Princess's Theatre, London

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The Princess's Theatre or Princess Theatre was a theatre in Oxford Street, London. The building opened in 1828 as the "Queen's Bazaar" and housed a diorama by Clarkson Stanfield and David Roberts. It was converted into a theatre and opened in 1836 as the Princess's Theatre, named for then Princess Victoria before her accession.^[1] After an unsuccessful series of promenade concerts, alterations were made on the interior, and the theatre was reopened on 26 December 1842 with Vincenzo Bellini's opera, La sonnambula. The theatre then presented operas and other entertainments, such as General Tom Thumb.

The theatre is best remembered for Charles Kean's Shakespeare revivals, beginning in 1849 and continuing for ten years. Kean presented these in lavish and well-researched "authentic" productions^[2] and also presented French drama. Dion Boucicault became the theatre's leading actor, and Ellen Terry and Henry Irving got their starts at the theatre. Thereafter, the theatre presented mainly melodrama. In 1864, a particularly popular drama was presented at the theatre called "The Streets of London." it was demolished in 1880 and rebuilt in 1879-80. After this, the theatre continued to present melodramas, including The Silver King in 1882.

The theatre closed permanently in 1902 after its last success, The Fatal Wedding, and the building became a warehouse. It was demolished in 1931 and replaced by a Woolworth store, and then subsequently by the Oxford Walk shopping centre. The site is now the location of HMV's flagship Oxford Street store.

[edit] References

Hartnoll, Phyllis. The Oxford Companion to the Theatre. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1983.
Thomas, Peter. Princess's Theatre. in Banham, Martin, ed. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. London, Cambridge University Press. 1995.
Princess's Theatre, http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Princess.htm. Accessed 2007-08-24.