Drury Lane is a street in central London. It is famous for the Theatre Royal, commonly called the Drury Lane Theatre.
The present theater is the fourth of the same name on the site. Thomas Killigrew built the first theater under a charter granted by Charles II in 1662. Nell Gwyn may have been born in an alley off Drury Lane. She later became an actress in the Theatre Royal and mistress to Charles II. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt the theater in 1674 after a fire. Robert Adam reconstructed the theater in 1775 for the actor David Garrick. This building was demolished in 1791, and a new theater was built. It was destroyed by fire in 1809. Benjamin Wyatt rebuilt the theater in 1812, and the exterior of his building still stands.
Many famous theatrical people have been connected with Drury Lane Theatre. Colley Cibber, Edmund Kean, Sir Henry Irving, Sarah Siddons, and Dame Ellen Terry all acted there. Richard Brinsley Sheridan was one famous manager, and John Dryden was its principal playwright for some years.
Since the 1950’s, the theater’s most popular productions have included the musicals My Fair Lady (1958-1963), 42nd Street (1984-1989), and Miss Saigon (1989-1999).
