Standard Theatre

Standard Theatre, London, in Shoreditch, originally a pleasure-garden attached to the Royal Standard public-house, was already in use in 1837. The first substantial building on the site, which held over 3,000, had a circus-ring which could be boarded over for concerts and dramatic performances. Burnt down in 1866, it was rebuilt on a larger scale, and reopened in 1867 as the Standard Theatre under the management of John Douglass, who remained there until his death in 1888. He maintained a good stock company, and his pantomimes rivalled those of the Britannia in Hoxton and even those of Drury Lane. It was the first of the north-eastern suburban theatres to attract visiting stars from the West End, Henry Irving being seen there in 1869. In 1876 it was again rebuilt, with a seating capacity of 2,463 in four tiers, and reopened as the New National Standard Theatre, but was always known by its old name. In 1889 it was taken over by the Melville brothers, who ran it successfully until 1907, after which, as the Olympia, Shoreditch, it became a music-hall, and in 1926 a cinema. It was badly damaged by bombs in 1940 and demolished soon after.