Re: Spring 2016 | Page 88

chairman; Infield and Mrs Chart herself acted as managing directors. The company then purchased the theatre and house from Nellie for £43,000. When she died in London on 23 February 1892, the Theatre Royal’s reputation as one of the leading provincial theatres was wellestablished. In 1894, the house was incorporated into the theatre itself, and a number of its original features remain. The ground floor became the main entrance and box office (still used today), and retains the open fireplace which characterised the Victorian residence. The gracious staircase to the Royal Circle had also been in the house. Mrs Nye Chart’s first floor drawing room is now the Royal Circle bar and, above this, the two storeys of bedrooms were converted into offices for Theatre staff. The theatre’s former main entrance was turned into a second entrance at the back of the stalls, now with its own bar. The width of the theatre was extended, and it was redecorated throughout. The old gas lighting system was converted to electricity and numbers 35-38 Bond Street, at the back of the theatre, were purchased. Number 35 was converted into the stage door, and still remains the entry route for all the scenery for every show. Dressing rooms were re-planned and improved, and the ground floor colonnade at the front of the theatre was rebuilt. The main entrance to the theatre, now a subsidiary entrance at the back of the stalls bar, led up a curved staircase, probably from the original theatre, to the dress circle. The manager’s cottage, 88