Introduction

On Friday, 23 January 1925, Lane Manager Basil Dean proclaimed the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to be the National Theatre of Britain. He argued:His comments on Drury Lane’s place as a national theatre, and his desire to see it officially established as such, speak to the significant role that the Lane played in the eye of the British public. With a rich history dating from 1663, Drury Lane has long been revered as one of the most significant national theatres of Britain and remains the oldest standing theatre in London. Unlike other theatrical spaces of equal longevity and importance such as the Old Vic or the many Music Halls in London, the Lane became synonymous with musical theatre in the twentieth century. It staged spectacle productions and operettas beginning in the 1924, in part because of its large size and audience capacity, bolstered by its long tradition as a place of cultural significance.