DR JOHNSON'S HOUSE LUNCHTIME LECTURE SERIES THIS OCTOBER

"SAMUEL JOHNSON AT THE THEATRE" WITH ROBERT WHELAN

28 November 2024, 12:30pm - 1:30pm • Dr Johnson's House, 17 Gough Square

Join us this November for the Dr Johnson's House monthly lecture, sponsored by Fleet Street Quarter.

Samuel Johnson was not a passionate theatregoer as his poor eyesight made it difficult for him to see the stage. Nevertheless, like most Georgian Londoners, he was sometimes to be seen in Drury Lane, Covent Garden and the Haymarket, because theatre was the main form of mass entertainment. Theatre historian Robert Whelan will be considering what these theatres were like.

About the speaker

Robert Whelan is the editor of The Wildean, the journal of the Oscar Wilde Society, and the archivist of the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He is the author of The Other National Theatre: 350 Years of Shows in Drury Lane and Shakespeare Spelt Ruin: The Life of Frederick Balsir Chatterton, Drury Lane's Last Bankrupt.

Lunch

Lunch will be served at this event: please let us know 48 hours in advance, via an Eventbrite message, if you have any specific dietary requirements or have any allergies.

Image: The auditorium of the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, as rebuilt by Samuel Foote in 1766