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The Theatre Portal

Ancient Greece theatre in Taormina, Sicily, Italy

Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. It is the oldest form of drama, though live theatre has now been joined by modern recorded forms. Elements of art, such as painted scenery and stagecraft such as lighting are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. Places, normally buildings, where performances regularly take place are also called "theatres" (or "theaters"), as derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, "a place for viewing"), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe").

A theatre company is an organisation that produces theatrical performances, as distinct from a theatre troupe (or acting company), which is a group of theatrical performers working together. (Full article...)

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Richard Mansfield as Jekyll and Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a four-act play written by Thomas Russell Sullivan in collaboration with the actor Richard Mansfield (pictured). It is an adaptation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story focuses on the respected London doctor Henry Jekyll, who uses a potion to transform into Edward Hyde, a loathsome criminal. Intrigued by the opportunity to play a dual role, Mansfield secured the stage rights and asked Sullivan to write the adaptation. The play debuted in Boston on May 9, 1887, then opened on Broadway in September of that year. Mansfield's performance as the dual character was acclaimed by critics. The play opened in London in August 1888, just before the first Jack the Ripper murders. Some press reports compared the murderer to the Jekyll-Hyde character, and Mansfield was suggested as a possible suspect. Mansfield's company continued to perform the play in the US until shortly before his death in 1907. Sullivan made changes from Stevenson's story that have been adopted by many subsequent adaptations, including several film versions that were derived from the play.
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Frank Matcham
Frank Matcham (1854–1920) was an English theatre architect and designer. During his 40-year career, he was responsible for the design and construction of over 90 theatres and the redesign and refurbishment of a further 80 throughout the United Kingdom. Matcham was best known for his work in London, under Moss Empires, which included the designs of the Hippodrome (1900), Hackney Empire (1901), London Coliseum (1903), London Palladium (1910), and Victoria Palace (1911). According to the dramatist Alan Bennett, there was a Matcham theatre in every corner of the UK. Matcham's use of cantilevers for the galleries allowed him to discontinue the use of columns, which would otherwise obstruct the audience's view of the stage. The auditorium decorations were often mixed with Tudor strap-work, Louis XIV detail, Anglo-Indian motifs, naval and military insignia, rococo panels, classical statuary, and baroque columns.
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In order to fully realize how bad a popular play can be, it is necessary to see it twice. — George Bernard Shaw
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  • 1899 poster of Mme. M. Sissieretta Jones

    1899 poster of Mme. M. Sissieretta Jones

  • A Scene from Troilus and Cressida - Angelica Kauffmann

    A Scene from Troilus and Cressida - Angelica Kauffmann

  • A Wilde time 3

    A Wilde time 3

  • A. Hamid Arief, c. 1960

    A. Hamid Arief, c. 1960

  • Adolphe-Joseph-Louis Alizard from Le Charivari

    Adolphe-Joseph-Louis Alizard from Le Charivari

  • Advertisement for the music score of La Bohème, 1895

    Advertisement for the music score of La Bohème, 1895

  • Aida poster colors fixed

    Aida poster colors fixed

  • Al quartiere latino, bozzetto di Adolf Hohenstein per La Bohème (1896) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON000086 - Restoration

    Al quartiere latino, bozzetto di Adolf Hohenstein per La Bohème (1896) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON000086 - Restoration

  • Albert Pierre-René Maignan - Jules Massenet - Ariane

    Albert Pierre-René Maignan - Jules Massenet - Ariane

  • Albert Reiss LOC ggbain-25651

    Albert Reiss LOC ggbain-25651

  • Alexandre Charles Lecocq - Giuseppe Verdi - La forza del destino

    Alexandre Charles Lecocq - Giuseppe Verdi - La forza del destino

  • Alexandre Fragonard - Scène de L'orage (Barbier de Séville)

    Alexandre Fragonard - Scène de L'orage (Barbier de Séville)

  • Alexandre Lacauchie - Gilbert Duprez as Gaston in Verdi's Jérusalem

    Alexandre Lacauchie - Gilbert Duprez as Gaston in Verdi's Jérusalem

  • Alfons Mucha - 1896 - La Dame aux Camélias - Sarah Bernhardt

    Alfons Mucha - 1896 - La Dame aux Camélias - Sarah Bernhardt

  • Alfredo Edel - Jules Massenet - Le mage

    Alfredo Edel - Jules Massenet - Le mage

  • Alice Neilsen's production of Victor Herbert's The Fortune Teller

    Alice Neilsen's production of Victor Herbert's The Fortune Teller

  • Amilcare Ponchielli (before 1886) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO000794 - Restoration

    Amilcare Ponchielli (before 1886) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO000794 - Restoration

  • Amédée Forestier - Illustrated London News - Gilbert and Sullivan - Ruddygore (Ruddigore)

    Amédée Forestier - Illustrated London News - Gilbert and Sullivan - Ruddygore (Ruddigore)

  • Anna Fernqvist, rollporträtt - SMV - H1 122 - Restoration

    Anna Fernqvist, rollporträtt - SMV - H1 122 - Restoration

  • Annie Oakley shooting glass balls, 1894

  • Arizona - 1907 poster

    Arizona - 1907 poster

  • Atelier Nadar - Fly scene from Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers with Jeanne Granier as Eurydice and Eugène Vauthier as Jupiter, 1887 revival, wide-angle shot

    Atelier Nadar - Fly scene from Offenbach's Orphée aux enfers with Jeanne Granier as Eurydice and Eugène Vauthier as Jupiter, 1887 revival, wide-angle shot

  • Atelier Nadar - Galli-Marié in Bizet's Carmen

    Atelier Nadar - Galli-Marié in Bizet's Carmen

  • Atelier Nadar - Jacques Isnardon, Vaudeville

    Atelier Nadar - Jacques Isnardon, Vaudeville

  • Auguste François-Marie Gorguet - poster for the première performance of Édouard Lalo's Le roi d'Ys (1888)

    Auguste François-Marie Gorguet - poster for the première performance of Édouard Lalo's Le roi d'Ys (1888)

  • Barbier, Jules, Nadar, Gallica

    Barbier, Jules, Nadar, Gallica

  • Bernhardt Hamlet2

    Bernhardt Hamlet2

  • Big White Fog

    Big White Fog

  • Bon-Ton Burlesquers2

    Bon-Ton Burlesquers2

  • Boris Kustodiev - Portrait of Fyodor Chaliapin - Google Art Project

    Boris Kustodiev - Portrait of Fyodor Chaliapin - Google Art Project

  • Carl Nielsen c. 1908 - Restoration

    Carl Nielsen c. 1908 - Restoration

  • Carloz Schwabe - Vincent d'Indy's Fervaal

    Carloz Schwabe - Vincent d'Indy's Fervaal

  • Caroline Hill as Mirza in W. S. Gilbert's The Palace of Truth

    Caroline Hill as Mirza in W. S. Gilbert's The Palace of Truth

  • Charles Frohman presents William Gillette in his new four act drama, Sherlock Holmes (LOC var 1364) (edit)

    Charles Frohman presents William Gillette in his new four act drama, Sherlock Holmes (LOC var 1364) (edit)

  • Charles Gounod (1890) by Nadar

    Charles Gounod (1890) by Nadar

  • Charles Motte - Rossini et Georges IV - la soirée de Brighton

    Charles Motte - Rossini et Georges IV - la soirée de Brighton

  • Charles-Antoine Cambon - La Esmeralda, Act 3, Scene 2 set

    Charles-Antoine Cambon - La Esmeralda, Act 3, Scene 2 set

  • Charles-Antoine Cambon - La Esmeralda, Act III, Scene 1 set design (Version 2)

    Charles-Antoine Cambon - La Esmeralda, Act III, Scene 1 set design (Version 2)

  • Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for Act V, Scene 2 of Fromental Halévy's La reine de Chypre

    Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for Act V, Scene 2 of Fromental Halévy's La reine de Chypre

  • Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for the première of Rossini's Robert Bruce, Act III, Scene 3

    Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for the première of Rossini's Robert Bruce, Act III, Scene 3

  • CharltonHestonCivilRightsMarch1963Retouched

    CharltonHestonCivilRightsMarch1963Retouched

  • Cherubini, Luigi - Medea - Restoration

    Cherubini, Luigi - Medea - Restoration

  • Chicago Theatre blend

    Chicago Theatre blend

  • Christine Nilsson Nadar

    Christine Nilsson Nadar

  • Cody-Buffalo-Bill-LOC

    Cody-Buffalo-Bill-LOC

  • Colette and Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, 1st scene

    Colette and Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, 1st scene

  • Colette and Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, 2nd scene

    Colette and Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, 2nd scene

  • Collina presso Nagasaki, bozzetto di Alexandre Bailly, Marcel Jambon per Madama Butterfly (1906) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON000079 - Restoration

    Collina presso Nagasaki, bozzetto di Alexandre Bailly, Marcel Jambon per Madama Butterfly (1906) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON000079 - Restoration

  • Colosseum in Rome, Italy - April 2007

    Colosseum in Rome, Italy - April 2007

  • Composer Rossini G 1865 by Carjat - Restoration

    Composer Rossini G 1865 by Carjat - Restoration

  • Célestin Nanteuil - Jules Massenet - Don César de Bazan

    Célestin Nanteuil - Jules Massenet - Don César de Bazan

  • Danny Lee Wynter

    Danny Lee Wynter

  • Donald Pleasence Allan Warren edit

    Donald Pleasence Allan Warren edit

  • Dudley Hardy - Poster for His Majesty

    Dudley Hardy - Poster for His Majesty

  • Elliott & Fry - photograph W. S. Gilbert

    Elliott & Fry - photograph W. S. Gilbert

  • Elsie Leslie (1899) by Zaida Ben-Yusuf

    Elsie Leslie (1899) by Zaida Ben-Yusuf

  • Ethel Smyth

    Ethel Smyth

  • Ethel Waters - William P. Gottlieb

    Ethel Waters - William P. Gottlieb

  • Eugène Du Faget - Costume designs for Guillaume Tell - 1-3. Laure Cinti-Damoreau as Mathilde, Adolphe Nourrit as Arnold Melchtal, and Nicolas Levasseur as Walter Furst

    Eugène Du Faget - Costume designs for Guillaume Tell - 1-3. Laure Cinti-Damoreau as Mathilde, Adolphe Nourrit as Arnold Melchtal, and Nicolas Levasseur as Walter Furst

  • Eugène Du Faget - Costume designs for Les Huguenots - 2. Julie Dorus-Gras as Marguerite, Adolphe Nourrit as Raoul, and Cornélie Falcon as Valentine

    Eugène Du Faget - Costume designs for Les Huguenots - 2. Julie Dorus-Gras as Marguerite, Adolphe Nourrit as Raoul, and Cornélie Falcon as Valentine

  • Eugène Grasset - Jules Massenet - Werther

    Eugène Grasset - Jules Massenet - Werther

  • Eva Le Gallienne (mnwp.275003, cropped restoration)

    Eva Le Gallienne (mnwp.275003, cropped restoration)

  • Falstaff 3

    Falstaff 3

  • Fausta Labia, porträtt - SMV - H5 028 - Restoration

    Fausta Labia, porträtt - SMV - H5 028 - Restoration

  • François-Joseph Bélanger - Set design for Gluck's Alceste

    François-Joseph Bélanger - Set design for Gluck's Alceste

  • Fromental Halévy, L'Éclair score cover - Restoration

    Fromental Halévy, L'Éclair score cover - Restoration

  • Gabrielle Ray (c. 1910) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO002691 - Restoration

    Gabrielle Ray (c. 1910) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO002691 - Restoration

  • Gavin Hamilton - Coriolanus Act V, Scene III edit2

    Gavin Hamilton - Coriolanus Act V, Scene III edit2

  • George Grossmith as Reginald Bunthorne in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience (1881)

    George Grossmith as Reginald Bunthorne in Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience (1881)

  • George Romney - William Shakespeare - The Tempest Act I, Scene 1

    George Romney - William Shakespeare - The Tempest Act I, Scene 1

  • George Sand by Nadar, 1864

    George Sand by Nadar, 1864

  • Georges Rochegrosse - Henry Février - Henri Cain and Louis Payen after Victorien Sardou - Gismonda

    Georges Rochegrosse - Henry Février - Henri Cain and Louis Payen after Victorien Sardou - Gismonda

  • Georges Rochegrosse - Jules Massenet - Roma

    Georges Rochegrosse - Jules Massenet - Roma

  • Georges Rochegrosse - Poster for Gabriel Fauré's Pénélope (1913)

    Georges Rochegrosse - Poster for Gabriel Fauré's Pénélope (1913)

  • Georges Rochegrosse - Poster for the prèmiere of Claude Debussy and Maurice Maeterlinck's Pelléas et Mélisande

    Georges Rochegrosse - Poster for the prèmiere of Claude Debussy and Maurice Maeterlinck's Pelléas et Mélisande

  • Georges Rochegrosse's poster for Jules Massenet's Don Quichotte

    Georges Rochegrosse's poster for Jules Massenet's Don Quichotte

  • Geraldine Ulmar in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado - photograph only

    Geraldine Ulmar in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado - photograph only

  • Giacomo Puccini (1924) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO003293 - Restoration

    Giacomo Puccini (1924) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO003293 - Restoration

  • Gilbert Duprez & Rosine Stoltz in Donizetti's La Favorite

    Gilbert Duprez & Rosine Stoltz in Donizetti's La Favorite

  • Giuseppe Barberis - Carlo Cornaglia - Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo at La Scala

    Giuseppe Barberis - Carlo Cornaglia - Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo at La Scala

  • Giuseppe Verdi, Giovanna d'Arco, Vocal Score - Restoration

    Giuseppe Verdi, Giovanna d'Arco, Vocal Score - Restoration

  • Giuseppe Verdi, La traviata title page - Restoration

    Giuseppe Verdi, La traviata title page - Restoration

  • Giuseppe Verdi, Lombardi alla prima crociata. Libretto, 1843 - Restoration

    Giuseppe Verdi, Lombardi alla prima crociata. Libretto, 1843 - Restoration

  • Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto, Vocal score illustration by Roberto Focosi - Restoration

    Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto, Vocal score illustration by Roberto Focosi - Restoration

  • Giuseppe Verdi, Simon Boccanegra first edition libretto for the 1881 revision of the opera - Restoration

    Giuseppe Verdi, Simon Boccanegra first edition libretto for the 1881 revision of the opera - Restoration

  • Giuseppe Verdi, Un Ballo in maschera, Vocal score frontispiece - restoration

    Giuseppe Verdi, Un Ballo in maschera, Vocal score frontispiece - restoration

  • Glad to See You Together

    Glad to See You Together

  • Grant, Cary (Suspicion) 01 Crisco edit

    Grant, Cary (Suspicion) 01 Crisco edit

  • H. M. Brock - Gilbert and Sullivan - D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Ruddigore revival 1921

    H. M. Brock - Gilbert and Sullivan - D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Ruddigore revival 1921

  • H. M. Brock - Poster for Iolanthe

    H. M. Brock - Poster for Iolanthe

  • H.J. Whitlock - Photograph of Arthur Sullivan

    H.J. Whitlock - Photograph of Arthur Sullivan

  • Haydée, ou Le secret Act II - Philippe Chaperon

    Haydée, ou Le secret Act II - Philippe Chaperon

  • Hazel MacKaye and dog by Harris & Ewing

    Hazel MacKaye and dog by Harris & Ewing

  • Hector Berlioz, Béatrice et Bénédict score title page - Restoration

    Hector Berlioz, Béatrice et Bénédict score title page - Restoration

  • Hector Berlioz, La Prise de Troie score cover - Restoration

    Hector Berlioz, La Prise de Troie score cover - Restoration

  • Hector Berlioz, Les Troyens vocal score cover - Restoration

    Hector Berlioz, Les Troyens vocal score cover - Restoration

  • Hector Berlioz, Les Troyens à Carthage vocal score cover - Restoration

    Hector Berlioz, Les Troyens à Carthage vocal score cover - Restoration

  • Henri C. R. Presseq - Camille Erlanger - Le juif polonais

    Henri C. R. Presseq - Camille Erlanger - Le juif polonais

  • Henry Atwell Thomas - Franz von Suppé - Fatinitza

    Henry Atwell Thomas - Franz von Suppé - Fatinitza

  • Holger Drachmann, fra Klæbels samling - Restoration

    Holger Drachmann, fra Klæbels samling - Restoration

  • Humanité René Philastre and Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for the second part of Victor Hugo's Les Burgraves, première production

    Humanité René Philastre and Charles-Antoine Cambon - Set design for the second part of Victor Hugo's Les Burgraves, première production

  • Il signor Tambourossini - Delaroche

    Il signor Tambourossini - Delaroche

  • Il trovatore by Luigi Morgari

    Il trovatore by Luigi Morgari

  • Illustrated London News - Giuseppe Verdi's Attila at Her Majesty's Theatre, London

    Illustrated London News - Giuseppe Verdi's Attila at Her Majesty's Theatre, London

  • Iolanthe piano transcriptions by Ernst Perabo

    Iolanthe piano transcriptions by Ernst Perabo

  • Ira Aldridge as Aaron in Titus Andronicus

    Ira Aldridge as Aaron in Titus Andronicus

  • Ivor Novello

    Ivor Novello

  • Jacques Offenbach - A. Jannin - Robinson Crusoé

    Jacques Offenbach - A. Jannin - Robinson Crusoé

  • Jacques Offenbach by Nadar

    Jacques Offenbach by Nadar

  • Jean Cocteau b Meurisse 1923

    Jean Cocteau b Meurisse 1923

  • Jean de Paleologu - Jules Massenet - Sapho

    Jean de Paleologu - Jules Massenet - Sapho

  • Jeremiah Gurney - Photograph of Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa

    Jeremiah Gurney - Photograph of Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa

  • Jessie Bonstelle, Mishkin, N.Y. - Mishkin LCCN2014684961 (restoration)

    Jessie Bonstelle, Mishkin, N.Y. - Mishkin LCCN2014684961 (restoration)

  • Johann Strauss II by Fritz Luckhardt

    Johann Strauss II by Fritz Luckhardt

  • John Opie - Winter's Tale, Act II. Scene III

    John Opie - Winter's Tale, Act II. Scene III

  • John Phillip Sousa - De Wolf Hopper - El Capitan1

    John Phillip Sousa - De Wolf Hopper - El Capitan1

  • JohnShea

    JohnShea

  • Joseph Albert - Ludwig und Malwine Schnorr von Carolsfeld - Tristan und Isolde, 1865f

    Joseph Albert - Ludwig und Malwine Schnorr von Carolsfeld - Tristan und Isolde, 1865f

  • Jules Massenet - Le Cid 2e Acte, 3e Tableau - L'Illustration

    Jules Massenet - Le Cid 2e Acte, 3e Tableau - L'Illustration

  • Jules Massenet - Le Cid 3e Acte, 6e Tableau - L'Illustration

    Jules Massenet - Le Cid 3e Acte, 6e Tableau - L'Illustration

  • Jules Massenet by Eugène Pirou

    Jules Massenet by Eugène Pirou

  • Julia Margaret Cameron (British, born India - Ellen Terry at Age Sixteen - Google Art Project

    Julia Margaret Cameron (British, born India - Ellen Terry at Age Sixteen - Google Art Project

  • La Juive Act 1 set 1835 - Restoration

    La Juive Act 1 set 1835 - Restoration

  • Le comte Ory - Dubois & chez Martinet - Final scene

    Le comte Ory - Dubois & chez Martinet - Final scene

  • Leo Tolstoy 1897, black and white, 37767u

    Leo Tolstoy 1897, black and white, 37767u

  • Lilly Walleni in Daria at Kungliga Operan 1907 - SMV - NV059

    Lilly Walleni in Daria at Kungliga Operan 1907 - SMV - NV059

  • Lohengrin - Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News

    Lohengrin - Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News

  • Long Tack Sam poster by Adolph Friedlander

    Long Tack Sam poster by Adolph Friedlander

  • Louis Guéymard as Robert le Diable by Gustave Courbet - The Metropolitan Museum of Art 436015 (cropped)

    Louis Guéymard as Robert le Diable by Gustave Courbet - The Metropolitan Museum of Art 436015 (cropped)

  • Lucy Arbell as Queen Amahelli in Massenet's Bacchus, wide view

    Lucy Arbell as Queen Amahelli in Massenet's Bacchus, wide view