February the 1st in Theatrical History

(John Philip Kemble and Sarah Siddons in Macbeth as painted by Thomas Beach)

On the first of February 1757 John Philip Kemble was born. The son of Roger Kemble (b 1721 d 1802) and Sarah Ward (b 1735 d 1807) he was part of the theatrical dynasty the Kemble Family. John Kemble had several siblings being one of twelve children, out of whom 5 others became actors including the most famous female actor of the age Sarah Siddons. The family has its beginnings in the famous 'Ward Company of Comedians' run by John's grandfather John Ward and the union of Roger Kemble to John Ward's daughter Sarah solidified the legacy of the Kemble family. John Philip Kemble learnt his trade touring with his grandfathers company and ended up having great success on the London scene after debuting at Drury Lane in Hamlet. In 1803 Kemble left Drury Lane and joined George Frederick Cooke at the Covent Garden company with his sister Mrs Siddons joining him soon after. Tragedy struck five years later when Covent Garden was destroyed by a fire. Both Mrs Siddons and Kemble lost their vast wardrobes to the fire and chose to build a new theatre designed by the architect Robert Smirke, his most recognisable work is the facade of the British Museum, costing one hundred and fifty thousand pounds in 1809 which is the equivalent of nine million pounds today. This of course led to increases in the price of attendance which brought about the darkest part of Kemble's career when on opening night of the new theatre at Covent Garden the audience cried out for the old prices and continued until the police and military had to be called. For two months riots and disruptions continued under his regime at Covent Garden until he finally agreed to reduce prices to the old rates. Kemble would retire in 1817 leaving his share in Covent Garden to his brother Charles but by now the shine on the Kemble family had long been overshadowed by a new star Edmund Kean.



Ulysses is produced at Her Majesty's theatre in 1902. This play is a poetry play based on the ancient Greek tale and was written by Stephen Phillips. It was produced by the theatre company of Beerbohm-Tree and is speculated to have been part of the inspiration for James Joyce's later novel of the same name.

January the 31st in Theatrical History



In 1880 on the 31st of January the Bancrofts, Effie and Squire, began their management of The Haymarket Theatre with a revival of 'Money' by Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer that had premiered at the same theatre 40 years previous.

Sir George Alexanders management of St James's Theatre commenced on this day in 1891. Sir George Alexander (1858-1918) began his career as an amateur and within six years he had made his London stage debut. He went on to work under the great Henry Irving before becoming an actor manager in 1890. During Oscar Wildes troubles which ultimately led to his incarceration Alexander purchased the rights to his popular works and organise the bequeathment of the profits to Oscars sons. Alexanders legacy lives on through his great great nephew Hugh Laurie.





January the 29th in Theatrical History

(A Scene from the Beggars Opera by William Hogarth from the Tate Britain)

On the 29th of January 1728 'The Beggars Opera' by John Gay opened, it would play for 62 performances which was at that time a record. The profits from the show would be used to build the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. Since its first run it has been revived several times the most famous being its 1,463 performance run at the Lyric Theatre beginning in 1920. In the late 20s Brecht would adapt the piece into his popular work The Threepenny Opera.

At the Richmond Theatre in 1940 'First Night' by Reginald Denham opened and was produced by the author. The cast included Linden Travers, Beatrice Rowe, Godfrey Kenton, Tony Quinn, Lorraine Clewes, Geoffrey Keen, Jane Millican and his son-in-law Peter Ustinov.

January the 28th in Theatrical History

In 1891 'The Stranger' by Wilson Barrett was revived at the New Olympic theatre. Barrett (1846-1904) was a playwright specialising in Victorian melodrama, he managed the Grand Theatre Leeds, The Old Court Theatre, The Princess's Theatre London and the aforementioned New Olympic.

The circumstances in which The Stranger was staged proved to be at the end of the melodrama craze that had swept Victorian theatre. It would be one of Barretts last successes in the UK and he would have to tour America in the years before his death until he came upon his next production. His next production would become his legacy 'The Sign of the Cross' which was a huge success on Broadway and back in the UK. It continues to be his legacy as it was eventually turned into the third part of Cecil B. DeMilles trilogy which also includes The Ten Commandments and The King of Kings under the same title Sign of the Cross. It helped lead the way in Epic film and greatly influenced many future films including Ben Hur and Spartacus.