Theatre Royal
Drury Lane

Theatre Royal – Drury Lane

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Drury Lane
London
WC2B 5JF

	Café Theatre Royal - open one and a half hours before performance. There are 6 bars.
	Entrance through the Fire Exit on Russell Street. Infra-red sound system. Occasional signed performances. Guide dogs are not allowed in the auditorium. Staff will dog-sit. There is Disabled Access. Disabled person's Toilets. Induction Loop or Infra-red sound amplification
	Single yellow lines in Catherine Street and Russell Street. NCP in Drury Lane is the closest public car park to The Theatre Royal.
	Covent Garden is the closest London tube station to the Theatre Royal
	London Charing Cross is the closest British Rail station to the Theatre Royal Drury lane.
HISTORY	Theatre Royal Drury Lane   The first theatre on the site of Drury Lane theatre was opened in 1663 as the Theatre Royal Brydges Street with an audience capacity of about 700. It was built by Thomas Killigrew who held one of only two charters granted by Charles II at his Restoration to the throne in 1662. (Theatres had been banned during Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth). The theatre survived the Great Fire of London in 1666 but burnt down in 1672 (in the days of wooden framed buildings and candles, fire was a perennial problem). The second theatre, which opened in 1674, was much larger and could seat 2,000. The theatre struggled against stronger competition for a few years and was even forced to close, but in 1682 the Drury Lane company and their rivals joined forces under the management of Thomas Betterton. After a few successful years the theatre again found itself in difficulty and it was not until the famous actor David Garrick took over the management in 1747 that the theatre’s fortunes began to rise. Garrick was succeeded in 1777 by the playwright Richard Brindsley Sheridan. In 1791 the theatre was again rebuilt and opened in 1794 with a seating capacity of 3,611. This lasted only 15 years and was burnt down in 1809. Sheridan could not afford to rebuild it, but the brewer Samuel Whitbread who was one of the shareholders raised £400,000 and the fourth theatre - still there today - opened in 1814. Some of the most famous luminaries of British Theatre performed in the historic theatres on this site, including Nell Gwynne, Mrs Siddons, Garrick, Kean and Grimaldi. The theatre has hosted musicals including Rose Marie,Show Boat, My Fair Lady and most recently Miss Saigon.  Visitors to the Upper Circle during matinees, however, be warned the Theatre Royal has its own Phantom, the notorious Man in Grey, said to be the ghost of the man whose body was found in the walls of the Theatre Royal in 1840. For many further details. www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/DruryLane.htm

 Theatre Royal, Drury Lane – Seating Plan

 London Theatre Tickets