Webber Classics
A Brief History Of British Theatre
London is steeped in theatrical history and has been well known as a hub for performing arts since the first theatre opened in the city in 1576. The city pulls in massive audiences year on year to its many theatres, showcasing comedy theatre and musicals as well as avant garde and shakespeare performances.
The New York Broadway scene shares many great shows with it’s London counterpart, the West End, bringing popular performances to a new audience. The stars in Hollywood often cross the waters to tread the boards in the London West End, as it is the birthplace of theatre. You may have heard of some of the more famous names to have successfully performed in London, Elisabeth Moss and Christian Slater are just two who have stolen the limelight here. For example, Kevin Spacey is artistic director of The Old Vic theatre, while Whoopi Goldberg co-produced Sister Act at The London Palladium. It seems that no matter how successful in showbiz you are, nothing is more satisfying than having your career recognised in the place where your trade began.
London isn’t the only British location to offer audiences inspiring theatre. The creative energy of theatres such as Alan Ayckbourn’s Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, The Bristol Old Vic and the Sheffield theatre hub add to the richness of the landscape. Numerous UK towns also offer audiences the chance to experience five-star theatre with performances from touring companies.
British theatre has certainly experienced a gradual evolution throughout the centuries. The Red Lion was the first permanent theatre in Britain – built in Shoreditch in 1576. This London location was also home to The Theatre, where Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men regularly performed. One hundred years later, the first West End theatre was established in Drury Lane (now known as Theatre Royal Drury Lane). The year 1765 saw the establishment of Sadler’s Wells, which showcased a lively mix of drama and comedy theatre. The first Shakespeare Memorial theatre was built in Stratford in 1879 after calls for a theatre that did justice to Shakespeare’s works.
The twentieth century saw the most progressive advancements. The Thirties saw Lilian Baylis of The Old Vic put forward a request for publicly subsidised national theatre, opera and dance. The Forties and Fifties saw a golden age of classic theatre, headed by Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Ralph Richardson and Sir John Gielgud starring in world-acclaimed productions of Shakespeare and new British plays. This all led to the creation of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford in 1961. In 1963, the National Theatre opened at The Old Vic, spearheaded by Olivier. Famous names such as Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter carved out successful playwright careers, and the Seventies saw the National Theatre move to Sir Denys Lasdun’s modernist theatre on the South Bank. Britain broke the American stranglehold on large-scale modern musicals when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice launched their brilliant careers with first Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and then Jesus Christ Superstar in 1970, and never looked back. Matilda, Les Misérables and The Lion King are just some of the offerings which have the nation’s desire for great British modern musicals to thank for their creation.
The Royal Shakespeare Company, now in it’s 50th year is celebrating with the unveiling of its recently refurbished theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon . The recession doesn’t seem to have had a massive affect on the British Theatre scene with over two million tickets being sold for the award-winning Wicked. Audiences are still investing in British Theatre – a historic attribute that has propelled it into the worldwide industry leader it is today.
The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber in Singapore