The Britannia Theatre (1841–1900) was located at 115/117 High Street,

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It li ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.''Britannia Theatre Hoxton''
(Arthur Lloyd theatre history) accessed 20 December 2006 The theatre was badly damaged by a fire in 1900, forcing the sale of the lease. The site was reused as a Gaumont cinema from 1913 to 1940, before being demolished to make room for a more modern cinema which was never built. Housing has now been built on the site, which is marked by a London Borough of Hackney historic plaque. A typical night's entertainment at the Britannia Theatre 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 William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, Victorian melodrama and comedy. During the winter season

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

was performed. Unusually for a theatre, food and drink were served in the auditorium, in the style of contemporary music halls.

History

Origins

Samuel Haycraft Lane was born in

Lympstone 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 ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

in 1803. In 1821, he decided to escape the life of a fisherman and walk to

. 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.Crauford, Alfred L. ''Sam and Sallie: A novel of the theatre'' (London: Cranley and Day, 1933). 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.''The Making of the Britannia Theatre'' Alan D. Craxford and Reg Moore
(extracts from ''Sam and Sallie'' at a family history website) accessed 21 December 2006 With the increase in London's population, and the increasing popularity of live entertainment, the law was finally changed with the

Theatres Act 1843 The Theatres Act 1843 (6 & 7 Vict., c. 68) (also known as the Theatre Regulation Act) is a defunct Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It amended the regime established under the Licensing Act 1737 for the licensing of the theatre in Great B ...

. 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.''Ruling the Britannia'' Sian Mogridge 10 March 2008 ''Hackney Today'' pp 23 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 3,000 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 Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet Stre ...

, written specifically for this venue by George Dibdin 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). Sam married Sarah Borrow in 1843. She was the daughter of an old friend, William Borrow, who Lane had appointed to a managerial position in the Britannia. 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 boy, in the Britannia's annual

s and in the annual benefit night, appearing in a final tableaux as ''The Queen of Hoxton''. Her name "appeared on . . . playbills as the author of a series of plays translated and adapted from the French." Sarah Lane made her last stage appearance at the Britannia's 1898 Christmas show, aged 76. Large crowds lined the route of her funeral procession from the theatre to

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

. Her estate was valued at a quarter of a million pounds, a significant sum in 1889.''The Britannia comes to the Craxfords''
accessed 12 February 2007

Dickens' description

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

was a frequent visitor to the theatre, and noted in the ''Uncommercial Traveller'' (1861):

King Doo-Dah

A review of ''King Doo-Dah'', the Christmas pantomime, 1900, at the Britannia Theatre, appeared in the '' News of the World'':

Lupino family

The Lupinos were a theatrical family who often claimed that their scion arrived in England in 1620, as a penniless refugee. George William Lupino was a puppeteer 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 Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the '' zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian '' commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditional ...

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 (4 February 1918Recorded in ''Births Mar 1918'' Camberwell Vol. 1d, p. 1019 (Free BMD). Transcribed as "Lupine" in the official births index – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, writer, and producer. T ...

Lupino Lane Henry William George Lupino (16 June 1892 – 10 November 1959) professionally Lupino Lane, was an English actor and theatre manager, and a member of the famous Lupino family, which eventually included his cousin, the screenwriter/director/actr ...

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 "The Lambeth Walk" is a song from the 1937 musical '' Me and My Girl'' (with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay). The song takes its name from a local street, Lambeth Walk, once notable for its street mark ...

'', in the 1937 musical '' Me and My Girl.

Fire and refit

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 Gaumont 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 ollock's Toy Museum was destroyed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

by German bombing but the theatre building had already gone by this time.

Legacy

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 Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of th ...

summed up the enduring legacy of the Britannia, in ''Echoes'' (1954): The Britannia Theatre was the subject of a 1933 novel ''Sam and Sallie: A novel of the theatre'' by Alfred L. Crauford. The Craufords had a long association with the Britannia, and Alfred was one of Sarah Lane's many nephews. In

Sarah Waters Sarah Ann Waters (born 21 July 1966) is a Welsh novelist. She is best known for her novels set in Victorian society and featuring lesbian protagonists, such as '' Tipping the Velvet'' and '' Fingersmith''. Life and education Early life Sa ...

' 1998 novel ''

Tipping the Velvet ''Tipping the Velvet'' (1998) is a historical novel by Sarah Waters; it is her debut novel. Set in England during the 1890s, it tells a coming of age story about a young woman named Nan who falls in love with a male impersonator, follows her ...

'', her lead characters are engaged to play pantomime in the theatre. The venue is mentioned in Chas and Dave's song "Harry was a Champion", describing performer Harry Champion as "king of 'em all at the music hall or down at the Old Britannia".

Notable performers

Dan Leno George Wild Galvin (20 December 1860 – 31 October 1904), better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era. He was best known, aside from his music hall a ...

actor and comedian *

(actor and film director, actually great-nephew of Sarah Lane) *

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

(male impersonator) * Arthur Lloyd (Scottish singer, songwriter, comedian) * Joseph Reynolds (actor) *George Barnes Bigwood (Resident ''low comedian'', and occasional stage manager)Bigwood maintained a large collection of music hall material, much relating to the Britannia. This is now in the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

theatre collection. *

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

, a renowned Shakespearian actor of the time, was engaged at a salary of £180 a week in 1851.

References

Sources

External links

"Film: Hoxton... Saturday July 3rd, Britannia Theatre" (1920)
{{coords, 51.530, -0.080, display=title Theatres completed in 1841 1900 disestablishments Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hackney Former theatres in London Buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed during World War II