bramber press

The sensational story of London’s greatest theatre. No English theatre has had such a rich and chequered history as the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. From its beginnings in the 17th century, it never ceased to be a place of tears and laughter, of triumphs and disasters, of riot and celebration, of speculation and intrigue, of great tragic acting and sublime comedy. Two of the most momentous occasions in its turbulent history were the burning down of Henry Holland’s theatre in 1809 and the rebuilding of Benjamin Wyatt’s new theatre in 1812.

Peter Thorogood gives an account of the desperate search for a suitable Address for the opening of the new theatre in 1812, the fiasco surrounding the 112 rejected addresses, and Lord Holland’s appeal to the reluctant Lord Byron to save the day. The subsequent riotous response to the reciting of the Address at its first performance is one of the most astonishing events in the history of British drama. It brought about the phenomenal success of two brothers, Horace and James Smith, with their composing of Rejected Addresses, or, The Theatrum Poetarum - one of the most extraordinary moments in 19th century publishing history.