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The People of the “People's Theatre”: The Social Demography of the Britannia Theatre (Hoxton)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2009

Jim Davis  and
Tracy C. Davis
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Extract

In 1882, Walter Besant declared that the hinterland beyond Aldgate had two million people yet “no institutions of their own to speak of, no public buildings of any importance, no municipality, no gentry, no carriages, no soldiers, no picture-galleries, no theatres, no opera—they have nothing.” The fact that Whitechapel first appeared in the theatrical annals in 1557, Stepney contained several of the largest engineering projects in Regency London, and Shoreditch's Britannia was one of the most successful theatres in Victorian Britain belies the prejudice in Besant's statement. Cultural historians of all types need to resist such propaganda and have good cause to suspect the entire record of life, leisure, and entertainment in the industrialized inner suburbs. The history of nineteenth-century English theatre has—with very few exceptions—focussed on London, yet apart from essays by Michael Booth and Clive Barker little serious attention has been paid to theatre in the East End. Booth points out the limitations arising from scholarship that ignores the area where half of the metropolitan theatre seats were located, while Barker shows the methodological difficulties that arise once a redressive investigation into the audience is undertaken. The omissions from the historical record are compounded by narrow selectivity of enquiries: leading performers receive scholarly attention while supernumeraries (supers), ballet dancers, front of house staff, property makers, and the many functionaries who made up the whole community responsible for running a theatre are consistently neglected. These characteristics are somehow more evident in scholarship on the East End, where no matter how sociogeographically biased the enquirers may be the working class and its conditions are central themes, and the repertoire has always been allowed (perhaps stereotyped) as sensational.

Type
Research Article
Information
Theatre Survey , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , November 1991 , pp. 137 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © American Society for Theatre Research 1991

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References

1 Besant, Walter, All Sorts and Conditions of Men (New York: Harper, 1882)Google Scholar.

2 Useful contributions on provincial theatres include: Crump, Jeremy, “Provincial Music Hall: Promoters and Public in Leicester 1863–1929,” Music Hall: The Business of Pleasure, ed. Bailey, Peter (Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1986), 53–72Google Scholar; Reid, Douglas, “Popular Theatre in Victorian Birmingham,” Performance and Politics in Popular Drama, ed. Bradby, D. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 65–89CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Barker, Kathleen, “Thirty Years of Struggle: Entertainments in Provincial Towns Between 1840 and 1870,” Theatre Notebook 39 (1985): 25–31, 68–75, 140–149Google Scholar; and “The Performing Arts in Newcastle upon Tyne, 1840–70,“ Leisure in Britain 1780–1939, ed. Walton, John K. and Walvin, James (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1983), 53–70Google Scholar.

3 Barker, Clive, “The Audiences of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton,” Theatre Quarterly 9.34 (1979): 27–41Google Scholar; Booth, Michael R., “East End and West End: Class and Audience in Victorian London,” Theatre Research International 2.2 (February 1977): 98–103CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Booth, Michael R., “East End Melodrama,” Theatre Survey 17 (1976): 57–67CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also Higley, J. J., “A Study of Some Social, Literary and Dramatic Aspects of the Victorian Popular Theatre as Illustrated by the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, 1843–1870,” Ph.D. London 1974–1975Google Scholar.

4 See Fishman, W. J., East End 1888: A Year in a London Borough Among the Labouring Poor (London: Duckworth, 1988), 303–325Google Scholar; Weiner, Deborah E. B., “The People's Palace: an Image for East London in the 1880s,” Metropolis London: Histories and Representations Since 1800, ed. Feldman, David and Jones, Gareth Stedman (London and New York: Routledge, 1989), 40–55Google Scholar; and Summerfield, Penelope, “The Effingham Arms and the Empire: Deliberate Selection in the Evolution of Music Hall in London,” Popular Culture and Class Conflict, ed. Eileen, and Yeo, Stephen (Brighton: Harvester, 1981), 209–240Google Scholar.

5 Barker (1979), 39.

6 Good maps are readily accessible in Alan Godfrey's reprint edition of the 1872 ordnance survey of Shoreditch (London Sheet 51, published at 57–58 Spoor Street, Dunston, Gateshead, NE11 9BD) and in Ralph Hyde's edition of George Bacon's 1888 ordnance survey of London reprinted as The A to Z of Victorian London (Lympne Castle, Kent and London: Harry Margary and Guildhall Library, 1987)Google Scholar.

7 Rose, Millicent, The East End of London (London: Cresset Press, 1951)Google Scholar.

8 Booth (1977), 103.

9 Crauford, A. L., Sam and Sallie (London: Cranley and Day, 1933). See Barker (1979), 27Google Scholar.

10 See Baker, H. Barton, The London Stage, vol. 2 (london: W. H. Allen, 1889)Google Scholar; Newton, H. Chance, Cues and Curtain Calls (London: John Lane, 1927)Google Scholar; Hibbert, H. G., A Playgoer's Memories (London: Grant Richards, 1920)Google Scholar; East, J. M., 'Neath the Mask (London: Allen and Unwin, 1967)Google Scholar; Sherson, Errol, London's Lost Theatres of the Nineteenth Century (London: John Lane, 1925)Google Scholar; and Wilson, A. E., East End Entertainment (London: A. Barker, 1954)Google Scholar.

11 Mitchell Library (Sydney), MSS.1181. An edition is forthcoming with the Society for Theatre Research, edited by Jim Davis. See also Davis, Jim, “Stage Managing the Brit: the Diaries of F. C. Wilton,” Theatrt Notebook 42.3 (1988): 101–108Google Scholar.

12 Public Record Office (London), LC1/113.

13 Neither the Hackney Archives nor the Theatre Museum hold any playbills for 1851. The British Library holds a small but useful collection of Britannia playbills for the 1840s and 50s; however, this does not include any bills for 1851. Holdings that accord with the later censuses are patchy, but strongest in 1861 and 1871. The Theatre Museum holds an undated bill for the pantomime that commenced in December 1860 but its next bill is for 2 September 1861; several are held for March and April 1871 and for February and August 1881, but only a single bill for December 1891. Hackney Archives holds playbills for February and April 1861, and March and April 1871.

14 Public Record Office (London), Census of 1861, RG9/154–56, 200–04, and 230–49; Census of 1871, RG10/313–20, 396–403, 437–64, and 468–73.

15 Davis, Tracy C., “The Theatrical Employees of Great Britain: Demography of an Industry,” Nineteenth Century Theatre 18 (1990): 6–34Google Scholar.

16 Stone, Lawrence, The Past and Present Revisited, rev. ed. (London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987), 18Google Scholar.

17 See Tracy C Davis (1990).

18 van der Merwe, Peter, “The Staffing and Finance of a Minor Theatre c. 1827,” Theatre Notebook 43.3 (1989): 100–104Google Scholar.

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20 Van der Merwe's salary list for a minor theatre shows relatively lower salaries for the actors and actresses, but higher figures for the orchestra leader and scene painter, and slightly lower wages for the master carpenter.

21 Bigwood's salary was reduced to £3.

22 Includes the salary paid to his wife, a check taker.

23 At a meeting of theatrical managers on 3 January 1866, called in the face of a threatened strike by scene shifters, the standard wage cited was 1/6 per night or 9/- per week. This figure might include the salary of his wife, Miss Neumann, a ballet dancer.

24 Ballet dancers at the nearby Standard Theatre were paid 7/- per week plus 1/- for morning performances.

25 Erle, Thomas, Letters from a Theatrical Scene Painter (1859; rpt. London: Marcus Ward, 1880), 39Google Scholar.

26 The Standard Theatre, just across the road from Bishopgate railway terminus, was the biggest rival. In existence as a place of entertainment since 1837, it had a capacity of 3,400 until it was destroyed by fire in 1867, whereupon it was rebuilt with a capacity of approximately 3,000. The Douglass family of managers not only kept a stock company in the 1860s and 70s, but also engaged theatre companies on tour from the West End for short seasons. The City of London Theatre (situated in Norton Folgate, Bishopgate, until 1871) and the Grecian Theatre (in city Road, Shoreditch) also achieved reputations in the East End. Nelson Lee gave up management of the City of London in 1868, and the theatre closed in 1871. The Grecian was always popular, both due to Rouse's handling of musical pieces for the saloon and then under the Conquest family's long management between 1851 and 1879. Further east (in Whitechapel Road, Stepney) was the Pavilion Theatre, under John Douglass from 1858 to 1864 and John Thomas Douglass from 1869 to 1871, when Morris Abrahams took over. Rebuilt in 1856, it had a seating capacity of 3,500 until 1874, when it was reconstructed once again. Further along the Whitechapel Road was the Effingham Theatre (renamed the New East London Theatre in 1867) managed by Morris Abrahams from 1856 to 1880. Other important minor theatres elsewhere in London include the Surrey, Old Vic (Victoria), and Astley's south of the river, Marylebone in the west, and Sadler's Wells in Islington.

27 G. B. Bigwood, for example, played at both the Marylebone and the Standard before joining the Britannia company. One of the Britannia's most prolific dramatists, Colin Hazlewood, acted at both the Marylebone and City of London Theatres in the 1850s and 60s. C. J. Bird's career spanned the Victoria, Standard, Pavilion, and Effingham as well as the Britannia. J. B. Howe appeared at the Britannia in the 1850s and was a popular leading man both there and at the Effingham in the 1860s. Jane Coveney appeared at the Grecian, Victoria, and Surrey before going to the Britannia. Several Britannia employees had previous experience of management: Emma Yarnold had managed the Pavilion after her husband's death; Wilton had briefly managed a small theatre in Devonport in the 1830s; Bigwood managed the Marylebone Theatre in 1856, but quickly had to form a commonwealth of actors to make ends meet; W. H. Newham had at one time been manager of the Woolwich Theatre; and John Parry (one time stage manager of the Queen's Theatre) had also reputedly ventured into management in the country (“Our Portrait Gallery,” North London Programme, n.d.). Parry had also appeared at the Victoria, Surrey, and Standard. Joseph Reynolds, the Britannia's leading actor who first appeared there in 1851, earlier played at the Queen's, Victoria, and City of London. T. G. Drummond, leading actor of villains at the Britannia in the eariy to mid 60s, had previously been at the Grecian. Edward Elton joined the Britannia as second low comedian from the Standard in the early 1860s; Walter Holland was at the Grecian prior to the Britannia in the eariy 1870s. The actor/playwright Frederick Marchant was at the Britannia in the eariy 60s, City of London in the mid-60s, and the Standard in the early 70s. Mary Booth and Ada Dyas were at the Standard and the City of London respectively in the 60s prior to engagements at the Britannia. Robert Bell, a popular Britannia actor in the 60s and 70s, also played at the Standard in the eariy 60s and Victoria in the early 70s. Mrs. Atkinson, who left the Britannnia in 1863, moved on to the Grecian. W. Beaumont, a scenic artist, worked at the City of London prior to employment at the Britannia. Similar courses can be discerned in the careers of many more Britannia personnel.

28 Both Sarah Lane and W. R. Crauford were engaged at other saloon theatres in London before joining the Britannia company. Many actors and actresses had a firm grounding in the provinces. Wilton appeared at Gravesend, Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, Swansea, Birmingham, Edinburgh and many other venues before joining the Britannia. F. Charlton came to the company from the Theatre Royal Manchester. Drummond had been connected with the Worcester Theatre. Wilton also cites instances of actresses joining the theatre from Bath or subsequently taking up new engagements in Dublin and Leeds.

29 Tracy C. Davis (1990). Although unconfirmable in playbills, the specialties expected of a circus were found in the vicinity of Astley's, and a concentration of music hall performers dwelt near the South London Palace of Varieties.

30 East(1967), 204.

31 Theatre Museum program, ca. 1889, dates the first engagements of the Newhams, Celeste Stephan, J. Reynolds, W. R. Crauford, and J. Parry.

32 Public Record Office (London), LC1/113. There is no reason to think that practice at the Britannia differed from the Standard. See Douglas, Albert, Memories of Mummers and the Old Standard Theatre (London: The Era, 1924), 20Google Scholar.

33 “Supernumeraries and Theatrical Managers,” Era 2 July 1865.

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35 Jones, Gareth Stedman, Outcast London: A Study in the Relationship between Classes in Victorian Society (Oxord University Press, 1971), 52, 56Google Scholar.

36 Stedman Jones (1971), 61, 79.

37 Stedman Jones (1971), 61.

38 See Era, 14 November 1858.

39 Londsdale, Gillian, “The Changing Character of the East London Industry,” East London Papers 5.2 (April 1962): 92Google Scholar; and Hollingshead, John, Ragged London in 1861 (1861; reprinted. London: Dent, 1986), 39Google Scholar.

40 Knott, Bettie, The Hub of Hoxton. Hoxton Street 1851–1871 Based on a Study of the Censuses (London: Borough of Hackney Library Services, 1981), 30.Google Scholar

41 Knott (1981), 54.

42 Much residential and commercial building occurred up to 1861, for the number of persons per house in St. Leonard's (the southern part of the parish) was 6.29 in 1841 and 6.88 in 1881. See Stedman Jones (1971), 175.

43 Hunter, Michael, The Victorian Villas of Hackney (London: Hackney Society, 1981)Google Scholar.

44 Hollingshead (1861).

45 Knott (1981), 60–1.

46 Booth, Charles, Life and Labour of the People of London 3rd series, vol. 2 (London: Macmillan, 1902), 111Google Scholar.

47 Public Record Office (London), LC7/5 and 6. The proprietor of the Grecian may have colluded with the police to produce this negative report of its rival saloon.

48 Parliamentary Reports, Census of England and Wales 1861.

49 Booth, Charles, Descriptive Map of London Poverty (1889; rpt. London: London Topographical Society, 1984)Google Scholar.

50 Hollingshead, John, My Lifetime, 2 vols. (London: Sampson Low, Marston: 1895), 1:31; s.a. Entrance Annual 1885: 4Google Scholar.

51 See Sunday Times 31 May 1863, and entries in Wilton's diaries.

52 Unidentified clippings, undated, at the front of the 1877 volume of Wilton's diary.

53 Dickens, Charles, The Uncommercial Traveller (1860; London: Oxford University Press, 1958), 29–39Google Scholar.

54 Edward, Percy J. and the London County Council, History of London Street Improvements 1855–1897 (London: P. S. King, 1898), 44–45Google Scholar.

55 In Wilton's case, the references to live-in servants occurs in his diaries, not the censuses.