33-666: The Theatre Royal , formerly the New Theatre , is a restored Regency theatre in Bury St. Edmunds , Suffolk , England . The building is one of eight Grade I listed theatres in the United Kingdom, and is the only working theatre operated under the auspices of the National Trust . It is considered to be one of the most perfect examples of Regency theatres in Britain. The theatre presents
66-547: A 999-year lease. The Theatre Royal is now managed as an independent working theatre by the Bury St Edmunds Theatre Management Limited. In September 2005 the Theatre was closed to begin a £5.3million restoration project to restore the building to its original 1819 configuration and decorative scheme. Following an extensive research period, architects Levitt Bernstein, in collaboration with theatre staff and
99-406: A century of economic difficulty and theatrical gloom. This was alleviated briefly in 1892 when the world premiere of Charley's Aunt was staged at the theatre. The theatre closed in 1903 but was reopened in 1906 when alterations to the building were made by the architect Bertie Crewe . Greene King , the local brewery , purchased the freehold , which it still owns, in 1920. However, in 1925, in
132-454: A diverse programme of drama, music and stand-up comedy. It regularly produces its own work which tours nationally, recent productions include Torben Bett's Invincible in the summer of 2016 and, in early 2017, an adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. The Theatre Royal is currently a member of the pioneering Black Theatre Live partnership, a consortium of eight UK theatres committed to effecting change nationally for BAME touring through
165-619: A number of European experimenters in Neoclassicism , but details from his inventive buildings were often picked up by other architects. The public buildings of George Dance the Younger , City Architect of London from 1768, were precursors of the Regency style, though he designed little himself after 1798. Robert Smirke could produce both classical ( British Museum ) and Gothic designs, and also mainly worked on public buildings. With Nash and Soane he
198-507: A theatre which could provide further insight into the architecture, stage techniques and repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries, of which little is known in comparison to theatre of other epochs. In addition to the restoration of the building the theatre's artistic team researched and re-discovered many of the lost texts of the Georgian repertoire. Under the banner of "Restoring the Repertoire"
231-435: A three-year programme of national touring, structural support and audience development. The Theatre Royal was opened by its proprietor and architect William Wilkins on 11 October 1819 as the "New Theatre". It was one of the most elegant, sophisticated and up-to-date playhouses of its age. The fact that it has survived, without significant alteration, into our time is a miracle and it is now one of only three buildings to give
264-531: A variety of styles. His uncle James Wyatt was a leading architect of the previous generation, and James' sons Benjamin Dean Wyatt and Philip Wyatt were also successful architects in the period. Apart from London, a number of English towns hold especial concentrations of Regency architecture. Several of the least-spoiled of these are new resort towns, attempting to emulate the success of Bath, Somerset and Buxton , spas which had been extensively developed in
297-403: Is dead. Soon after William returns to solve this problem, his drunken, dastardly captain tries to seduce Susan. William, not recognising his captain from behind, strikes him with his cutlass. He is court-martialled for attacking a senior officer and sentenced to be hanged. But it turns out that he had been discharged from the navy before he struck his captain, so all ends well. Much of the humour in
330-527: Is especially distinctive in its houses, and also marked by an increase in the use of a range of eclectic Revival styles , from Gothic through Greek to Indian, as alternatives to the main neoclassical stream. The opening years of the style were marked by greatly reduced levels of building because of the Napoleonic Wars , which saw government spending on building eliminated, shortages of imported timber, and high taxes on other building materials. In 1810 there
363-624: The Surrey Theatre and running for a new record of over 150 performances. Britain at the time was recovering from the fallout of the Napoleonic Wars and was in the midst of a class war involving the Corn laws , and a reform movement, which resulted in the Reform Act of 1832 aimed at reducing corruption. Black-Eyed Susan consisted of various extreme stereotypes representing the forces of good, evil,
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#1733107124731396-448: The 1820s, and continued until the 1850s. The early churches, falling into the Regency period, show a high proportion of Gothic Revival buildings, along with the classically inspired. Strict Greek Revival buildings were mixed with those continuing the modified Baroque and Roman Neoclassical traditions. The period saw a great increase in public buildings, at both the national and local level. In London, three bridges were built over
429-467: The Downs is a comic play in three acts by Douglas Jerrold . The story concerns a heroic sailor, William, who has been away from England for three years fighting in the Napoleonic Wars . Meanwhile, his wife, Susan, has fallen on hard times and is being harassed by her crooked landlord uncle. A smuggler named Hatchet offers to pay her debts because he wants her for himself; he tries to persuade her that William
462-524: The French Empire style . Regency style is also applied to interior design and decorative arts of the period, typified by elegant furniture and vertically striped wallpaper, and to styles of clothing; for men, as typified by the dandy Beau Brummell and for women the Empire silhouette . The style is strictly the late phase of Georgian architecture , and follows closely on from the neo-classical style of
495-472: The National Trust, drew up plans to restore the historic building to as close to its original design as possible. Previous restorations to the building had removed the original Georgian entrances to the pit as well as its distinctive Georgian forestage. The boxes had also been removed from the dress circle and the seating layout changed throughout the building. The project restored these aspects to recreate
528-408: The Regency style have a white painted stucco façade and an entryway to the main front door (usually coloured black) which is framed by two columns. In town centres the dominance of the terraced house continued, and crescents were especially popular. Elegant wrought iron balconies and bow windows came into fashion as part of this style. Further out of town the suburban "villa" detached house
561-740: The Surrey, it was revived at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , for a total run of over 300 nights, which was extraordinarily successful for the time. After this, it was frequently revived. The play was revived at the Warehouse Theatre in Croydon in 1986, and the same production played at the Playhouse Oxford in 1987. It was directed by Ted Craig and designed by Michael Pavelka. The cast included Simon Slater , Rita Wolf and Burt Caesar . The piece
594-556: The Thames between 1813 and 1819: Vauxhall Bridge , Waterloo Bridge and Southwark Bridge , all privately financed by toll charges. Shops began to be included systematically into newly planned developments, and the covered arcade of shops was introduced, with the Burlington Arcade in London (1815–19) the earliest. John Nash was the architect most associated with the Regency style; he
627-521: The Theatre Royal produced some of plays of the Georgian period in the now restored building. On 11 September 2007 the theatre re-opened with a production of the 1829 nautical melodrama, Black-Eyed Susan , written by Douglas Jerrold with music by Annemarie Lewis Thomas . In addition to the restoration of the main building a new, modern foyer was constructed to the side of the theatre to provide catering facilities, an additional bar and more toilets for
660-678: The building. Regency architecture Regency architecture encompasses classical buildings built in the United Kingdom during the Regency era in the early 19th century when George IV was Prince Regent, and also to earlier and later buildings following the same style. The period coincides with the Biedermeier style in the German-speaking lands, Federal style in the United States and
693-614: The experience of theatre-going in pre-Victorian Britain. Wilkins was an architect of national repute, responsible for, amongst other buildings, the National Gallery in London and Downing College, Cambridge . As the proprietor of the Norwich Theatre Circuit , he employed a small company of players to undertake an annual tour of six theatres: Yarmouth , Ipswich , Cambridge , Bury St Edmunds , Colchester and King's Lynn . Each
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#1733107124731726-430: The face of overwhelming competition from two new cinemas , the theatre closed once more. Greene King had struggled to keep the theatre operating and was content to use the building as a barrel store. So it remained until the 1960s when a group of local people led by Air Vice Marshal Stanley Vincent raised over £ 37,000 to restore and re-open the theatre in 1965. The building was vested in the National Trust in 1975 on
759-409: The innocent and the corrupt, the poor and the rich, woven into a serious plot with comic sub-plots. Its topical subject contributed to the play's enormous success. T. P. Cooke starred as William, the nautical hero, becoming a star, and the producer, Robert William Elliston , became rich. The piece played simultaneously at Covent Garden Theatre for part of the original run, and soon after it closed at
792-728: The mid-century Georgian period and the 1780s respectively. Brighton and other coastal resorts had become fashionable, and other towns that greatly expanded were Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire , the Clifton suburb of Bristol , Tunbridge Wells , Newcastle upon Tyne , and Cheltenham , "perhaps the most complete surviving Regency town". Excellent examples of Regency properties dominate Brighton and Hove in East Sussex ; in particular in its Kemp Town and Brunswick (Hove) estates. Black-Eyed Susan Black-Eyed Susan; or, All in
825-458: The piece centers on the sailor's nautical dialect, combined with his noble character. The play is a nautical melodrama (with all its stock characters) that praises the patriotic British tar (sailor) while critiquing authoritarianism in the British Navy . Aspects of the story were later parodied in H.M.S. Pinafore (1878). The play was Jerrold's first big success, premiering on 8 June 1829 at
858-456: The preceding years, which continued to be produced throughout the period. The Georgian period takes its name from the four Kings George of the period 1714–1830, including King George IV. The British Regency strictly lasted only from 1811 to 1820, but the term is applied to architecture more widely, both before 1811 and after 1820; the next reign, of William IV from 1830 to 1837, has not been given its own stylistic descriptor. Regency architecture
891-546: The seaside home of the Prince Regent, is Indian on the exterior, but the interiors include attempts at a Chinese style by Frederick Crace . Until the Church Building Act 1818 , church building had been at a very low ebb for over 50 years. The Act allocated some public money for new churches required to reflect changes in population, and a commission to allocate it. Building of Commissioners' churches gathered pace in
924-482: Was a serious financial crisis, though the only major asset class not to lose value was houses, at least in London, mainly because the low level of recent building had created pent-up demand. After the decisive victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 ended the wars for good, there was a long financial boom amid greatly increased British self-confidence. Most Regency architecture comes from this period. Many buildings of
957-428: Was fully in tune with the commercial requirements of developers and designed the Regency terraces of Regent's Park and Regent Street in London . He had many pupils who disseminated his style, or in the case of Pugin rebelled against it. In London itself there are many streets in the style in the areas around Victoria , Pimlico , Mayfair and other central districts. John Soane was more individualistic, one of
990-468: Was gathering strength, with many architects able to turn to different styles as their patron required. Ashridge (to 1817), Belvoir Castle and Fonthill Abbey (to 1813, now demolished), were all by James Wyatt , whose late career specialized in extravagant Gothic houses. Sezincote House (1805), designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell , is a Neo-Mughal country house for a " nabob " returned from British India . Brighton Pavilion (to 1822) by John Nash ,
1023-492: Was one of the Board of Works ' architects during the peak Regency period. A large commission of the period was the expansion of Windsor Castle for the king, which eventually cost over a million pounds, over three times the original budget. Smirke, Nash, Soane and Jeffry Wyatville were invited to tender, Wyatville winning the competition. He was a prolific designer, mostly for country houses, new-built or refurbished, able to work in
Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-551: Was open for just one or two short seasons during the year. The Bury theatre opened for the Great Fair in early October to mid-November and was only available for special events at other times of the year. At that time, it would certainly have enjoyed large audiences particularly as the local community would not have been able to travel far for entertainment, until the arrival of the railway in the 1840s. The Norwich comedians were disbanded in 1843 and at Bury there followed more than half
1089-469: Was popular in a range of sizes. Whereas most earlier Georgian housing for the middle classes had little ornament, the Regency period brought modest architectural pretensions to a much wider range of buildings, in a relaxed and confident application of the classical tradition as filtered through Palladianism . For large country houses a range of picturesque styles were available, and the Gothic Revival
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