Copyright © 2023 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
On Sept. 10, 2023, Mike Hume, Rick Boychuk, Grit Eckert, and I visited the Drury Lane Theatre.
Hume had scheduled a backstage tour with Michael “Biglad” Burgess-Shaw Head of Stage, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The tour was remarkable, both entertaining and informative as we explored the extensive the backstage area.
Rick Boychuk, Grit Eckert, Wendy Waszut-Barrett, Biglad, and Mike Hume backstage at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
A view from above the stage.
Although everything was fascinating, my favorite part of the backstage tour was visiting the old paint studio. There is so much history spattered on the paint frames, walls, and floor. I have traced the careers of so many scenic artists who worked here. There is nothing quite like standing in the same spot where so many scenic artists, brush in hand, stood for decades.
The paint shop with four paint frames (two in the center).
Paint frame detail.
Paint frame detail, looking up toward skylights.
Next to the paint shop was the scenery storage area; now the main office. Old drops (from a touring production of Oklahoma) now decorated only one wall, now the sole legacy of a space that once housed so many more.
Photograph by Mike Hume.
Drops from a touring production of “Oklahoma” now decorate one wall.
Biglad, Grit, Rick, Wendy and Mike at Drury Lane.
We returned to the theater on September 11 for a front-of-house tour. Mark Fox showed us the rest of the building. We couldn’t have had a better tour guide. Fox is an amazing theatre historian, archivist and advertising manager for LW Theatres. Fox even wrote the book Theatre Royal Drury.
Wendy Waszut-Barrett. Mark Fox, Rick Boychuk and Mike Hume.
The Auditorium.
The Royal Box.
View from the Royal Box.
View from the balcony.
The tour wonderful! Mark’s passion about the building is evident, and he is full of fascinating information about the theater’s history, renovations, and decor.
Print of the auditorium.
Print of the rotunda and principle staircases.
The rotunda.
Looking across the rotunda.
Section of a main staircases.
Main staircase.
View from the exterior balcony.
View of the same balcony from the street.
Here are a few more pictures of highlights from our visit.
One of my favorite paintings – Fortunes by G. D. Leslie, RA. It was for the Royal Jubilee, 1887 Exposition. It is now on display in room behind the Royal Box.
Painted detail.
Painted detail.
Painted detail.
The second painting in the same room of June (actress, singer, dancer) by Herbert Draper.
Painted detail.
Painted detail.
Painted detail.
Painting by Seymour Lucas, Study of a New Act Curtain, 1911.
