Surrey Theatre

The Surrey Theatre began its life in seventeen eighty-two as the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy. Its founders, the composer Charles Dibdin and equestrian performer Charles Hughes, intended to train child actors to serve as a nursery for the London stage. The opening night was so popular that the management had to hire armed horse patrols to protect patrons traveling to and from the venue across the road. This early ambition soon met reality, as the theater operated without a proper license, leading to a dramatic scene where the Riot Act had to be read from the stage to disperse an unruly crowd.