Travelling Theatres
There are many unexpected doors into the past. This one was a detail in the admission register for Tickhill Infants School. James Howard, born on 25 December 1905, was admitted to the school on 11 October 1910. His address was c/o Bingham, Castlegate, and he was described as a ‘caravan child’ with the reason for leaving the school given as ‘Travelling theatre’. Several other children living in Tickhill were described as ‘caravan children’ in the admission registers of this school and Tickhill National School (their address was Sunderland Street – most likely on land near the cricket ground) but James was the only one linked to a travelling theatre. This started a search for more details about travelling theatres.
Unlike troupes of actors who travelled to theatre buildings around the country and stayed in digs, travelling theatres had their own portable premises, scenery and props conveyed in wagons with actors travelling and living in caravans. They established themselves on vacant land but needed a licence to perform in front of paying customers. A licence was not always granted as a Mr Payne found out when he applied to Doncaster Borough Petty Sessions in 1871. A solicitor representing the town’s Theatre Royal objected to a licence being issued on the grounds that there was ‘already ample accommodation in the town for those who patronised the drama’. The Bench refused to grant a licence. Another travelling theatre which tried to operate for more days than their licence allowed saw the police invade the stage in mid performance and arrest the actors to the outrage of the audience.
Travelling theatres which operated in this region included the Paragon which wintered in Mexborough for many years, Denville’s which had long stays at Wombwell, Newell’s reputed to have visited Bawtry and Holloway’s and Somerville’s both of which toured Lincolnshire. In addition, Old Wild’s toured many towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire. It is not known to which travelling theatre James Howard’s family was attached.
Some idea of a mid-19th century travelling theatre was given in the Birmingham Mail, 29 April 1911, page 2, describing the visit of Bennett and Patch’s travelling theatre 50 years earlier when the Mayor, Corporation and gentry attended the opening night. There was a change of programme each evening with the theatre staying for a week at more important towns. The theatre’s arrival was heralded by a band driven round the town in a coach and four. A leading actor in costume went from house to house distributing handbills. Performances ranged from Shakespeare’s plays to melodramas, pantomimes and farces.
An example of what a large travelling theatre consisted of comes in an advertisement for the sale of one called the Royal Albert Theatre in 1849 with overall dimensions of 70 feet by 40 feet: 5 scenes on rollers with ropes and pulleys, large cover about 300 feet, gas piping, 2 gas stars, 8 side wings, 2 jet flats, duckboard, 2 rocks, stage front, frame, props and flaps, about 40 feet of shutters, wagon etc. (Leeds Mercury, Saturday, 7 July 1849, page 2.) In all likelihood the owner of this travelling theatre had gone out of business following the country’s severe depression in trade in 1848 with the resulting unemployment leaving people without the means to pay for admission to this entertainment which cost from 1/- to 3d depending on where the spectators sat. (This could be compared with tickets for permanent theatres where prices ranged from 3/- to 1/-.)
The travelling theatres faced various hazards apart from economic slumps. Rhodes’ Travelling Theatre erected on a fairground in Halifax in 1874 saw the whole of the temporary gallery structure fall down with a crash carrying hundreds of spectators with it. Fortunately, no very serious injuries were recorded. (The proprietor ‘Jemmy’ Rhodes died in 1906 after nearly 70 years taking his travelling theatre to every important feast and fair in Yorkshire.) Another similar theatre set up in Hull in 1836 was damaged during a gale ‘the scenery and properties being dispersed among the audience’. In 1908 Mr Kelso’s Travelling Theatre in a yard opposite the Plough Hotel at Catcliffe caught fire during a rehearsal (the likely cause was sparks from a passing train) leaving the company of twelve out of work. In 1911 Dalbert’s Travelling Theatre erected at Selby burned down with a loss of the structure, scenery and ‘theatrical adjuncts’. Mr Dalbert was not insured.
No doubt owing to the many risks faced by travelling theatres a Travelling Theatre Managers’ Association was formed early in the 20th century. For a monthly subscription of 5/- members received reduced insurance rates, free legal advice, contracts for cheap printing of posters and handbills advertising performances, the use of 250 copyrighted plays at a nominal fee and free medical attention in some parts of the country. 
The onset of WW1 saw the demise of most travelling theatres. However, there was a revival of this form of entertainment in the inter war years under the auspices of ‘The Arts League of Service’ in existence from 1919 to 1937. This organisation aimed to bring the arts to the masses through lectures on art, literature, dance, music and crafts, an exhibition space in London and a theatrical touring company that staged repertory shows. Their touring vehicle from 1922, above, had room for actors, costumes and some props and they performed in a range of buildings. For example, they appeared in a church hall at Swinton and school assembly halls at Barnsley and Castleford, some proceeds going to charitable causes.
The programmes for this travelling theatre generally started with a one act play which was followed by a mixture of mime, poetry, dance and folk songs with a piano accompaniment. Some pianos at the venues used were better tuned than others. Not all venues had changing rooms leaving the actors to change in nearby buildings. At least they usually had decent overnight accommodation provided by the generosity of local people who were theatre enthusiasts.
Elder, E., Travelling players: The story of the Arts League of Service, Frederick Muller Ltd,1939,
Harrop, J., Victorian portable theatres, Society for theatre research, 1989.
Website <genfair.co.uk> to download ‘School Admission Registers’ transcribed by Doncaster & District Family History Society. See also <britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk> for a range of articles about travelling theatres in regional newspapers.