Theatres of Exeter - some histories

The history of theatre goes back to at least the Greeks, over 2500 years ago, while in England, theatre as we know it with a purpose built performance area is much younger. There was certainly live entertainment put on in Exeter during Roman times.

In the Middle Ages liturgical dramas were performed in Latin in and around churches and religious festivals such as Easter and Christmas. There were also companies of strolling players who entertained in towns and villages, often for bed and board.

The first known reference to a performance in Exeter dates from 1348 when the Archdeacon and the Dean of Exeter stopped the "Order of Brothelingham" from "holding processions and enacting scenes in the streets". Visits of mummers and minstrels after this time were made and the Mayor was well entertained. By the late 16th century, theatre was well established in London with the Globe and other establishments putting on the plays of Shakespeare and Marlowe. Exeter had no specific playhouse, but Dr Faustus was performed by the Lord Strange's Company in 1593 at a local city inn. Apparently, the company were so convincing that they summoned the devil himself, followed by a hurried evacuation of the premises.

First Permanent Theatre Space - Seven Stars Inn

The Puritans closed the London playhouses in 1643, and many wandering groups of players stopped touring - theatre was not revived until the early 18th century. It was in 1721 that a room on the first floor of the Seven Stars Inn on Okehampton Street, next to the bridge was opened as a regular theatre venue - in 1728, the Beggar's Opera by, Barnstaple born, John Gay was performed just months after it first appeared in London.

Exeter Theatre

Then in 1735 the Exeter Theatre was opened in Waterbeer Street behind the Guildhall, roughly on the present day site of the 'Looking Forward' bronze in the Guildhall Centre. This theatre presented productions between October and April each year and seldom repeated a play, giving a huge variety of entertainment for the local population.

New Theatre - Bedford Street

In 1787 this theatre was replaced by the New Theatre which was built by Richard Hughes in what was then, the new development of Bedford Circus. It was situated on the site of what is now the old AA building of Farnum House. This was a great success with productions such as The Merchant of Venice with Edmund Keane in 1811. Then disaster struck - in 1820, the first of what would be three theatre fires in Exeter destroyed the building when a gas-lit chandelier, high in the roof, set fire to the rafters.

Theatre Royal (1)

A new theatre named The Theatre Royal was built in Bedford Street, West Southernhay in 1821, incorporating the collonade of the old, New Theatre! This theatre entertained the people of Exeter until 1885 when another fire destroyed this building - this was pre-electricity with oxygen/hydrogen fuelled limelight, making for a very dangerous fire hazard. There were no casualties from the fire apart from a pig that belonged to a clown.

Theatre Royal (2) - Longbrook Street

A hurried replacement also called the Theatre Royal was built at the top of Longbrook Street. With a capacity for 1,500, the theatre was built with little regard to fire safety - lessons had not been learned. The Exeter Theatre Company moved in during 1886. On the 5th September 1887, on the first night of a romantic comedy called Romany Rye, and with an audience of 800, a naked gas flame ignited some drapes in the flys. Within moments, panic broke out as the flames spread. There were 186 victims, many from the upper gallery who could not escape because of poorly designed exits - many victims were suffocated in the crush. This disaster was the worst theatre fire in British history, and soon, Parliament legislated to bring in stringent safety precautions in all British theatres, including the fire proof safety curtain.

Go to Theatre Royal fire for more on the fire.

Theatre Royal (3)

The third Theatre Royal replaced the burnt out remains on Longbrook Streetin 1889. It served Exeter well until 1962 when it was demolished. See the Theatre Royal history.

Barnfield Theatre - Barnfield Road

This little theatre plays host to many Exeter Little Theatre Company productions, talks, concerts and other events. Occupying the site of Barnfield House which was left to the Exeter Literary Society, the foundation stone for the building was laid on 15 October 1890 by Lord Coleridge.

It was the philanthropy of George Franklin Jn. Esq that largely paid for the building, although there were concerts and bazaars put on by members to help raise the necessary sum. The theatre/lecture hall was opened on 23rd July 1891 as the Barnfield Hall.

Built of brick it originally had a glass-covered way along the entire front to protect those waiting to go in from the weather. It was licensed for music and dancing and could seat more than 600. It used limelight for projecting lantern shows, which was considered the latest technology at the time.

To accommodate both theatre and dancing in the same space, the floor of the auditorium could be tilted, using screw jacks, and the seating had longer front legs to match the tilt. It is thought that this system was only ever used in one other hall, which happened to be the Buller Hall in Cowick Street. There was also a natural ventilation system that drew air from the auditorium, to be evacuated through the vent. In 1894, F J Widgery agreed to decorate the bare walls of the hall.

By 1894, the Literary Society, which was founded in 1841, had 1,040 members. A talk was given by Jerome K Jerome, author of 'Three men in a Boat', in November 1894, and illustrated talks with magic lantern slides were often given. Exonians had the chance in March 1896 to see the new fangled 'x-rays' when Mr Gifford gave an illustrated talk on the science. The hall was also the venue for the Exeter Camera Club annual exhibition, and from 1906, travelogues and nature films were regularly shown. 

Sometime before the Second War the building became a telephone exchange. After the war it was used by Civil Defence until 1968 when it was passed to the Exeter Little Theatre Company. The ELTC was formed in 1954 based in Colleton Crescent, but now has a rehearsal space in Preston Street. Exeter City Council supported the company and £50,000 was used to convert the interior back to a lecture hall and theatre, seating 289. The new performance space was opened by the Mayor on 24th February 1972 and includes a hearing loop for the deaf. There is a second small space called the Bedford Room with raked seating and a small bar next to the entrance. The theatre is used during the Exeter Festival every July and I have attended talks by Patrick Litchfield and others. The Devon Youth Theatre have also used the theatre to stage productions.

The Royal Public Rooms

Subscription Rooms, Hippodrome and Plaza Cinema

If you ever shop in Boots, in the High Street, and enter the store through the corner entrance, you will be walking across the site of the Royal Public Rooms, a onetime ballroom, theatre and cinema.

The first Assembly Rooms in Exeter were built by William Mackworth Praed in 1769 in Cathedral Yard - within a year the new building became the Hotel or as we know it now, the Royal Clarence Hotel.

In 1820, the purpose built Royal Public Rooms were opened at the bottom of Northernhay Place, adjacent to the New London Inn in New London Square. The ball room measured 92 ft by 41 ft and 40 ft high and could accommodate 700 people. Its purpose was to provide a public space for concerts, balls, exhibitions and other events. It also had a tearoom and separate exhibition rooms. It was 44 ft wide on the street. The building was constructed for a Miss Congdon. In 1897 the lease holder was William Edwards.

The Hippodrome Theatre and Living Pictures

By 1908 the building was taken over by Fred Karno who commissioned the architect Kendall to convert it into an Edwardian music hall, named the Hippodrome. It was opened on 2 November 1908. The main auditorium could seat 700 with a balcony and gallery seating a further 380. Charlie Chaplin is said to have appeared there, before he went of Hollywood. It was also used as an early cinema, giving Chaplin the chance to return, but this time on celluloid. Marie Lloyd and Harry Tate were two others who trod the Hippodromes boards.

The first night performance "...opened to overflowing houses with a variety programme that won general applause from all parts of the house." The programme included the "...drawing-room performance of the Dandies to the neat acrobatics of Archie Rogers, the comedy items of Ivy Proudfoot, Lenton and Lane, Bert Terrell, and Jack Pleasants, the clever burlesque of Rubart, and the eccentricities of old friend Rabbit, with a capital lot of living pictures at the finish."

As the programme of events shows, 'living pictures' were shown at the end of each performance. An advert for the first night stated "HIPPODROME PICTURES Showing all the Latest up-to-date Events.' The Hippodrome was not the first to show moving pictures in Exeter - the Victoria Hall had shown its first film as early as 1896.

Before the advent of television documentaries, spectaculars were staged that told the story of recent and historic events. In November 1912, the Hippodrome staged a re-enactment, by Charles and John Poole, of the sinking of the Titanic. The story from the departure at Southampton, to the collision with the iceberg and the sinking was presented as a series of eight tableaux - 'Unique mechanical and electrical affects, special music and the story was described in a thrilling manner'.

The Plaza Cinema

The Hippodrome was competing with the Theatre Royal, just a few dozen yards away on the other side of New London Square. In 1931, it was decided to discontinue live performances and convert the Hippodrome into the Plaza Cinema. The auditorium was designed by Lucas & Langford and could seat 1,000. On 6 February 1931 it opened with an early talkie, The King of Jazz which featured a young Bing Crosby and utilised the recently developed 2 strip Technicolor system. The second feature was the P G Wodehouse musical, Sally which was shot in black and white also with a Technicolor sequence.

In 1936, the rival Savoy was built to replace the New London Inn, giving Exonians two cinemas within yards of each other.

A sheet of flame

This grand old building would not survive the blitz of 4 May 1942 and a hit from a single high explosive bomb destroyed it and created a conflagration in the buildings all around.

"......caused by a bomb which fell on the Plaza Cinema almost entirely demolishing the building. This building was a converted theatre of the old type and a very bad fire risk; the explosion caused a sheet of flame which seemed to envelop the premises immediately."

Neither of the Plaza's nearest rivals, the Savoy/ABC, and the Theatre Royal survived the 20th-century, leaving this part of Exeter to the serial shopper.

Northcott Theatre - University Campus

In 1962, Mr G V Northcott, a local businessman, had negotiated with the Board of Directors of the Theatre Royal to try and save it, to no avail. Meanwhile, a group in the University prepared a memoradum on the viability of theatre in Exeter and retaining the Theatre Royal. This too failed to convince the Board and the theatre closed.

Later that year, the Vice-Chancellor of the University pointed out that there was a site on campus, that had been reserved for a theatre. Negotiations commenced and eventually a Trust was established with £100,000 from Northcott. Other bodies added funding and the Northcott Devon Theatre and Arts Centre was established. An architect was commissioned, and a start was made on constructing a purpose built theatre. In 1967, the new theatre presented The Merchant of Venice as its first production.

The Northcott Theatre is now a vibrant company, producing plays throughout the year and acting as host to other production companies. It also produces in July, for the Exeter Festival, a Shakespeare in the Gardens open air production.

The theatre has closed during 2007 for a major refit; it reopened on 12th December 2007 to the pantomime Cinderella. On the same day, the Arts Council announced that it would cease to fund the theatre from 2009, despite funding the refurbishment to the tune of £100,000.

Sources: Various sources including the Northcott Theatre website and The Story of the Theatre Royal by Dick Passmore. Thanks to the Northcott for the use of many photos on this page. All the photos and text in Exeter Memories are © 2005 David Cornforth and should not be used without permission.