theatre-royal-stratford-east

Stratford East, formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East, is a 460-seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose statue is outside the theatre.

The theatre was designed by architect James George Buckle, and commissioned by Charles Dillon, né Silver, adoptive son of the actor-manager Charles Dillon (died 1881) in 1884. It is the architect's only surviving work, built on the site of a wheelwright's shop on Salway Road, close to the junction with Angel Lane. It opened on 17 December 1884 with a revival of Richelieu by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Two years later, Dillon sold it to Albert O'Leary Fredericks, his sister's brother-in-law and one of the original backers of the scheme. In 1887 the theatre was renamed Theatre Royal and Palace of Varieties and side extensions were added in 1887. The stage was enlarged in 1891, by the original architect. In 1902, Frank Matcham undertook minor improvements to the entrance and foyer. The theatre reverted to its Theatre Royal Stratford East ('TRSE') name in 1914. A fire on the stage on August Bank Holiday Monday of 1921 did considerable damage to the rear of the theatre. As the fire happened at midnight, the safety curtain was lowered, saving the auditorium, which retains many of its original features. The theatre was closed until January 1922. The Fredericks family continued to manage the theatre until 1932, although after the World War I, the theatre fell into financial difficulties, opening only irregularly after 1926. The proscenium is surmounted by the letters "FF", commemorating the association with the Fredericks – possibly Frederick Fredericks, the husband of Dillon's sister, and a successful actor in his own right. Theatre superstition has it that should the letters ever be removed, the theatre will crumble. TRSE closed in 1938 and remained closed until 1943. Revues were then briefly tried, but failed, and again the theatre was closed until October 1946. Taken over by David Horne, it briefly became a successful playhouse including the legendary premiere of Patrick Hamilton's Gaslight, with Sybil Thorndike and Derek Bond – which ran for six months and was the theatre's first transfer to the West End. The theatre closed again in December 1949.

In late 1950, a touring company presented the Christmas pantomime, Alice in Wonderland. Highly experimental, its success was by no means guaranteed or uniform throughout the tour. "They'll lynch us", recalls Sven Stahl. "I still have nightmares about Alice in Wonderland at Barnsley and the miners throwing pennies at John Blanshard." The company were to return, as the Theatre Workshop in 1953, with artistic director Joan Littlewood and take over the theatre. The theatre came under threat with the construction of the Stratford shopping centre in the 1970s, but was saved by a public campaign and protected in June 1972 by English Heritage with a Grade II* listing. Money remained short, and the manager, Gerry Raffles, only managed redecoration and replacements as cash became available. In 2001, following a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid, all of the theatre's front of house and backstage areas were refurbished as part of the Olympiad's Stratford Cultural Quarter project. In 1990 the musical Five Guys Named Moe became a huge hit, transferring to the West End and winning the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. The show has been produced all over the world, including Broadway, and continues to be revived regularly. In 2004The Big Life became the first Black British musical to transfer to London's West End, where it played at the Apollo Theatre. In 2005, the theatre produced a musical version of the cult Jamaican film The Harder They Come – famous for its reggae soundtrack, which also transferred to the West End. This production was written by the film director Perry Henzel and was one of the most successful productions in the theatre's history. In 2016, the theatre rebranded to simply Stratford East moving into a new contemporary age.

The Theatre Royal became famous under the management of Gerry Raffles (1928–1975), who worked with director Joan Littlewood on such productions as A Taste of Honey and Oh, What a Lovely War!. In 1975, Raffles died of diabetes, and in 1979 a devastated Joan Littlewood moved to France, never to direct again. Notable names to get their break at TRSE include Richard Harris, Murray Melvin, Barbara Windsor, Victor Spinetti, Brian Murphy, Avis Bunnage, Harry H Corbett, Yootha Joyce, composer/lyricist Lionel Bart, and writer Shelagh Delaney. Michael Caine was famously told by Littlewood: "P*ss off to Shaftesbury Avenue. You will only ever be a star. "

The playwright and director Ken Hill, a protégé of Joan Littlewood, took over as artistic director after she moved to France, prompted by the death of her partner, Gerry Raffles. After his short tenure as artistic director, Hill continued to work with TRSE until his death, most notably in raucous musicals. They included The Invisible Man which transferred from TRSE to the Vaudeville Theatre in the West End in 1993 and Zorro! The Musical which opened two weeks after Hill's death in 1995. Notable productions by Ken Hill at the TRSE include On Your Way, Riley! by Alan Plater, Scrape Off the Black by Tunde Ikoli, and My Girl by Barrie Keeffe.

Available at this venue:

• Wheelchair-accessible entrance
• Wheelchair-accessible seating
• Wheelchair-accessible toilet
• Wheelchair-accessible parking

Accessibility information supplied by Google Maps. Please contact the venue directly to confirm details for your visit.