre received a visit from the HRH Queen Mother, who, along with Princess Margaret had sponsored some seats in the auditorium as part of the restoration appeal. In a somewhat less formal visit, Princess Margaret popped in unannounced some years later to order a quick whiskey at the bar!
Visit of HRH the Queen Mother, 1968
Permission from Kevin Hurst Iliffe Publishing CREDIT: Bury Free Press
2002-2006
In 1822 Oscar and Malvina was the first pantomime to be performed at the theatre; however, it would have borne little resemblance to pantomime today. In the early 19th century pantomimes consisted of two parts; a serious drama and a ‘harlequinade’ using characters derived from the Italian tradition of Commedia dell Arte. These early pantomimes comprised dance, song and slapstick farce, but little spoken word to circumvent the licensing laws, which remained in place until the 1840s. After this point, pantomime became freer, the opening story section of the performance became dominant and writers began to look to other sources, such as fairy tales for inspiration. It was in the later Victorian period that pantomime became particularly associated with a Christmas entertainment for children – largely through the efforts of Augustus Harris, manager of Drury Lane Theatre (and father of Theatre Royal lessee Florence Glossop-Harris) who produced spectacular productions starring famous celebrities of the time. One such was Dan Leno who played one of the first pantomime dames.
Today the in-house pantomime is a highlight of the annual programme at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds and proceeds from the show support the work of the theatre for the rest of the year.
2002 Sleeping Beauty Panto Poster
2005-2007
From 2005-7 the theatre received 5.3 million pounds to carry out a major restoration project to restore it to its original Regency grandeur. The funding was provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, St Edmunsbury Borough Council, Suffolk County Council, Arts Council England, Friends of Theatre Royal, Theatre Royal Foundation, The National Trust and a Public Appeal.
While the theatre was closed it was decided that, in the best theatrical tradition, the show must go on! As such the annual pantomime was performed in a purpose-built big-top tent at nearby Nowton Park.
2005-2007 Pre Restoration
2005-2007
Excavations carried out during the 2005-7 restoration of the theatre unearthed a number of items including oyster shells and clay pipes, which provide an insight into the eating and smoking habits of Regency theatre-goers.
2005-2007 Restoration Clay Pipe
2011
Visit of HRH Prince Charles to celebrate the reopening of Theatre Royal after the renovation.
2011 HRH Prince Charles
HRH Prince of Wales at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds04/03/11 Copyright: Keith Mindham Photography 2011. Licence to use: Theatre Royal press & marketing only. You can not sell or licence these images for use to any other organisation or person.
2019
With the support of the Heritage Fund, Theatre Royal celebrated its 200th anniversary in style throughout 2019. The year started with the launch of the newly renovated Peter Hall Room as a space for education and exhibitions and a series of new tours, including the interactive Close Encounters Tour in which visitors had the chance to meet some of the fascinating figures from our past. The summer saw the unveiling of our new mosaic, the culminative work of students from six local primary schools in collaboration with Rojo Arts and rehearsals of the young company ready for a very special production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
We held events for people interested in tracing their theatrical ancestors and lectures about the history of the theatre along with ghost tours -something for everyone!