A remarkable survival: a complete run of playbills for the 1833-1834 theatrical season at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. This almost day-by-day account of the theatre’s program allows us to see the evolution of productions from their very first announcement when they are in rehearsal through to the opening night and each subsequent night of their long run (or quick demise, depending on the success of the play).
The playbills highlight the huge number of plays by Shakespeare in the repertoire with William Charles Macready (1793-1873) predominantly in the starring (male roles), there are also notable performances of a play based on the life of Prince Lee Boo or Lebu (c.1764-1784) who was one of the first people from the Pacific Islands to visit Britain (with the role of Lee Boo played by a female actor) and the complicated machinations of the first performance of Lord Byron’s Sardanapalus due to arguments over who would play the female role of Myrrha.
The Theatre Royal on Drury Lane dates back as far as the 17th-century but by 1833 it had been re-built, destroyed by fire and re-built again on various occasions whilst also attracting some of the greatest theatrical names of English stage including David Garrick and Edmund Kean. The playbills gathered here mark the beginning of Alfred Bunn’s (1796-1860) management of the theatre which saw a wide variety of plays produced but faced criticism for supposedly declining theatrical standards.
The most obvious aspect of these playbills to note is the astonishing number of plays by Shakespeare performed in rotation throughout the seven month period. In all, audiences would have been able to see: Macbeth (October 1833) The Tempest (October 1833) “With additional Music, New Scenery, Machinery, Dresses and Decorations”, Cymbeline (October 1833), Henry VIII (October 1833), Henry IV (October 1833), The Winter’s Tale (October 1833), Henry V (Nov 1833), Merry Wives of Windsor (Nov 1833), Othello (Nov 1833), Hamlet (Nov 1833), Antony & Cleopatra, Midsummer Night’s Dream (Nov 1833), King John (Dec 1833), Coriolanus (Dec 1833) and King Lear “from the text of Shakespeare” (May 23rd 1834) and for the benefit of Macready.
In addition to plays by Shakespeare the seasons also included an adaptation of Milton’s Comus (October 1833), George Coleman’s abolitionist play Inkle and Yarico (October 1833) and Bluebeard or, Female Curiosity (Nov 1833), an adaptation of William Earle’s abolitionist work Obi: or, Three Finger’d Jack (Nov 1833) and an adaptation of Matthew “Monk” Lewis’s gothic romance Castle Spectre (Nov 1833).
Prince Lee Boo:
Prince Lee Boo was the real-life son of Abba Thulle, the ruler of Coorooraa in the Palau Islands in the Pacific Ocean who was brought to Britain in 1783 by Captain Henry Wilson, a member of the East India Company who had been wrecked on his island. Lee Boo was a public sensation but quickly contracted small pox and died in London in 1784 aged 20. An account of Lee Boo was included in George Keate’s An Account of the Pelew Islands (1788) and his daughter Georgiana painted a portrait of Lee Boo shortly after his death which was engraved and used as an illustration in her father’s book. The portrait of Lee Book shows Lee Boo’s feminine features and so it is noteworthy that he is played by a woman in this performance, the celebrated, “Madame Celeste” - Celine Céleste-Elliott (c.1815-1882) was a French dancer and actor who was very popular on the English and American stage.
The first mention of a “Grand Melo-Dramatic Romance” called “Prince Lee Boo” is made on the October 14th 1833, when it is described as: “…in rehearsal, and will be produced, on a scale of great splendour, in a few days…” A performance is first advertised on 30th October:
“Founded on the principal Events in the popular Tale of that time…Act I. Sea View on the Island of Pelew, with Yawl on the Stocks, and in the distance a Mangrove in the Island of Artingal. Exterior of the Palace of Abba Thulle, with these Ttingsun, and Mode of Pelewese Worship. A fiatooka, or Burial Place. The Cove of Oroloong, with the Launch of the Yawl. (From Cubould’s Celebrated Engraving, Published at the Time.) and Departure of Prince Lee Boo for England…”
The play ran until November 5th 1833, after which it was “Reduced into one Act, to retain the general interest and preparation of the piece” (it seems that everything after Lee Boo’s departure for England was cut). Advertised as “acted three time a week until further notice” (last mentioned in the playbills Nov 16th 1833)
LORD BYRON:
Byron’s Sardanapalus “will be produced (for the First Time on the English Stage) first advertised Monday 31st March 1834 with Miss E. Tree in the part of Myrrha. A noticed appeared April 2nd 1834 - printed in red ink - stating that the performance is “postponed until next week under the following circumstances:- The Noble Author of this Play having written the part of Myrrha for Mrs. Mardyn, the Lessee has the gratification to inform the Public, that he has entered into an engagement with that Lady for the performance of the Character…” The play was performed for the first time on April 10th 1834 with Miss E. Tree still in the roll of Myrrha. The playbill describes the “new scenery…painted for the occasion”:
“Grand Portal in the Palace, with the City of Nineveh in the Distance seen by Sun-Set, by Twi-Light, and by Moon-Light! The Chorus and Dance of the Royal Harem…the Burning of his Palace…At the end of which, in lieu of the Green Curtain, will drop, a View of Newstead Abbey (by Stanfield) The Residence of the late Immortal Poet.” There is also a note at the end of the description which states: “This Tragedy is published in Mr. Murray’s edition of Lord Byron’s Works and may be had separately, Price 5s”. The following playbill states (in red ink) that the performance received “the enthusiastic approbation of an overflowing Audience…” Sardanapalus was performed for the 22nd time on May 15th 1834.
Byron had not intended the play to be performed and it was only brought to the stage here after his death. It has been suggested that Byron wished Charlotte Mardyn to take the principal female role of Myrrah but Macready was not keen on the choice.
First advertised December 16th 1833: “A New Grand Christmas Spectacle, to be called St. George & the Dragon, or, The Seven Champions of Christendom” has been a long time in preparation and will be produced on the 26th Instant.“ First performed 26th December 1833 (with a double-page playbill) featuring “Mr. Ducrow…with his numerous Stud of 44 Horses”. There is also an additional playbill for this performance printed in red and black on thicker cream paper with four illustrative engravings. This performance continued until the end of March 1834 (62 performances in all). An end was only put to the performance because Ducrow and his horses were required for the “approaching Season at Astley’s Amphitheatre” (March 6th 1834)
The volume finishes with the playbill for the last night of the season (June 20th 1834).
