Britannia Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Britannia Theatre was located at 115/117 High Street, Hoxton
, London
. The theatre was badly damaged by a fire in 1900. The site was reused as a Gaumont
cinema from 1913 to 1940, when this too was destroyed. The site is marked by a London Borough of Hackney
historic plaque.
A typical night's entertainment would include 3–4 plays, with variety acts in the intervals between. Many Music hall
acts would appear during the interval, and sometimes their acts were woven into the performance. The plays varied, from Shakespeare, Victorian
melodrama
and comedy. During the winter season pantomime
was performed.
Unusually for a theatre, food and drink were served in the auditorium, in the style of contemporary Music hall
s.
, Devon
in 1803. In 1821, he decided to escape the life of a fisherman and walk to London
. After living hand to mouth and educating himself, with the help of a friend, William Brian, he encountered a troupe of actors who he had previously met on his journey. He helped the leader of the troupe, Jack Adams, to find premises for performance at the Union Tavern in Shoreditch
. This hall catered for 500–seated and a similar number standing. Jack Adam's company performed a successful programme of drama, song, dance and acrobatics. Sam married Jack's daughter Mary, in 1835.
The troupe always had ambitions to perform serious drama, and in 1839, the company performed Othello
, breaking the law on theatrical performance, as they were not a Patent theatre
. Lane lost his licence and paid a substantial fine. With the increase in London's population, and the increasing popularity of live entertainment, the law was finally changed with the Theatres Act 1843
.
In 1840, Lane and his colleagues thought they had identified a loophole whereby performances could be offered without charge, with profits made from the sale of programmes, food and drink. The Britannia Tavern in Hoxton was identified as suitable premises. This was the former Pimlico tea gardens, an Elizabethan
tavern and had a large hall attached, holding about 1,000 people. The Royal Britannia Saloon and Brittania Tavern was opened on Easter Monday
1841 by Sam Lane. The theatre was a success. Sadly, private life was more difficult, Mary became pregnant, and slipped and fell at a rehearsal, both she and the baby died. By 1858 having purchased the leases of surrounding properties, the theatre was rebuilt in larger form, with 3000 seats. This building designed by Finch Hill
, consisting of two circles, a pit and a gallery and had a reported record attendance of 4,790.
The Britannia was notable for melodramas. These included The String of Pearls (1847), the first stage adaptation of the story of Sweeney Todd
, written specifically for this venue by George Dibden Pitt. The theatre had a resident dramatist, C.H. Hazlewood, who wrote many melodramatic spectacles for it, often based on successful novels of the time, including an adaptation of Lady Audley's Secret
(1863).
was a frequent visitor to the theatre, and noted in the Commercial Traveller (1865):
, in the Britannia's annual pantomime
s and in the annual benefit night, appearing in a final tableaux as The Queen of Hoxton. Sarah Lane made her last stage appearance at the Britannia's 1898 Christmas show, aged 76. Sallie was a well-respected and charitable member of the local community. Large crowds lined the route of her funeral procession from the theatre to Kensal Green Cemetery
. Her estate was valued at a quarter of a million pounds, a significant sum in 1889.
:
were a theatrical family who often claimed that their scion arrived in England in 1620, as a penniless refugee. George William Lupino was a puppetter and the family continued to earn a theatrical living becoming associated with the harlequinade
at Drury Lane
. George Lupino Hook (1820–1902) adopted the stage name Lupino from performing with the family and was associated with the Britannia, performing in leading roles and taking the role of Harlequin
in pantomime. A prolific man, reputed to have had 16 children, many became singers, dancers and actors, receiving their first experience in the company. The eldest son, civil registration as George Emanuel Samuel Hook (1853–1932) became both a clown and a prominent actor, amongst his grandchildren was the Hollywood actress Ida Lupino
. Lupino Lane
was the son of Harry Charles Lupino (1825–1925), a favourite of Sarah Lane and pursued a career in films and musical theatre
. Lupino Lane originated The Lambeth Walk
, in the
1937 musical Me and My Girl
.
organisation, and became a cinema in 1913. The original theatre was demolished to make way for a modern cinema which was never built because of the war. In 1940 the nearby Toy Theatre [Pollock's Toy Museum], was destroyed in World War II
by German
bombing
but the theatre building had already gone by this time.
The Britannia theatre was unique amongst theatres of the time, for a number of reasons. Entry to the entertainment was always cheap, the income was made from sales of food and drink. There was an extraordinary continuity of management, the theatre was in the hands of the same family throughout its lifetime. The theatre also nurtured talent, many of the regular artistes were taken on at an early stage in their careers and remained with the theatre until retirement. The theatre prospered with the increasing free time and prosperity of its audience, and declined with the introduction of the cinema and later, radio.
Author and critic Compton Mackenzie
summed up the enduring legacy of the Britannia, in Echoes (1954):
The Britannia Theatre was the subject of a novel called Sam and Sallie: A novel of the theatre (1933) by Alfred L. Crauford. The Crauford's had a long association with the Britannia, and Alfred was one of Sarah Lane's many nephews.
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The theatre was badly damaged by a fire in 1900. The site was reused as a Gaumont
Gaumont British
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was the British arm of the French film company Gaumont. The company became independent of its French parent in 1922, when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British....
cinema from 1913 to 1940, when this too was destroyed. The site is marked by a London Borough of Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
historic plaque.
A typical night's entertainment would include 3–4 plays, with variety acts in the intervals between. Many Music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
acts would appear during the interval, and sometimes their acts were woven into the performance. The plays varied, from Shakespeare, Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
and comedy. During the winter season pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
was performed.
Unusually for a theatre, food and drink were served in the auditorium, in the style of contemporary Music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
s.
Origins
Samuel Haycraft Lane was born in LympstoneLympstone
Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 1,754. There is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
in 1803. In 1821, he decided to escape the life of a fisherman and walk to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After living hand to mouth and educating himself, with the help of a friend, William Brian, he encountered a troupe of actors who he had previously met on his journey. He helped the leader of the troupe, Jack Adams, to find premises for performance at the Union Tavern in Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
. This hall catered for 500–seated and a similar number standing. Jack Adam's company performed a successful programme of drama, song, dance and acrobatics. Sam married Jack's daughter Mary, in 1835.
The troupe always had ambitions to perform serious drama, and in 1839, the company performed Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, breaking the law on theatrical performance, as they were not a Patent theatre
Patent theatre
The patent theatres were the theatres that were licensed to perform "spoken drama" after the English Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Other theatres were prohibited from performing such "serious" drama, but were permitted to show comedy, pantomime or melodrama...
. Lane lost his licence and paid a substantial fine. With the increase in London's population, and the increasing popularity of live entertainment, the law was finally changed with the Theatres Act 1843
Theatres Act 1843
The Theatres Act 1843 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It amended the regime established under the Licensing Act 1737 for the licensing of the theatre in the UK, implementing the proposals made by a select committee of the House of Commons in 1832.Under the Licensing Act 1737 The...
.
In 1840, Lane and his colleagues thought they had identified a loophole whereby performances could be offered without charge, with profits made from the sale of programmes, food and drink. The Britannia Tavern in Hoxton was identified as suitable premises. This was the former Pimlico tea gardens, an Elizabethan
Elizabethan era
The Elizabethan era was the epoch in English history of Queen Elizabeth I's reign . Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history...
tavern and had a large hall attached, holding about 1,000 people. The Royal Britannia Saloon and Brittania Tavern was opened on Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
1841 by Sam Lane. The theatre was a success. Sadly, private life was more difficult, Mary became pregnant, and slipped and fell at a rehearsal, both she and the baby died. By 1858 having purchased the leases of surrounding properties, the theatre was rebuilt in larger form, with 3000 seats. This building designed by Finch Hill
Finch Hill
William Finch Hill was a British theatre and music hall architect of the Victorian era.Little is known of Finch Hill's early life, he possibly obtained his early architectural experience in church building. He set himself up as 'surveyor and architect', predominantly building public houses. In...
, consisting of two circles, a pit and a gallery and had a reported record attendance of 4,790.
The Britannia was notable for melodramas. These included The String of Pearls (1847), the first stage adaptation of the story of Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
, written specifically for this venue by George Dibden Pitt. The theatre had a resident dramatist, C.H. Hazlewood, who wrote many melodramatic spectacles for it, often based on successful novels of the time, including an adaptation of Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret
Lady Audley's Secret is a sensation novel by Mary Elizabeth Braddon published in 1862. It was Braddon's most successful and well known novel. Critic John Sutherland described the work as "the most sensationally successful of all the sensation novels." The plot centers on "accidental bigamy" which...
(1863).
Britannia theatre in 1865
Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
was a frequent visitor to the theatre, and noted in the Commercial Traveller (1865):
Sarah Lane
Sam married Sarah Borrow (1822–1899) in 1843. She was the daughter of an old friend, William Borrow, who Lane had appointed to a managerial position in the Britannia. Sarah had begun her own career on the stage, at the age of 17, as a singer and dancer, under the stage name Miss Sarah Wilton. On Lane's death in 1871, Sarah, succeeded him as proprietor and manager, and continued until her own death in August 1899. She appeared regularly as principal boyPrincipal boy
In pantomime, a principal boy role is the young male protagonist of the play, traditionally played by a young actress in boy's clothes.The tradition grew out of laws restricting the use of child actors in London theatre, and the responsibility carried by such lead roles...
, in the Britannia's annual pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
s and in the annual benefit night, appearing in a final tableaux as The Queen of Hoxton. Sarah Lane made her last stage appearance at the Britannia's 1898 Christmas show, aged 76. Sallie was a well-respected and charitable member of the local community. Large crowds lined the route of her funeral procession from the theatre to Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery
Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in Kensal Green, in the west of London, England. It was immortalised in the lines of G. K. Chesterton's poem The Rolling English Road from his book The Flying Inn: "For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen; Before we go to Paradise by way of...
. Her estate was valued at a quarter of a million pounds, a significant sum in 1889.
Britannia theatre in 1900
A review of King Doo-Dah, the Christmas pantomime, 1900, at the Britannia Theatre, appeared in the News of the WorldNews of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
:
Lupino family
The LupinosLupino family
Lupino was the surname of a British theatre family tradition that could trace their roots back to an Italian émigré of the early 17th century. This family tradition comprised two actual families *the earlier Luppino or Lupino family...
were a theatrical family who often claimed that their scion arrived in England in 1620, as a penniless refugee. George William Lupino was a puppetter and the family continued to earn a theatrical living becoming associated with the harlequinade
Harlequinade
Harlequinade is a comic theatrical genre, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts". It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th centuries...
at Drury Lane
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
. George Lupino Hook (1820–1902) adopted the stage name Lupino from performing with the family and was associated with the Britannia, performing in leading roles and taking the role of Harlequin
Harlequin
Harlequin or Arlecchino in Italian, Arlequin in French, and Arlequín in Spanish is the most popularly known of the zanni or comic servant characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte and its descendant, the Harlequinade.-Origins:...
in pantomime. A prolific man, reputed to have had 16 children, many became singers, dancers and actors, receiving their first experience in the company. The eldest son, civil registration as George Emanuel Samuel Hook (1853–1932) became both a clown and a prominent actor, amongst his grandchildren was the Hollywood actress Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino
Ida Lupino was an English-born film actress and director, and a pioneer among women filmmakers. In her 48-year career, she appeared in 59 films and directed seven others, mostly in the United States. She appeared in serial television programmes 58 times and directed 50 other episodes...
. Lupino Lane
Lupino Lane
Lupino Lane was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family. Lane started out as a child performer, known as 'Little Nipper', and went on to appear in a wide range of theatrical, music hall and film performances...
was the son of Harry Charles Lupino (1825–1925), a favourite of Sarah Lane and pursued a career in films and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. Lupino Lane originated The Lambeth Walk
The Lambeth Walk
"The Lambeth Walk" is a song from the 1937 musical Me and My Girl . The song takes its name from a local street Lambeth Walk once notable for its street market and working class culture in Lambeth, an area of London.The tune gave its name to a Cockney dance first made popular in 1937 by Lupino Lane...
, in the
1937 musical Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth....
.
End of an era
Soon after the 1900 pantomime, a serious fire damaged the building. The cost of bringing the building up to standard, forced the sale of the lease. It came into the hands of the GaumontGaumont British
Gaumont-British Picture Corporation was the British arm of the French film company Gaumont. The company became independent of its French parent in 1922, when Isidore Ostrer acquired control of Gaumont-British....
organisation, and became a cinema in 1913. The original theatre was demolished to make way for a modern cinema which was never built because of the war. In 1940 the nearby Toy Theatre [Pollock's Toy Museum], was destroyed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
by German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
bombing
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
but the theatre building had already gone by this time.
Legacy
Author and critic Compton Mackenzie
Compton Mackenzie
Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE was a writer and a Scottish nationalist.-Background:Compton Mackenzie was born in West Hartlepool, England, into a theatrical family of Mackenzies, but many of whose members used Compton as their stage surname, starting with his grandfather Henry Compton, a well-known...
summed up the enduring legacy of the Britannia, in Echoes (1954):
The Britannia Theatre was the subject of a novel called Sam and Sallie: A novel of the theatre (1933) by Alfred L. Crauford. The Crauford's had a long association with the Britannia, and Alfred was one of Sarah Lane's many nephews.
Notable performers
- Lupino LaneLupino LaneLupino Lane was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family. Lane started out as a child performer, known as 'Little Nipper', and went on to appear in a wide range of theatrical, music hall and film performances...
(actor and film director, actually great-nephew of Sarah Lane) - Vesta TilleyVesta TilleyMatilda Alice Powles , was an English male impersonator. At the age of 11, she adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley becoming the most famous and well paid music hall male impersonator of her day...
(male impersonator) - Arthur Lloyd (Scottish singer, songwriter, comedian)
- Joseph ReynoldsJoseph ReynoldsJoseph Reynolds was a U.S. Representative from New York and a brigadier general of state militia troops during the War of 1812....
(actor) - George Barnes Bigwood (Resident low comedian, and occasional stage manager)
- James AndersonJames Anderson- Arts :*James K Anderson , American actor*James Anderson , British actor*James Arthur Anderson , American writer*James Anderson , American television writer...
, a renowned Shakespearian actor of the time, was engaged at a salary of £180 a week in 1851.
Further reading
- Crauford, Alfred L. (1933). Sam and Sallie: A novel of the theatre. London: Cranley and Day.
- Playbills, productions and cast lists Britannia Theatre Hoxton, in the collection of the University of KentUniversity of KentThe University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...