Patent theatre

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1812. Drury Lane was established as one of the patent theatres in 1663 during the reign of Charles II.
For a period there was only one licensed theatre company operating in London, under the management of Thomas Betterton's United Company.

The patent theatres were the

Scotland and Ireland in 1660. Other theatres were prohibited from performing such "serious" drama, but were permitted to show comedy, pantomime or melodrama
. Drama was also interspersed with singing or dancing, to prevent the whole being too serious or dramatic.

Restoration era

Public entertainments, such as theatrical performances, were banned under the

Dorset Garden in 1671. In Dublin, the Theatre Royal opened on Smock Alley
in 1662; this building survives and was reopened as a theatre in 2012.

After problems under the direction of Charles Killigrew, Thomas' son, the King's Company was taken over by the Duke's Company in 1682. The two companies merged, and the combined "United Company" continued under

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, in 1720 (now the Royal Opera House). The two patent theatres closed in the summer months. To fill the gap, several temporary theatres or fairs performed only in the summer. In 1705 the Queen's Theatre was established, originally for opera. Next was the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1720; due to the influence of its later proprietor Samuel Foote
, it became the third patent theatre in London in 1766.

Spread across Britain and Ireland

Further letters patent were granted to theatres in other English and Irish towns and cities, including the

Theatre Royal, Waterford, in 1785; and the Theatre Royal, Birmingham, in 1807.[1]

Later years

These monopolies on the performance of "serious" plays were eventually revoked by the Theatres Act 1843, but censorship of the content of plays by the Lord Chamberlain under Robert Walpole's Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 continued until 1968.

See also

References

  1. ^ Symons, David (2006). "A Pass for the Birmingham Theatre, 1774" (PDF). British Numismatic Journal. 76. British Numismatic Society: 318.
  • Fisk, Deborah Payne (2001). "The Restoration Actress". In Owen, Susan J. (ed.). A companion to restoration drama (1. publ. ed.). Oxford [u.a.]: Blackwell.
    ISBN 978-0631219231
    .
Stub icon

This British theatre–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Patent_theatre&oldid=1200146344"