Entertainment in the East
In Shoreditch, James Burbage built London’s first purpose-built theatre, which has recently been excavated. His son Richard performed here with William Shakespeare, before transferring south of the river to the Globe in Southwark. See the “Oranges & Lemons” church where Henry VIII’s jester and the Burbage family are buried.
Charlie Chaplin, Marie Lloyd and Lillie Langtry regularly performed in East End Music Halls. The oldest surviving, Wilton’s, once again hosts concerts and plays. The restored and extended Hackney Empire is still famous for pantomime and comedy. In Stratford in the 1960s, some of Britain’s best actors including Barbara Windsor attended Joan Littlewood’s theatre workshops and “Oh What a Lovely War” was premiered in the crimson and gold tiered Theatre Royal, now magnificently restored.
In Spitalfields are theatrical associations with the great C18 actor David Garrick and a Yiddish Theatre which transferred to New York.