… Who lives in Drury Lane?

The muffin man was said to live in Drury Lane, and it is of course the home of the Theatre Royal – one of the icons of the West End.

While there had been cockpits and theatres build on the site before 1660, it was the theatre designed by Wren that really began the real history. Unfortunately it succumbed to the first destructive fire on 25th January 1672.

We learn from Pepys' Diary just how popular play-going was for Londoners,  and the new theatre designed by Wren opened in 1674 and could hold the staggering number of 2000 spectators.

The history of the Drury Lane theatre is bound up with two very famous names, David Garrick and Richard Sheridan. Garrick managed the theatre in the eighteenth century and in 1776 he sold his share to Richard Sheridan. As a popular playwright himself Sheridan was successful until 1809 when the theatre succumbed to its second devastating fire.

The tale is well known about Sheridan who sat watching his theatre burn down, drinking a glass of wine. He was famously reported to have said: "A man may surely be allowed to take a glass of wine by his own fireside!”

The theatre that we see today was opened in 1812 – the same year that Wellington defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Since then the interior has been extensively remodeled but today’s theatre only seats 205 people more that it did in 1674!

In 1794 the famous comedian Richard Baddeley (a former pastry chef) made a bequest of £100 to the Drury Lane Theatre Company so that they can buy a cake!

It is a Twelfth Night Cake which is purchased every year and the cast members of the current production, still in costume, eat a slice and drink a toast to the memory of one of the theatre's most famous actors.

Seeing as the toast is drunk in wine, maybe it is also a homage to Richard Sheridan who stood and watched his fortune go up in smoke so long ago.

To my knowledge this custom was still being observed in the 1980’s.

The present cast of 'Oliver' should have eaten the slice of cake and raised a glass of wine to the memory of the two Richards on the evening of the 5th January 2010 – Twelfth Night.

Does anyone know if they did?

I am off to Melbourne on business for a week - so no blogging until next Tuesday ...