Drawing

Daly's Theatre, located near Leicester Square, opened in 1893. The first manager was Augustus Daly (1839-1899) and the opening production was Shakepeare's Taming of the Shrew starring the actress Ada Rehan (1859-1916) in the part of Katharine. Augustin Daly was an American Producer who had brought his productions to London many times from 1884 to 1891 with great success, the creation of Daly's theatre was part of an effort to establish a permanent home for Daly's company in London. The opening of the theatre attracted a great deal of attention in the press and detailed descriptions and illustrations were reproduced in The Daily Graphic and The Era.

In 1894, George Edwardes (1855-1915) took over the management of the theatre. He hired Sidney Jones (1861-1946) as the resident composer and music director, and the theatre became well known for a string of highly successful Edwardian musical comedy productions composed mostly by Jones, many with additional songs by Lionel Monckton (1861-1924). A range of individuals took over the management of the theatre after Edwardes' death and Daly's Theatre eventually closed on the 25th of September 1937.

This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.