Smock Alley Theatre

Smock Alley Theatre

Address	6/7 Exchange Street Lower Dublin 8 Ireland
Type	theatre
Opened	1662
Years active	1662-1787, 2012 to present
Website
smockalley.com

Smock Alley Theatre sign

The Smock Alley Theatre is a theatre in Dublin. The original theatre opened in 1662 and operated till 1787.^[1] In 2012, after a €3.5 million investment, a new theatre opened on the original foundations and with a lot of the original superstructure.^[2]

Origins

When a new phase of theatre history began in Great Britain and Ireland with the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, there were three major theatres built within a few years of one another: London's Drury Lane (1662) and Lincoln's Inn Fields (1661) in London and Smock Alley Theatre (the first Theatre Royal built in Dublin in 1662).

Only one of these three was a purpose-built theatre building and only one exists in substantially the same form as in 1662; Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. It was the second ever purpose built theatre in Ireland, the Werburgh Street Theatre was the first but it only presented plays from approximately 1637 to 1641.

Original Form

It consisted of a proscenium stage, pit, boxes, a middle and upper gallery, lattices (which were a type of box peculiar to Dublin) and a music/orchestra loft, also the acoustics were said to be excellent. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the reclaimed ground on which it was built and due to this in 1670 and later in 1701 the upper galleries collapsed.

There was another partial collapse in March 1734 after which it was abandoned for a short while. The major decision was then taken to demolish and rebuild the theatre in 1735 with increased audience capacity.

However a new theatre had opened in Aungier Street and it managed to wrestle the title Theatre Royal from Smock Alley for a time. In 1745 Thomas Sheridan, godson of Jonathan Swift, took on the role of manager of Smock Alley and Aungier Street. He made many improvements and reclaimed the title Theatre Royal for Smock Alley. By 1750 the Aungier Street theatre had closed down.

Theatre at Smock Alley

While Smock Alley was in operation as a theatre, it gave the world the plays of George Farquhar (The Recruiting Officer/The Beaux Stratagem), Oliver Goldsmith (She Stoops to Conquer) and Richard Brinsley Sheridan (The Rivals/School for Scandal). It was here that the stars of world theatre appeared to much acclaim-Peg Woffington, Thomas Sheridan, Spranger Barry and Charles Macklin. It was on the stage of Smock Alley Theatre that David Garrick, the greatest actor of the 18th century, first played Hamlet.

It was also the site of some infamous 18th century Dublin riots, the most serious being the Kelly riots of 1747. Thomas Sheridan was manager at the time and had recently banned the presence of audience members on stage and the taking of money for the privilege of going backstage. These rules were severely tested by a very drunk Trinity College student whom Sheridan reprimanded, and in the resulting row about fifty gentlemen tore up the inside of the theatre.

Smock Alley As A Church

In 1758 another rival theatre opened up and eventually Smock Alley Theatre closed in 1787. After this, the building was used as a whiskey store until it was bought by Fr Michael Blake and the building was converted into a church between 1811 and 1815. It was named Ss Michael and John’s Church after the medieval churches of St Michael of the Hill (now Dublinia) and St John of Booth Street (Fishamble Street). It had a famous stained glass window that is now in Swords. The theatre still boasts ornate stained glass windows and ceiling plasterwork which dates from the turn of the 20th century.

When the bell tolled in 1811, 18 years before Catholic Emancipation; it was the first Catholic bell to ring in Dublin in nearly 300 years. This prompted the aldermen of the city to bring charges against Fr Blake but these charges were dropped when it was learnt that a young and up-and-coming lawyer called Daniel O’Connell was to defend him.

In 1989 due to falling numbers of parishioners the church of St Michael and John was deconsecrated. It was then redeveloped (part of the Temple Bar rejuvenation scheme) into the ‘Viking Adventure’ which was closed down in 2002.

Excavation

In 2009, a full archaeological excavation took place under Margaret Gowan Archaeology. The dig revealed part of the foundations from the theatre built in 1662 and the full basement and foundation plan of the 1735 theatre.

They discovered that the theatre was not demolished to build the church as originally thought but had been converted by blocking up windows and doors, taking off the roof, inserting a fine plaster ceiling, stained glass windows and burial vaults.

A total of 229 artefacts were recovered from the excavations, these included medieval and post-medieval pottery, glass finds (mostly wine bottles), clay tobacco pipe fragments, an actor's wig curler, a medieval roof tile, fragments of mosaic floor and lots of oyster shells, remnants of the theatre’s colourful past.

Present Day

After a six-year renovation, Smock Alley Theatre reopened its doors as Dublin’s oldest newest theatre in May 2012. The Smock Alley Theatre site comprises Smock Alley Theatre, 1662 (178 seats), The Boy’s School (60 - 100 capacity), Black Box (80 capacity), and The Banquet Hall (300 capacity). All spaces in Smock Alley Theatre are available for commercial or private hire. Smock Alley Theatre is currently establishing a series of strategic long term partnerships with theatre/ dance companies, festivals, The National Theatre School of Ireland (incorporating The Gaiety School of Ireland) and others so that over a significant period of time, the opportunity of ongoing association will ensure audiences grow and link the work of a particular company to the venue.

The Banquet Hall is beautiful and impressive with an ornate plaster work ceiling, plastered walls and stained glass windows from the theatre’s time as a church. There are wooden floors and oak tables and benches. Dimensions are – width 13M, length 25M, height 6.2M. The space is versatile and easy to change – ideal for conferences and launches – events where are larger capacity are required.

The Boys School has a gothic atmosphere, a more versatile seating option and is easy to change – ideal for experimental shows and productions. A high and ancient church wall creates a dramatic backdrop for performance. A spiral ramp which hugs the wall around the theatre, allows for innovative use of the vertical space and interesting vantage points.

The newly constructed main space is built on the foundations of Smock Alley Theatre of 1662. The walls of our new theatre are the original walls of that famous first Dublin theatre. Newly constructed are the 178 seats, dressing rooms and green room facilities. Spacious and versatile, the Main Space is suitable for lectures and comedy, as well as theatre and musical performance.

Smock Alley is currently a regular venue for Dublin festivals, (Dublin Fringe Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival, Dublin Writers Festival, Dublin Dance Festival, Collaborations, Bram Stoker, St Patrick Festival, New Years Eve Festival, First Fortnight) launch events, seminars, conferences, training days, private functions and all theatre, dance and music events. For more than a century, Smock Alley put Irish theatre on the European map. Smock Alley Theatre was at the very core of an Ireland striving to find its own voice. If we are to ask historically what makes theatre such an important part of culture today, we need to go back more than two centuries before the founding of The Abbey Theatre, to the Smock Alley Theatre of the 17th century.

References

• Simpson, L. (Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd) Archaeological excavation at the Smock Alley Theatre 17/3/2010
• Dr. Christopher Morash (NUI Maynooth) Board Member of Smock Alley Ltd
• Bynane, P. (Prof. Theatre, Texas Women’s University) “As Good A Gentleman as You Are.” The Kelly Riots at the Theatre Royal, Smock Alley

External links

• Smockalley website Our History