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Opening of The New Theatre at Oxford
27 February 1886
wood-engraving
Sydney P. Hall
32 cm high by 22.3 cm wide — 11 ⅞ inches by 8 ⅞ inches
Illustration for The Graphic.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image, formatting, and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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As Hall's six vignettes intimate, the first production staged in the New Theatre, Oxford, was Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, at an entirely new venue replacing the covered tennis courts that were used only during the Long Vacation for undergraduate performances. Otherwise, the denizens of Oxford and the student body were treated only to concerts and music hall entertainments during term. However, when Term ended, the city mayor granted what the Chancellor had forbidden. Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol College (specifically referenced on the window, upper centre, in the illustration) in the early 1880s decided that the Victoria Theatre, used chiefly by itinerant professional companies, should be torn down, and a new theatre, capable of holding an audience of 900, be constructed on the spot to be used by amateurs as well as professionals. By 1933, the building was deemed inadequate, and closed on 25 February 1933; a second, more modern "New Theatre" was erected on the site, and opened on 26 February 1934. Despite his theatrical patronage, Jowett was not entirely popular, perhaps because the new theatre would prove a distraction for undergraduates:
The elder generation particularly disliked his patronage of the theatre – he was the first to introduce the licensed drama into Oxford. . . . Jowett was a leading patron of the New Theatre in George Street, and sanctioned the formation of undergraduate dramatic societies. This has proved a doubtful boon. . . . [(3) "Oxford's third New Theatre, 1886-1933: earlier building on present site"]
The first play staged at the New Theatre Royale was sure to please a general audience. Hall depicts a scene from Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene iv: as officers enter from the right (stage left), we recognize two of the principals. The hapless Sir Andrew Aguecheek (far left) is obvious, as is his constant companion, the ebullient Sir Toby Belch. Worth quoting in its entirety is the "Spirit of Drama as it used to be":
Is this the Indian Institute of Monier?
Or the New Schools, or something even funnier —
Perhaps — prophetic of the distant future—
A model almshouse for the married tutor?
A brand new Theatre? Why, then, 'tis clear
My day is over, I've no business here.
At last, instead of Darkness shines the Day;
Arise, thou modern Spirit of the Play! (Exit.)
The illustrator, Sydney P. Hall (1842-1922), was both a caricaturist (as seen here), "reportage artist," and portrait painter. As part of the magazine's ongoing use of serialised novels to attract a continuing readership, The Graphic had run Wilkie Collins's The Law and the Lady with Hall's four humorous illustrations in 1874:
Collins, Wilkie. The Law and the Lady: A Novel. The Graphic 10 (26 September 1874): 617. Hathi Trust online version of a copy in the New York Public Library. Web. 27 July 2021.
Hall, Sydney. Opening of The New Theatre at Oxford. The Graphic: An Illustrated Weekly Newspaper, No. 848, Vol. XXXIII (27 February 1886).
"The New Theatre, George Street, Oxford." (3) "Oxford's third New Theatre, 1886-1933: earlier building on present site." Oxford History: George Street. https://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/george_street/theatre.html. Accessed 29 March 2025.
Created 27 March 2025