Fortune Theatre

Fortune Theatre, London.1. In Golden Lane, Cripplegate. This was built in 1600 for Edward Alleyn and Philip Henslowe to house the Admiral's Men, of whom Alleyn was the leading actor. It was erected by Peter Street, who also built the first Globe, and the contract for it is still in existence; it gives a good deal of valuable information, though a number of details are dismissed with the words ‘like unto the Globe’. It is clear however that it was an 80-ft.-square timber building, almost certainly constructed within the walls of a former inn or dwelling house, and it had two galleries reputed to hold 1,000 people. It took its name from a statue of the Goddess of Fortune over the entrance. It was a popular playhouse, and drew a fashionable audience of nobles and distinguished foreign visitors. In 1621 it burnt down, and with the building perished also the wardrobe and all the playbooks. Two years later, rebuilt in brick and with a repertory of 14 new plays, it reopened, still tenanted by the same company. Though not as successful as before, the Fortune continued in use until all the theatres were closed in 1642. Even then it was used occasionally for illicit performances, until in 1649 it was raided by Commonwealth soldiers, who dismantled the interior. The building was finally demolished in 1661.2. The old name was revived when in 1924 the present Fortune Theatre, in Russell Street, Covent Garden, opened under Laurence Cowen with his own play The Sinners. It seats 424 in three tiers, and has a proscenium width of 25 ft. It had few successes in its early years, except for Lonsdale's On Approval (1927), which ran for 469 performances, and a season of plays by O'Casey presented by J. B. Fagan. During the Second World War it was occupied by ENSA. It reopened in 1946 but during the next 10 years housed more amateur productions than professional, though Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure (1954) proved popular. In 1957 Michael Flanders and Donald Swann presented their musical entertainment At the Drop of a Hat, which had a long run, as did the revue Beyond the Fringe (1961). Other successes were Francis Durbridge's thriller Suddenly at Home (1971), the revival of the musical Mr Cinders (1983), John Godber's Up ‘n’ Under (1985), and Re: Joyce (1988), Maureen Lipman's re-creation of Joyce Grenfell.