The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,[1] is a
West End theatre, and opened on Panton Street in the
City of Westminster, on 15 October 1881, as the Royal Comedy Theatre. It was designed by
Thomas Verity and built in just six months in painted (
stucco) stone and brick.[2] By 1884 it was known as simply the Comedy Theatre. In the mid-1950s the theatre underwent major reconstruction and re-opened in December 1955; the auditorium remains essentially that of 1881, with three tiers of horseshoe-shaped balconies.[2]
History
Early years: 1881–1900
The streets between
Leicester Square and the
Haymarket had been of insalubrious reputation until shortly before the construction of the Comedy Theatre, but by 1881 the "doubtful resorts of the roisterers" had been removed.[3] J. H. Addison held a plot of ground in Panton Street at the corner of Oxenden Street, for which he commissioned the architect
Thomas Verity to design a theatre.[4] The builders were Kirk and Randall of
Woolwich.[3] The original seating capacity was 1,186, comprising 140 stalls, 120 dress circle, 126 upper boxes, amphitheatre 100, pit 400 and gallery 300.[4] the construction was completed in six months.[2]
The theatre was, and remains, a three-tier house, its exterior in the classical tradition in painted (
stucco) stone and brick.[2] The theatrical newspaper The Era described the interior as "Renaissance style, richly moulded and finished in white and gold. The draperies of the boxes are of maroon plush, elegantly draped and embroidered in gold".[5] It was originally planned to light the theatre by the new electric lighting, but for unspecified reasons this was temporarily abandoned, and the usual gas lighting was installed.[5][n 1]
The first lessee of the theatre, Alexander Henderson, who had worked with Verity on the design of the building, intended it to be the home of
comic opera; at one time he had intended to call it the Lyric.[n 2] The theatre historians
Mander and Mitchenson write that the name he finally chose – the Royal Comedy – lacked any official approval for the use of "Royal", which was dropped within three years.[6][n 3] He assembled a strong team, including
Lionel Brough as stage director and
Auguste van Biene as musical director.[5]
Melnotte sub-let the theatre in 1887 to
Herbert Beerbohm Tree – his first venture into management – who presented and co-starred with
Marion Terry in The Red Lamp by
Outram Tristram.[11] The following year the sub-lessee was
Charles Hawtrey, who ran the theatre until 1892 and produced Jane (1890) and many farces described by Mander and Mitchenson as "now-forgotten".[8]
In 1893
J. Comyns Carr took over the management of the theatre. He remained in charge for three years, producing among other plays Sowing the Wind by Sydney Grundy (1893); The Professor's Love Story by
J. M. Barrie (1894); The New Woman by Grundy (1894); and The Benefit of the Doubt by
A. W. Pinero (1895). The resident stars of the house in this period were
Cyril Maude and his wife
Winifred Emery. Hawtrey resumed the management in a play of his own, Mr Martin, in which he co-starred with
Lottie Venne.[12] which he followed with a successful season of light comedies.[8]William Greet took over the theatre in 1898 and presented
Arthur Roberts and
Ada Reeve in a
musical comedyMilord Sir Smith with music by
Edward Jakobowski.[13] The major productions of 1899 were A Lady of Quality by
Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Great Caesar by
George Grossmith Jr. and
Paul Rubens, with
Willie Edouin, Grossmith and Reeve.[14]
20th century
In the early years of the 20th century the Comedy was often used for special seasons and matinée performances of avant garde plays.
Frank Benson and his company, which included
Lilian Braithwaite and
Oscar Asche, played a Shakespeare season in 1901.[15] In 1902,
Lewis Waller presented an adaption of Monsieur Beaucaire which ran for 430 performances.[16]
In 1904
Fred Terry and
Julia Neilson played in Sunday for a run of 129 performances.[17] The following year
Charles Frohman presented
John Barrymore in his first London appearance in The Dictator. In 1906
John Hare presented a short season, appearing in The Alabaster Staircase, and a revival of A Pair of Spectacles. Other productions in the first decade of the century included Raffles with
Gerald du Maurier in the title role (1906), which ran for 351 performances;[18] 1907, a series of six dramas by
Somerset Maugham and others starring
Marie Tempest (1907–1909);[19] and
Marie Löhr in Pinero's Preserving Mr Panmure (1911). The final production to open before the
First World War was Peg o' My Heart, with
Laurette Taylor, which ran for 710 performances.[20]
In 1915 the Comedy followed the fashion for
revue, presenting
Albert de Courville's Shell Out! (1915),
C. B. Cochran's Half-past Eight (1916), and four successive revues by
André Charlot: This and That and See-Saw! (1916), and Bubbly and Tails Up (1918). They all ran well, particularly the last two, which ran for 429 and 467 performances respectively.[21]
The theatre established the New Watergate Club in 1956, under producer Anthony Field, to counter the stage censorship in force at the time.[22] The
Theatres Act 1843 was still in force and required scripts to be submitted for approval by the
Lord Chamberlain's Office. Formation of the club allowed plays that had been banned due to language or subject matter to be performed under "club" conditions.
^The delay did not affect the Comedy's chance of being the first theatre in London (or anywhere else) to be lit by electricity, as that distinction had already been won by the
Savoy, which opened five days before the Comedy.[6]