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 A
lovely old Theatre right in the middle of Brighton.
The history of this beautiful Grade II listed
building dates back almost 200 years. The Prince of Wales gave his
Royal Assent for the building of a Theatre on the New Road site
in the summer of 1806. Following this the Theatre in its original
format was built in an unprecedented 10 months and first opened
its doors to the public on Saturday, June 27th 1807 with a performance
of Hamlet starring Charles Kemble of Drury Lane.
For the first 50 years of its life the Theatre
suffered very mixed fortunes with no one manager lasting more than
18 months and the risk of financial ruin never very far away. All
this was to change in 1854 when an actor named Henry John Nye Chart
took over the management of the Theatre and in the ensuing 12 years
turned the fortunes and the reputation of the Theatre around. At
the end of this period Nye Chart was able to buy the Theatre for
the princely sum of £7,500 and immediately embarked on an
extensive expansion and renovation programme under the guidance
of Theatre architect Charles James Phipps. As an actor Nye Chart
had been unremarkable but in his success in turning an insignificant
and somewhat disreputable playhouse into a locally respected institution
marks him out as one of the great actor-managers of the late nineteenth
century.
When Nye Chart died in 1876 he left everything
he owned to his beloved wife Ellen. Ellen Elizabeth Nye Chart not
only maintained the high standards set by her husband but improved
on them with considerable flair and imagination. Mrs Nye Chart introduced
matinees and her annual Christmas pantomimes enjoyed long and profitable
runs. In 1889 she decided to form a limited company, and subsequently
sold her house and the theatre to the company although she occupied
the house until her death. When she died in 1892 Mrs Nye Chart was
buried amid much pomp and ceremony in the Brighton and Preston Cemetery.
In fact Ellen Nye Chart didn't ever really leave the Theatre as
she is the Grey Lady, our Theatre ghost. A guardian spirit who watches
over the Theatre, she is said to be a very benign and friendly presence
and there have been numerous sightings of her.
At the end of the nineteenth century the Theatre
was described as being 'in the first rank, so far as the comfort
and convenience of both audience and artists are concerned' (notice
to shareholders from the Directors of the Theatre 1894) and so it
continued. The twentieth century saw the Theatre Royal Brighton
survive the impact of two World Wars as well as the depression of
the thirties. A general air of glamour and prosperity was maintained
throughout the fifties and virtually every English actor and actress
of note appeared at the Theatre Royal Brighton during those years.
It has now been taken over by new management and
is a vibrant living theatre in the centre of our cultural quarter.
http://www.theambassadors.com/theatreroyal/
Theatre Royal Brighton
New Road,
Brighton
BN1 1SD
Theatre Royal Brighton Box Office:
08700 606 650 (booking fee)
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