1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,480 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. This episode was originally 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: gonna be another edition of Ghosts of the British Isles. 5 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: This sort of still is, but it ended up being 6 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: all about specifically theatrical ghosts. As Andrew Dixon wrote in 7 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: an article for The Guardian in twenty fifteen, quote, there 8 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: is barely a theater in Britain that doesn't claim a 9 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: resident spook. History is littered with stories of phantoms, glimpsed 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: in the orchestra stalls or on stage, presences felt but unseen. 11 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: And so this particular episode is about theatrical ghosts. But 12 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: theatrical ghosts associated with one place, and that place is 13 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: specific and it has its own interesting history. That is 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: the Theatre Royal drury Lane. This theater is known by 15 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: a lot of names. Theater Royal drury Lane is one, 16 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: and perhaps its most accurate one, but it is more 17 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:11,039 Speaker 1: often called the drury Lane Theater, sometimes just the Dreary, 18 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: et cetera. I picked this one because it's considered the 19 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: most haunted. But the thing is The ghost stories that 20 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: it has are many in number, but there's not a 21 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 1: lot of documentation about these sightings. So I thought, first 22 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: we would talk about this theater's history because it's really interesting. 23 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: So this is one for the theater kids in the crowd, 24 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: and then we are going to talk about some of 25 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: the ghosts that are associated with it, including one whose 26 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: ghost is a previous podcast subject, and I don't think 27 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: we talked about him being a haunting entity on that one. 28 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: I went back and checked and heard nothing about it, 29 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: so I don't think we did. We're like augmenting that story. Yeah, 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: we did mention this theater a lot in it, which 31 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: is why as I was reading through that line, I 32 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: kept being like, why, why is this familiar? Yeah? I 33 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: kept looking back through stuff and then went uh oh yeah, okay, okay. 34 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: So the Theater Royal Drury Lane in London is the 35 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: oldest theater of the city that's still in regular use. 36 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: There've actually been multiple buildings on the site over the years, 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: but they all operated under the same charter. Because of 38 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: this theater's age, it is home to a lot of 39 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: ghost stories. The theater is part of the City of Westminster. 40 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: That's a Borough of London and part of the city's 41 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,960 Speaker 1: historic West End theater district. The name is actually a 42 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: little confusing because the theater's address and main entrance are 43 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,959 Speaker 1: not on Drury Lane. They're on Catherine Street. Dury Lane 44 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: is one street over at the back of the theater. 45 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: The name may have come from another building that was 46 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: near the theater in its first incarnation, or because of 47 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: a renaming of the streets. One other theory is that 48 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: the name came from a previous theater run by the 49 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: Drury's first proprietor, which was and Drew Lane. The original 50 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: Theatre Royal Drury Lane opened on May seventh, sixteen sixty three. 51 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: It was built by Thomas Killigrew under a royal charter. 52 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: That charter was part of a rebuilding of the arts 53 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: in England that followed the Puritan into Regnum, that period 54 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: from sixteen forty nine to sixteen sixty when England was 55 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: a republic and not governed by a monarch. In the 56 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: time preceding the interregnum, the theater had been largely sponsored 57 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: by the Stuart Court, and when we say the theater 58 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: we mean the theater scene of London, not this theater. 59 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,400 Speaker 1: After Charles the First was executed, an event that could 60 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: make a very good future episode. The Protestants sold his 61 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 1: art collection and banned theater for a variety of reasons 62 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: you will see summed up in different ways. When the 63 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: executed King's son, Charles the Second, regained the throne in 64 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: sixteen sixty, he was eager to re establish the cultural 65 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: institutions the Puritans had closed down. A charming contempt. Account 66 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: of the granting of this charter and another reads quote. 67 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: King Charles the Second, at his restoration granted two patents, 68 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 1: one to Sir William Davenant and the other to Thomas 69 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 1: Killigrew Esquire and their several heirs and assigns forever for 70 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: the forming of two distinct companies of comedians. The first 71 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: were called the King's Servants, enacted at the Theatre Royal 72 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: in Drury Lane, and the other the Duke's Company, who 73 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: acted at the Duke's Theater in Dorset Garden. About ten 74 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: of the King's Company were on the Royal household establishment, 75 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,359 Speaker 1: having each ten yards of scarlet cloth with a proper 76 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: quantity of lace, allowed them for liveries, and in their 77 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: warrants from the Lord Chamberlain were styled Gentlemen of the 78 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: Great Chamber. Whether the like appointments were extended to the 79 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: Duke's Company, I am not certain. Can I just tell 80 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: you how much I love the idea of having a 81 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: job or title where they're like, here's your bolt, so 82 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 1: a fabric, go have your clothes custom made. That sounds dreamy. 83 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: But to go back to the theater. Killigrew was a dramatist. 84 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: He wrote the plays The Parsons, Wedding, the Prisoners and 85 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: Clara Scilla, and the theater company that Killigrew founded was 86 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: known as the King's Men in addition to the King's Servants, 87 00:05:17,320 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: and the theater opened with the nickname the King's Playhouse. 88 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: That theater, which costa reported two four hundred pounds to 89 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: build at the time, so that was pretty expensive, staged 90 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 1: The Humorous Lieutenant, a tragic comedy by John Fletcher, as 91 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: its opening play. The theater actually closed for a couple 92 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 1: of years, for sixteen sixty five and sixteen sixty six, 93 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: but once it reopened it had a lot of success 94 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: for several years, but then that success was halted on 95 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: January twenty fifth, sixteen seventy two, when the theater burned 96 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: to the ground. The theater was rebuilt in sixteen seventy four, 97 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: though its footprint changed as it was expanded considerably. It 98 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: is believed, although not conclusively documented, that Sir Christopher Wren 99 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:06,279 Speaker 1: may have been the architect responsible for its construction. When 100 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 1: the new four thousand pound facility opened on March twenty six, 101 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: sixteen seventy four, Killigrew stayed on as Master of the Rebels. 102 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: In sixteen eighty two, the two companies that had been 103 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,600 Speaker 1: formed in the sixteen sixty two charters were merged into one, 104 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: and Killigrew was still involved with this newly formed group 105 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: until his death, that was on March nineteenth, sixteen eighty three. 106 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,919 Speaker 1: One of Killigrew's most significant contributions to the theater was 107 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,080 Speaker 1: the use of women actors instead of troops consisting exclusively 108 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: of men. Samuel Peeps noted in a diary entry from 109 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: before the opening of the Jury Theater play staged by Killigrew, 110 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: of which he says, quote and here the first time 111 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: that ever I saw women come upon the stage. Killigrew 112 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: continued this practice at Dury Lane. Yeah, that was not 113 00:06:56,400 --> 00:07:00,280 Speaker 1: common practice yet. From seventeen ten to seventeen thirty three, 114 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: the Drury Lane Theater was wildly successful, and it was 115 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,800 Speaker 1: home to the earliest productions of a lot of famous plays. 116 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:09,800 Speaker 1: The credit for this success is often given to the 117 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: way it was run, which was the work of three men, 118 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: Robert Wilkes, Collie Sibber and Thomas Dogget. It was actually 119 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: sibbers autobiography that we read from in the account of 120 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: how the two charters were granted earlier. These men had 121 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 1: all been very closely tied to the theater for some time. 122 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 1: Early publications of the manuscript for the Humorous Lieutenant Liz 123 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: Cibber is one of the performers, and in seventeen thirteen 124 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: Barton Booth joined the three man management team when Thomas 125 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: Dogget retired. But then in the seventeen thirties, when Sibbers retired, 126 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: the theater was taken over by Charles Fleetwood. Unlike his predecessor's, 127 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: Fleetwood was not a good manager. Under his leadership, a 128 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: series of events that came to be known as the 129 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: Drury Lane Riots took place. A letter from Horace Walpole, 130 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: who we've talked about on the show before, to Horace Mann, 131 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: who I don't think we've talked about on the show 132 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: for mentions being at one of these riots. Quote. The 133 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: town has been trying all this winter to beat pantomimes 134 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: off the stage. Fleetwood, the master of Drury Lane, has 135 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: omitted nothing to support them, as they support his house. 136 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: About ten days ago he let into the pit great 137 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: numbers of bear garden bruisers, that is the term, to 138 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: knock down everybody that hissed the pit. Rallied their forces 139 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,240 Speaker 1: and drove them out. I was sitting very quietly in 140 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: the sideboxes, contemplating all this. On a sudden the curtain 141 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: flew up and discovered the whole stage filled with blaggards, 142 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: armed with bludgeons and clubs to menace the audience. This 143 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: raised the greatest uproar, and among the rest who flew 144 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,079 Speaker 1: into a passion. But your friend, the philosopher in short, 145 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: one of the actors, advancing to the front of the 146 00:08:57,559 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: stage to make an apology for the manager. He had 147 00:09:00,559 --> 00:09:04,000 Speaker 1: scarcely begun to say, mister Fleetwood, when your friend, with 148 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: the most audible voice and dignity of anger, called out, 149 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: he is an impudent rascal. The whole pit huzzad and 150 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:17,480 Speaker 1: repeated the words, only think of my being a popular orator. 151 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: I just think that's adorable. I really loved reading a 152 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: lot of mariswaalbole stuff. When I was working on that, 153 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 1: I stood up and yelled, it's just so charming. The 154 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,880 Speaker 1: cause of the riots is often choked up to rising 155 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: ticket prices, but modern scholarship makes the case that it 156 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:41,240 Speaker 1: was really much more complex than that. Part of it 157 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 1: the inclusion of pantomimes instead of higher grade of theater, 158 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:51,240 Speaker 1: which not everybody liked. Fleetwood had been steadily losing public 159 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: trust for years, and in the year before the riots, 160 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: the actors had a conflict with Fleetwood when he refused 161 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:00,839 Speaker 1: to guarantee their wages for the season. The actors had 162 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: staged a walkout over treatment ten years earlier, in seventeen 163 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: thirty three, but in seventeen forty four, when this was 164 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: going on, their only recourse was to file a legal action. 165 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,840 Speaker 1: They were no longer legally allowed to form their own 166 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 1: theater if they left this one. Although the actors did 167 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: lose their legal filing against Fleetwood, the whole thing left 168 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: Fleetwood's already weak reputation with the public just completely ruined. 169 00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: After the seventeen forty four riots, he sold his stake 170 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: in the theater and left the country settling in France. 171 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: Will continue to discuss the many people who managed the 172 00:10:36,679 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 1: Theatre Royal Drury Lane, but we will first take a 173 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: quick sponsor break. In seventeen forty seven, the theater changed 174 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: hands yet again, to run under the management of David Garrick. 175 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: This was another period of incredible success and credit praise. 176 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:05,080 Speaker 1: Garrick's Drury Lane run lasted three decades, and he appeared 177 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: in many of the venue's productions during that time. Before 178 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: he retired in seventeen seventy six, he gave a farewell 179 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,280 Speaker 1: performance in a play called The Wonder In. This last 180 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: show for the beloved actor and manager was so anticipated 181 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: that it seemed that all of London showed up. There 182 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: was not enough space in the theater to accommodate the crowd. 183 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: Accounts note that the staging was changed that night so 184 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: that Garrick was alone on stage during his final lines 185 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 1: as he bid farewell to his life on the stage. 186 00:11:35,160 --> 00:11:39,440 Speaker 1: In seventeen seventy six, Richard Brinsley Sheridan took the helm 187 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,959 Speaker 1: of the Jury Theater and he continued its run of excellence. 188 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: It was during his tenure there that he wrote and 189 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: premiered The School for scandal, but though the quality of 190 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: the plays was good, the quality of the building was not. 191 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 1: Over the years, a lot of problems had cropped up 192 00:11:56,559 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 1: in the theater and its age eventually surpassed management's ability 193 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: to keep up. In seventeen ninety one, the theater closed 194 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 1: temporarily in the building. This was, as you recall, the 195 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:11,120 Speaker 1: second one was demolished. For the next several years, the 196 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 1: company continued to stage plays, but they were performed a 197 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: little less than a mile away at Theatre Royal Haymarket, 198 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 1: while the new building was erected at the Drury Lane location. 199 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,439 Speaker 1: The third building for the Drury was designed by architect 200 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,000 Speaker 1: Henry Holland and his project started right after the second 201 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 1: was torn down. When it opened in April seventeen ninety four, 202 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: it had this beautiful blue and white interior color scheme 203 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: described as just being very richly decorated. And this new 204 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: theater was once again bigger and could hold three thousand, 205 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: six hundred eleven audience members. This theater was built with 206 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: the latest and safety materials and was touted as being fireproof. 207 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:55,440 Speaker 1: It even had a water tank series mounted above the 208 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 1: curtain to rapidly douse any flames on stage. But although 209 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: those fireproof claims were inaccurate, which is a sad theme 210 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,600 Speaker 1: and supposedly fireproof theaters, it burned down in eighteen oh 211 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: nine and the Troop once again had to relocate to 212 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: the Haymarket then the Lyceum Theater, while the Jury was 213 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,119 Speaker 1: rebuilt for the fourth time. One of the most delightful 214 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: aspects in my opinion of the fourth construction project was 215 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:26,839 Speaker 1: that the architect Benjamin Dean Wyatt published a book about 216 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,120 Speaker 1: its design titled Observations on the Design for the Theater 217 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: Royal Drury Lane as executed in eighteen twelve, accompanied by plans, 218 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: elevation and sections of the same. And the reason it's 219 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:41,800 Speaker 1: delightful is that this book is available online. It is 220 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,240 Speaker 1: something anybody can look at and will link it in 221 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 1: the show notes. It walks through the whole process from 222 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:51,080 Speaker 1: the formation of a joint stock company and subscription sales 223 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,560 Speaker 1: to fund the project, and Wyatt is very clear about 224 00:13:54,600 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: the challenge of this building project, noting quote the pecuniary 225 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:02,280 Speaker 1: embarrassments of the property were at that time so great 226 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: that considerable doubts were entertained whether it would ever be 227 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:10,440 Speaker 1: practicable to surmount those embarrassments. But they did get the 228 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: money together, and this fourth Theater is often referred to 229 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 1: as the Modern Theater. It's the one that is still 230 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: standing today. It took several years for the Fourth Theater 231 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: to be erected, but in eighteen twelve the jury opened again. 232 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: This marked the start of a really exciting time in 233 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 1: the theater, as the new facility was built to handle 234 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: large sets and could achieve more stunning visual effects. Five 235 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: years after the Modern Theater opened, the stage was lit 236 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: by gas lamps, making it the first theater in Britain 237 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: to do so. This new era headlined Edmund Keene as 238 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: its lead actor, and it did quite well for a while. 239 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:50,800 Speaker 1: Keene's death is very closely tied to the theater, as 240 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: he was in the middle of a performance of Othello 241 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:57,200 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty three when he collapsed on stage, and 242 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: at that point his son Charles, who was playing Iago, 243 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: caught his father as he crumpled. Edmund reportedly said there 244 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 1: on stage, Oh God, I am dying. Speak to them, Charles. 245 00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 1: He never recovered and he died a few weeks later. 246 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 1: After this, the theater again went through a rough phase 247 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: for the four decades after Keene's frightening collapse on stage. 248 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 1: The theater really didn't have a real success. In eighteen 249 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 1: nineteen it had been leased by Stephen Price, a theater 250 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: empresario from New York, and after he gave it up 251 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,560 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty, the least kind of had a revolving 252 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: door of managers. Yeah, I was like, I'm not going 253 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: to go through this whole list in the episode, because 254 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,080 Speaker 1: it's literally like from April of this year to November 255 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: of this year, this guy tried it, got scared and left, 256 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 1: and then the next guy just tried to make a 257 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: quick buck and then he was out, and then the 258 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 1: next guy wanted to do something big but didn't like 259 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: it was. It's a very sad quick list of no accomplishments. 260 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,240 Speaker 1: In eighteen seventy nine, Augustus Harris assumed management of the 261 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: Drury and he really invigorated the lagging space. Under Harris, 262 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: melodrama reigned supreme and it became one of the most 263 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:11,120 Speaker 1: popular entertainments of London. After Harris, the Drury once again 264 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:14,320 Speaker 1: had a successful leader at the Helm in Arthur Collins. 265 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:18,040 Speaker 1: And Collins did not reinvent the theater's image. He continued 266 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,360 Speaker 1: more or less in the vein of Harris. He basically 267 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: was like, we have a successful blueprint, I just need 268 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,720 Speaker 1: to keep executing it. Musicals debuted at the Jury in 269 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties. Prior to this, it was considered the 270 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:34,560 Speaker 1: home of dramatic theatrical performance, but it opened its stage 271 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: to musical theater to meet the demands of London's theatergoers. Yeah, 272 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: it's funny because now a lot of plays had end 273 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: up on Broadway start in London and like musicals are 274 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: super big. At the time, it was like should we 275 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: do this our reputation. During World War Two, the theater 276 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 1: became the home of the Entertainment National Service Association. You'll 277 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:58,680 Speaker 1: see that listed as ENSA. This organization was started to 278 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: provide entertainment to BRI's troops during the war, and its 279 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: first large scale production was a variety concert that was 280 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,439 Speaker 1: broadcast by the BBC at the same time it was 281 00:17:08,480 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: being performed before an audience at the Dreary. The theater 282 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: did sustain minor damage from bombing during the war, but 283 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: was able to repair and reopen in nineteen forty six. 284 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,879 Speaker 1: Pacific eighteen sixty, a play written by Noel Coward, was 285 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 1: its first production after World War II, the theater was 286 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: given status as a Grade one Site of Historical Significance 287 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:34,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty eight. At the close of the twentieth century, 288 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:38,720 Speaker 1: the theater was purchased by Andrew Lloyd Weber, who wrote Katz, 289 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: Phanom of the Opera, Jesus Christ, Superstar and Avida, among others. 290 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: This was part of one hundred and forty five million 291 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:49,919 Speaker 1: dollar bid that included nine other theaters in London. In 292 00:17:49,960 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: a press interview, Weber stated that this bold move was 293 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:58,160 Speaker 1: about keeping room for fresh, unique material on the stage, 294 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: noting quote, it is vital that the theater be in 295 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: the hands of people who know and love the theater. 296 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: Otherwise our lifeblood is taken away from us, and there's 297 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 1: no room anymore for the old fashioned producer who will 298 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,600 Speaker 1: back shows that take risks. I would like to think 299 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,359 Speaker 1: that we will be more sympathetic to shows that deserve 300 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,719 Speaker 1: a break to survive. There are lots of shows that 301 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,560 Speaker 1: don't look good on paper and appear not to be 302 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: good business, where we'll say, let's get behind this and 303 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:31,199 Speaker 1: hope it pays off. I love that. Incidentally, while I 304 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: was researching this, I discovered that if you have a 305 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:41,439 Speaker 1: double last name. You have to hyphenate it in English 306 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: standard writing. That's how I found it out. So I 307 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,520 Speaker 1: don't know when we call him Weber, if we should 308 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 1: call him Lloyd Webber or not. But Andrew Lloyd Weber 309 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:52,440 Speaker 1: has really followed through on his promise. He spent or 310 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: reported sixty pounds to refurbish the theater, restoring it back 311 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:00,359 Speaker 1: to its eighteen twelve design, while also modernizing it to 312 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: include new cafes and bars to make it like a 313 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:06,160 Speaker 1: destination for your entire day. You could hang out there. 314 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: It added disability access, It added more comfortable seating as 315 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,679 Speaker 1: well as a lot of various technical additions that enable 316 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: really state of the art production values. And this renovation 317 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:20,280 Speaker 1: won the twenty twenty two Theater Building of the Year Award, 318 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: which I did not know about until I was working 319 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 1: in this but it is given out by the Stage 320 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: Awards each year. Okay, time for ghosts, but before we 321 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 1: dig into the spectral inhabitants of Juryland, we will hear 322 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: from sponsors that keep the show going. Because of its 323 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,719 Speaker 1: long history, the theater in Drury Lane has long been 324 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: rumored to be haunted, and some of these ghosts have 325 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 1: great stories of their own. So first up is kind 326 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:57,359 Speaker 1: of a short one. It's Charles Keene, the son of 327 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: actor Edmund Keene, who we mentioned earlier. You'll recall Edmund 328 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: collapsed into Charles's arms on stage. Charles, like his father, 329 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: became an actor, and he also became a theater manager, 330 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: and his ghost is said to frequently take a seat 331 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,080 Speaker 1: in the front row and wait for plays to begin, 332 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,120 Speaker 1: and when the curtain rises and the stage lights come up, 333 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: Charles vanishes. And then there's Charles Macklin. Macklin's ghost has 334 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: a good bit of documented backstory on why it might 335 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,520 Speaker 1: be lurking in the theater, and that is related to guilt. 336 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,719 Speaker 1: This story is often summed up as Charles Macklin murdered 337 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,440 Speaker 1: another actor by stabbing him in the eye with his cane, 338 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: and that is technically correct, but the actual events as 339 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:43,640 Speaker 1: they played out are more tragic. This is a case 340 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,159 Speaker 1: where some petty bickering escalated in a way, but a 341 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: line was crossed accidentally, and it all began with a 342 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,560 Speaker 1: wig in seventeen thirty five when Macklin, who was a 343 00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:57,480 Speaker 1: popular Irish actor who was at the height of his 344 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 1: fame at Their Dreary, had prepared to go on stage 345 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 1: by dressing and applying his makeup, but he could not 346 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:06,960 Speaker 1: find the wig that went with his outfit. He then 347 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:11,080 Speaker 1: saw that actor Thomas Hallam was wearing it. Hallam was 348 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 1: a low ranking actor in the troop, kind of one 349 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 1: of those people that filled a lot of small extras 350 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 1: type roles, and seeing him and his wig incensed Macklin. 351 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 1: Hallam was persuaded to give up the wig and he 352 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 1: went to the props room to get another and switch out, 353 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: and that might have resolved things, but when Hallam then 354 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,640 Speaker 1: came back with his new wig, he threw the original 355 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,920 Speaker 1: wig at Macklin said something kind of, you know, incendiary, 356 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 1: and after a brief moment where it still seemed like 357 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,840 Speaker 1: things might be okay, Macklin reportedly said to Hallam, quote, 358 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,399 Speaker 1: God damn you for a blaggered scrub rascal. How durst 359 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: you have the impudence to take this wig. Hallam replied 360 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: by saying that Macklin was also a rascal, and Macklin 361 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,479 Speaker 1: picked up his cane and thrust it in Hallam's face. 362 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,679 Speaker 1: It seems like this was intended like as an admonishment 363 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: and a threat. He was not trying to strike him 364 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: in the eye, but then Hallam was bleeding profusely from 365 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 1: his eye. Maclin later described his own shock at the 366 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: scene quote, good God, said, I what have I done? 367 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: And I threw the stick into the chimney. He sat 368 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 1: down and said to mister Ames's son, who was dressed 369 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: in woman's clothes, whip up your clothes, you little bee, 370 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 1: and urine in my eye. But he could not, so 371 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,719 Speaker 1: I did. As we know, sometimes people have used urine 372 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:43,800 Speaker 1: to treat wounds, thinking it was sterile. You don't do it. 373 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: Don't pee on wounds, and especially not eye wounds. But 374 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,439 Speaker 1: Maclin really thought he was being a good guy uh 375 00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 1: by doing so. But at this point this seemed like 376 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:59,639 Speaker 1: a gross but minor injury. Hallam was taken into a 377 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,199 Speaker 1: room to lie down where he could be treated. One 378 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,400 Speaker 1: of the women in the troop was looking after him, 379 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: and meanwhile, the play started and Maclin went on and 380 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,120 Speaker 1: did his role. But then when the show was over, 381 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: Maclin was informed that the wound was actually quite serious 382 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,320 Speaker 1: and that it was very likely going to prove fatal, 383 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,160 Speaker 1: and at that point he fled the theater. Hallum died 384 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,800 Speaker 1: the following day, and Macklin surrendered himself to the police 385 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,880 Speaker 1: after a wilful murder indictment was issued. Macklin was tried 386 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: at the Old Bailey and represented himself in the end. 387 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:36,360 Speaker 1: After many character witnesses passed through to support Macklin's story 388 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,440 Speaker 1: that the death had been accidental and that he had 389 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: been shocked and upset when he realized what had happened, 390 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 1: the actor was found guilty not of murder but of manslaughter. 391 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: His sentence was that he was quote to be branded 392 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,640 Speaker 1: on the hand and discharged. It seems like he may 393 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: not have ever even been branded though, and when he 394 00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,520 Speaker 1: went back to the stage he was applauded by the 395 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 1: audience in attendance, although there were protesters who wanted him 396 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: fired permanently. Yeah, he actually sued the organizer of those 397 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: protests and won. It kind of dragged out for a 398 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:16,080 Speaker 1: long time where he tried to kind of regain his reputation, 399 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:19,640 Speaker 1: and it dragged out because Macklin lived a long time 400 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 1: after this incident. He died in seventeen ninety seven at 401 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: the age of ninety seven. He appeared to have always 402 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,959 Speaker 1: carried guilt with him though, regarding what had happened, and 403 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,840 Speaker 1: he is now said to be seen walking near the 404 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: spot where he accidentally stabbed Hallum. We actually did a 405 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: whole episode on the life of the next Ghost. That 406 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,880 Speaker 1: episode came out in twenty twenty three, although we did 407 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,840 Speaker 1: not talk about his after life. This is Joseph Grimaldy. 408 00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,760 Speaker 1: Here's the very short version of his life. Joseph Grimaldy, 409 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 1: who went by Joe, was born December eighteenth, seventeen seventy 410 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: eight into a theater family. His father, Giuseppo was known 411 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: to be harsh and abusive, and when the elder Grimaldi died, 412 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: Joe became famous. He really eclipsed his father's reputation. Grimaldi's 413 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,520 Speaker 1: fame came from just how far he was willing to 414 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 1: push himself physically in the interest of comedic entertainment. He 415 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: would perform tumbling tricks, pratfalls, and all kinds of slapstick. 416 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: And he painted himself stark white, which is why he 417 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,240 Speaker 1: is sometimes called the first modern clown. Eventually, his physically 418 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,639 Speaker 1: demanding act wore down his health. He retired in eighteen 419 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: twenty eight. There are some aspects of Grimaldi's haunting story 420 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: the evidence of a bit of confusion or even some 421 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: willful obfuscation of reality to just bolster the stories of 422 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: a ghost, one that comes up a lot is that 423 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:47,439 Speaker 1: he requested to be beheaded before being buried because he 424 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,399 Speaker 1: wanted to make sure he was not buried alive. So 425 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,679 Speaker 1: this detail is usually used to explain stories that people 426 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,439 Speaker 1: have of Grimaldi's clown painted head hovering in some of 427 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:03,199 Speaker 1: the theaters audience boxes, But it was actually his father 428 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:06,399 Speaker 1: who made that request in his will. That is an 429 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: order that's said to have been carried out by Joseph's 430 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 1: sister Margaret. The stories of Grimaldy's theatrical hauntings are usually 431 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: pretty tame, although depending on your point of view, they 432 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,159 Speaker 1: could be considered assaultive. He is known to kick people 433 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 1: in the rear. Often this is to get a hesitant 434 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 1: actor to go out on stage, or just as prankish 435 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,840 Speaker 1: behavior behind the scenes, but there have also been actors 436 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,520 Speaker 1: who stated that they could feel him moving them on 437 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:35,000 Speaker 1: the stage, sort of placing their limbs in a certain 438 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,119 Speaker 1: way or shifting the direction their body was facing, and 439 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:40,919 Speaker 1: that the result was always a better reaction from the 440 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: audience than they were getting before Grimaldy's ghostly guidance. Grimaldy 441 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:49,240 Speaker 1: is also alleged to haunt Joseph Grimaldy Park that was 442 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: once a cemetery, and it is where the clown is buried. 443 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 1: Dan Lenno, who was born George Wild Galvin in eighteen sixty, 444 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:01,120 Speaker 1: is another well known ghost of the Dreary. His two 445 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: is a story that's largely charming, but then has a 446 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: rather tragic end. He was born into performing. His entire 447 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 1: family was made up of traveling actors and comedians, and 448 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 1: he started on the stage as a toddler at age three. 449 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,040 Speaker 1: Leno quickly rose to fame as a young adult and 450 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: became famous as a pantomime performer. He often appeared in 451 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 1: drag and was famous for a stage version of Mother 452 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: Goose with a title role written expressly for him. Leno 453 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: was dedicated to charitable works and took particular interest in 454 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 1: causes that helped other performers. Sometimes he is touted as 455 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 1: the highest paid performer of his day. He performed for 456 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,639 Speaker 1: King Edward the seventh and was nicknamed the King's Jester 457 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:48,159 Speaker 1: after the monarch gifted him an elegant tie pin. In 458 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:52,040 Speaker 1: the early nineteen hundreds, but also in the early nineteen hundreds, 459 00:27:52,119 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 1: Leno started misusing alcohol. This is apparently a problem that 460 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,240 Speaker 1: ran in his family. In nineteen oh three, he had 461 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: a mental breakdow down, and he was institutionalized for several 462 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: months at London's Camberwell House Asylum. After his convalescence there, 463 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:11,200 Speaker 1: he did return to the stage, but only briefly. He 464 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 1: gave a performance on October thirty first, nineteen oh four, 465 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 1: and he died that same night. His cause of death 466 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,160 Speaker 1: is reported differently from source to source, citing everything from 467 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: heart trouble to overwork. Most modern historians think he had 468 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: some medical problem that was the result of alcohol misuse. 469 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 1: Comedian Stanley Lupino described his encounter with Dan Leno's ghosts 470 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 1: to the press in nineteen twenty three. The following account 471 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: from Lupino ran in The Register, a newspaper in Adelaide, Australia. 472 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 1: Quote He stated that while asleep in his dressing room, 473 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: he was awakened by curtains moving and saw a form 474 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: flit across the room and disappear through a locked door. 475 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: Later he saw the face of Dan Leno. He rushed 476 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: out of the theater and spent the rest of the 477 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,120 Speaker 1: night at a hotel. The next evening, he said, ay 478 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: be well known in the theatrical world, who had come 479 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:04,840 Speaker 1: to visit me and my wife was alone in my 480 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: dressing room while I was performing on the stage. She 481 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: fainted and afterwards, although she had heard nothing of my experience, 482 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:15,960 Speaker 1: declared she had seen the ghost of Dan Lenno. Leno's 483 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: ghost is said to be heard clogging throughout the theater, 484 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,320 Speaker 1: and if you catch a whiff of lavender, that is 485 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:25,640 Speaker 1: also attributed to him, as he reportedly wore the scent 486 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,280 Speaker 1: when he was alive. Sometimes it is Dan that gets 487 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 1: the credit for assisting performers with their staging and body 488 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: position instead of Grimaldi. He has even been reported to 489 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: pat actors on the back after a good show. Drury 490 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: Theater's most famous ghost, though, is the Man in Gray. 491 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: He's the one who's been spotted the most, but he's 492 00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:50,040 Speaker 1: also the one we know the least about. According to legend, 493 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: this man appears in the upper circle and he's dressed 494 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,720 Speaker 1: in eighteenth century clothing. He wears a tricorn hat and 495 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: a writing cloak and carries a sword. And the Man 496 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: in Girl is a very welcome spirit. It has become 497 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,800 Speaker 1: one of those theater superstitions that his appearance blesses a 498 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,720 Speaker 1: plays run. If you don't get the Man in Gray 499 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: to stop by during your pre production and rehearsals. Your 500 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 1: show might be doomed to flop. But who is he? 501 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: This is one that has a very compelling but awfully 502 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 1: difficult to corroborate detail that sometimes offered as the explanation 503 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: of his identity. Many accounts of the jury say that 504 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,560 Speaker 1: during renovations in the nineteenth century a skeleton was discovered. 505 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 1: A nineteen thirty nine article about the theater written by 506 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: John Shan of The Guardian states of the man in 507 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: gray quote, this friendly apparition has been seen coming out 508 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:46,760 Speaker 1: of the upper circle bar and vanishing through what was 509 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: once a passage to the stage by persons who know 510 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,160 Speaker 1: nothing of the odd discovery made by workmen about eighty 511 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,560 Speaker 1: years ago, while making alterations a wall where is now 512 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: the upper circle bar was pulled down. Behind it was 513 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: a small room. It contained a table and a chair, 514 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 1: and in the chair sat a skeleton with a dagger 515 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 1: in its breast. You may laugh at the ghost, but 516 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: the skeleton is a fact. An inquest was held on it. 517 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:18,080 Speaker 1: But I never managed to turn up any mention of 518 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 1: the skeleton or an inquest in any newspapers. You would 519 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: think that would have been written about. Additionally, there's a 520 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: wild and I mean wild range of dates given by 521 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 1: various sources for the renovation that uncovered this skeleton you'll 522 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:37,000 Speaker 1: see them that run from eighteen forty all the way 523 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:41,200 Speaker 1: into the late eighteen seventies. I searched throughout all of 524 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: those time periods with a variety of different search chains, 525 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,720 Speaker 1: and I did not turn up a single newspaper mention 526 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: to that end. Holly also wanted to include another quote 527 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,120 Speaker 1: from that twenty fifteen Guardian article that we mentioned at 528 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: the top of the show. The writer Andrew Dixon conferred 529 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,080 Speaker 1: with a woman and named Efa Monks, who's a theater 530 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,400 Speaker 1: professor at Queen Mary University of London, about the theater 531 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:09,320 Speaker 1: and why the theater community seems so prone to see ghosts. 532 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,520 Speaker 1: Her answer was delightful. Quote. Theater is a ghostly experience 533 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,480 Speaker 1: if you think about it. It's concerned with the unearthing 534 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 1: of texts that, in the case of the Greek tragedies, 535 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: might be two thousand years old, and an experience that 536 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,080 Speaker 1: comes back night after night, but which also disappears in 537 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,040 Speaker 1: front of your eyes as it does so sounds pretty 538 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 1: ghostly to me. I love that take. Yes, That's what 539 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: makes live theater so great, right, It's you're the only 540 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: people experiencing that moment in history together, which I love. Yeah, 541 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:43,640 Speaker 1: those are the Drury Lane ghosts. A little later on 542 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:45,320 Speaker 1: the ghosts than I would have liked, but we just 543 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:48,080 Speaker 1: don't have that much info. Yeah, I really wish I 544 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:52,920 Speaker 1: could have unearthed some magical mention of the body or 545 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 1: skeleton allegedly found in the wall. Not a peep. If 546 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: there's one out there, I'd love to see it. But 547 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,920 Speaker 1: I do have listener mail from our listener Amanda, who writes, 548 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 1: Hello there, Holly and Tracy. This is my first time writing, 549 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:09,200 Speaker 1: but I just listened to your weekend classic on the 550 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:12,320 Speaker 1: Bell Witch, and I couldn't have been more excited. Growing 551 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: up in Kentucky, everyone would hear tales of the bell 552 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 1: Witch around Halloween, but my first recollection of hearing the 553 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,240 Speaker 1: story was from our lunch room monitor at our Catholic 554 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:25,000 Speaker 1: elementary school during October. She would read any and all 555 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,600 Speaker 1: ghost stories to us during lunch, but the bell Witch 556 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: always indicated the start of ghost story lunches for the school. 557 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:34,720 Speaker 1: If you walked past our cafeteria, you would have seen 558 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,840 Speaker 1: two hundred kids as quiet as mice waiting for the 559 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:42,240 Speaker 1: next scare scene. Fast forward thirty years to your Saturday classic, 560 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 1: and I was back in that black and white tiled cafeteria. 561 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 1: But I really appreciate how toward the end both of 562 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,280 Speaker 1: you discussed all the permutations of the legend. I was 563 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 1: listening waiting for things to be said that weren't, because 564 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:57,680 Speaker 1: obviously each ghost story has their own embellishments. I want 565 00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,760 Speaker 1: to say our Catholic elementary school's version had a down house, 566 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,760 Speaker 1: and I would love to hear all of the local variations. 567 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 1: Thank you both for such a wonderful show. You bring 568 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:09,760 Speaker 1: so much joy and reverence to all the topics you share, 569 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,840 Speaker 1: which makes listening each week a true pleasure. Attached is 570 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:16,200 Speaker 1: my pet tax our German shepherd guardian angel Bear, who 571 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,279 Speaker 1: would listen with me on our walks, as well as 572 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:21,759 Speaker 1: our senior chunky orange boy Chewy fourteen years old, and 573 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:24,799 Speaker 1: crazy baby girl Kenny, who's in October Baby. Like me, 574 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 1: All our babies are rescues, although Kenny came to us 575 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: via the cat distribution system and we couldn't be happier. 576 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 1: Keep up the incredible work and know the three of 577 00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,680 Speaker 1: us are always excited for the next episode. Bear is 578 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: so beautiful and these cats listen, I'm telling you, I 579 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,680 Speaker 1: love a goofy orange cat. I just love them. And 580 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,440 Speaker 1: Kenny is also incredibly cute. So thank you, thank you, 581 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,360 Speaker 1: thank you for sharing this with us. I love the 582 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:51,560 Speaker 1: Belwitch story and I love that that was part of 583 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:55,359 Speaker 1: their elementary school tradition. That time sounds great. I wonder 584 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:58,520 Speaker 1: if they included the looking for her toothpart. And I 585 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,600 Speaker 1: have a spawned an assortment of like local folklore, as 586 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:07,080 Speaker 1: local ghost stories often do. Yeah, it's the best. It's 587 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: one of the things that makes Halloween great. It unites us. 588 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:11,719 Speaker 1: We all want to hear the stories, and it's a 589 00:35:11,719 --> 00:35:15,160 Speaker 1: good way to share stories of our history, even if 590 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:18,200 Speaker 1: they sometimes get a bit embellished. If you would like 591 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:20,160 Speaker 1: to write to us, you could do that at History 592 00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 1: Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can also subscribe on 593 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:28,800 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. 594 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:35,760 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 595 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:40,719 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 596 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:44,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.