Folly Theatre

The Folly Theatre was a small West End playhouse in William IV Street, near Charing Cross in the City of Westminster. The site had housed various auditoria since 1832, used first for religious meetings and later for entertainment. In 1869 it reopened as the Charing Cross Theatre, staging operetta, drama and burlesque. Notable performers included Lydia Thompson, Lionel Brough and Willie Edouin. The theatre became known for English adaptations of French opéras bouffes and opéras comiques. The Folly earned its reputation through record-breaking runs and new writing. Its greatest success was Planquette’s Les cloches de Corneville, which played 705 performances from 1878. Comic actor J. L. Toole took over in 1879 and rebuilt the house in 1881–82, increasing capacity to between 650 and 700. The new theatre presented burlesques alongside non-musical comedies and farces. Playwrights such as Arthur Wing Pinero and J. M. Barrie saw their early works staged here. Visitors found a bijou playhouse with two tiers of boxes, stalls and a limited pit. The interior was elegantly fitted out under Thomas Verity’s supervision. The stage hosted burlesques, opéras bouffes and new comedies. Among the rising stars who appeared were Seymour Hicks, Irene and Violet Vanbrugh, and Lewis Waller. The theatre’s final years ended in 1896 when the lease expired and the building was demolished.