Lisle's Tennis Court

Lisle’s Tennis Court stood in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, a square in the City of Westminster. It began as an indoor real tennis court built in 1656 by Thomas Lisle’s wife Anne Tyler and James Hooker. The long, high-ceilinged building measured about 75 by 30 feet, with galleries for spectators. After the Restoration in 1660, the space was converted into a playhouse called Lincoln’s Inn Fields Playhouse. It served as a theatre from 1661 to 1674, then again from 1695 to 1705, and finally from 1714 to 1732. The playhouse became famous for introducing moveable scenery to British public theatre. Sir William Davenant leased the building in 1660 and remodelled it with Charles II’s support. On 28 June 1661, Davenant’s production of The Siege of Rhodes opened there, featuring the first proscenium arch and changeable scenery. The actor Thomas Betterton performed the prologue, drawing the king to a public theatre for the first time. The Duke’s Company, led by Davenant, competed fiercely with Thomas Killigrew’s King’s Company, which opened its own tennis-court theatre shortly before. Inside, the theatre held about 650 people in three areas: the pit, boxes, and galleries. The pit had backless benches and a raked floor, while boxes seated upper-class aristocrats. The stage had a deep apron and two pairs of proscenium doors for entrances and exits. Candelabras lit the space, and manual scenery moved smoothly between acts. Though no images survive, the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond offers a close idea of its layout. The building’s small size and innovative design made it a landmark in Restoration theatre history.