Vaudeville Theatre

Vaudeville Theatre, London, in the Strand. Built in 1870 for David James (1839–93) and two other actors, it held over 1,000, opening with Andrew Halliday's comedy For Love or Money. It had its first success in 1871 with Albery's Two Roses, which introduced Henry Irving to London audiences, and in 1875 H. J. Byron's Our Boys, in which James appeared, began a four-year run. In 1884 the theatre scored another success with Henry Arthur Jones's Saints and Sinners. In 1891 it reopened after reconstruction, its seating capacity reduced to 740 on four tiers, with Jerome K. Jerome's comedy Woodbarrow Farm, and later in the year came the first performances in England (at matinées only) of Ibsen's Rosmersholm and Hedda Gabler, both with Elizabeth Robins. The Gatti brothers bought the theatre in 1892 and from 1900 to 1906 Seymour Hicks and his wife Ellaline Terriss appeared in a series of long runs under the direction of Charles Frohman, Hicks's popular Christmas entertainment Blue-bell in Fairyland being first seen in 1901. Among other successes were Barrie's Quality Street (1902) and several musical comedies including The Belle of Mayfair (1906). Charles Hawtrey then appeared in a series of comedies, and in 1915 the theatre became the home of Charlot's revues, which continued until 1925, when the theatre again closed for rebuilding, though retaining its original façade. It reopened in 1926, continuing mainly with revues until 1937, its seating capacity having been reduced to 659 on three tiers. In 1938 Robert Morley's Goodness, How Sad! was a hit. Wartime productions included Esther McCracken's No Medals (1944), which ran for two years. In 1947 William Douglas Home enjoyed two good runs with Now Barabbas … and The Chiltern Hundreds, the latter with A. E. Matthews. The 1950s were dominated by the record-breaking musical by Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade, Salad Days, which ran from 1954 to 1960. Ronald Millar's The Bride Comes Back (1960), Wesker's Chips with Everything (1962), and Joyce Rayburn's The Man Most Likely to … (1968) also did well. In 1970 the theatre changed hands and was extensively refurbished, its first outstanding success after reopening being the farce Move Over, Mrs Markham by John Chapman and Ray Cooney. In 1977 Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced began a long run, and notable later productions were Frayn's Benefactors (1984) and Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind (1986) and Henceforward … (1988).