Drury Lane

Drury Lane street and district of London, at first a place of fine residences, among which was that of the Drury family. It was the site of the original Drury Lane Theatre, which was built by Thomas Killigrew in 1663 under a charter from Charles II and called the Theatre Royal. After burning down (1672), the theater was rebuilt (1674) with Christopher Wren as architect. It was again rebuilt (1791-94) and again burned down (1809). The present Drury Lane Theatre was changed according to the design of Benjamin Wyatt in 1812. The oldest English theater still in use, it has at various times housed everything from a circus to opera.

Bibliography: See Reminiscences of Michael Kelly of the King's Theatre and Theatre Royal Drury Lane (2 vol., 2d ed. 1826, repr. 1968).

Drury Lane, London, named after the Drury family. The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, was originally a cock-pit, converted into a theatre in the times of James I. It was rebuilt by T. Killigrew (1612–83), again by Sir C. Wren in 1674, and again in 1812. Garrick, Mrs Siddons, J. P. Kemble, and Kean are among the famous actors who have appeared there. In the 19th cent. it was the great house of Christmas pantomimes, and after the Second World War many successful American musicals were staged there.

Drury Lane the site in London of the Theatre Royal, one of London's most famous theatres, where Nell Gwyn (1650–87) is said to have sold oranges. While under Sheridan's managament in the late 18th century, it was demolished and rebuilt; the new theatre, however, burned down in 1809.

The present and fourth theatre on this site, dating from 1812, was not particularly successful until the 1880s, when it became famous for its melodramas and spectacles.