Legacy
The Britannia theatre was unique amongst theatres of the time, for a number of reasons. Entry to the entertainment was always cheap, the income was made from sales of food and drink. There was an extraordinary continuity of management, the theatre was in the hands of the same family throughout its lifetime. The theatre also nurtured talent, many of the regular artistes were taken on at an early stage in their careers and remained with the theatre until retirement. The theatre prospered with the increasing free time and prosperity of its audience, and declined with the introduction of the cinema and later, radio.
Author and critic Compton Mackenzie summed up the enduring legacy of the Britannia, in Echoes (1954):
| “ | If I were asked to name the audience that expressed beyond any other the spirit of London I would say the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, at a pantomime. This was the apotheosis of the Cockney. This was the incarnation of his humour and gaiety and warm humanity. The women in their plumed hats! The costers in their pearlies! The oranges and nuts! That immense audience would seethe with enjoyment: it was a vast bubbling kettle of mirth. This was the stuff out of which came the London able to 'take it' forty years on. I used to have tears in my eyes just from the pleasure of being one in such a gathering. The man who was never one of an audience at the Britannia, Hoxton, has missed something in the life of London. | ” |
The Britannia Theatre was the subject of a novel called Sam and Sallie: A novel of the theatre (1933) by Alfred L. Crauford. The Crauford's had a long association with the Britannia, and Alfred was one of Sarah Lane's many nephews.
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“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)