This week sees the 100th anniversary of one of the most dramatic events in Stratford, the destruction by fire of the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre on 6 March 1926. The Shakespeare Institute Library in Stratford has an exhibition about the fire and its aftermath. The story of the fire is told in this post.
The Statue of Lady Macbeth
Most of the photographs show the devastating fire, with smoke billowing up from the theatre. My favourites though, are the rarely seen ruins of the building taken a few days later. Among the twisted metal and debris, through one of the gaps where a window once stood, can be seen the image of a woman wringing her hands in despair. It is the statue of Lady Macbeth during the sleepwalking scene. At the time of the fire the Gower Memorial, which was moved when the theatre was rebuilt, was just outside the theatre and it’s an amazing coincidence that of the four statues (Lady Macbeth (tragedy), Prince Hal (history), Falstaff (comedy) and Hamlet (philosophy) it’s the tragic figure that is just in view.
Many locals loved the old theatre, but by 1926 people were saying that it was no longer fit for purpose. In her book The Royal Shakespeare Company: A history of ten decades, Sally Beauman listed the theatre’s problems: “it was too small; conditions backstage were inadequate; the stage itself was tiny, and its technical equipment so old-fashioned that the least attempt at ambitious lighting effects was likely to blow every fuse in the house”. George Bernard Shaw was one of its severest critics, in 1925 saying that “The Memorial is an admirable building, adapted for every conceivable purpose – except that of a theatre”.
After the fire everyone rallied round. Huge efforts were made to ensure that the Festival went on more or less as planned, opening in the hastily-adapted town’s cinema where it remained until 1931. A huge amount of fundraising ensured that the old theatre was replaced by the 1932 Memorial Theatre, and what remained of the old building was converted into a Conference Hall. In 1986 it became the Swan Theatre, and once again this space became a real favourite with the theatregoing public.
