A look at the history - OPEN AGAIN
Was he watching from the corner by the window? Was he counting the number of people crowding in to his old theatre building? It was 6 o’clock on Friday, 29th September, 2006, time for the grand re-opening of the Fisher Theatre in Broad Street after years of much hard work by the Bungay Arts and Theatre Society (BATS to everyone). Surely he must also have been there, the man who built this theatre and presided over its opening on 28th February, back in 1828.
David Fisher, who came from a family of worstead weavers living in Hethersett in the 17th century, was born in Norwich in 1760, one of ten children – an eleventh was stillborn. He had worked as a carpenter in the building trade and, it is thought, may have acted with William Scraggs’ small company of actors. However, having a fine tenor voice, he came to the attention of the prestigious Norwich Theatre Royal who invited him to join their company. Fisher went on to become a successful actor until, in 1792, he left after a farewell benefit performance and joined William Scraggs’ touring theatre group as its manager. It was then renamed the Fisher and Scraggs Company.
They travelled around villages and small towns in East Anglia, gaining an excellent reputation with their appreciative audiences. When William Scraggs died his son took his place for a short time but eventually, in 1812, David Fisher became the sole proprietor of the troupe and he promptly renamed it the Norfolk and Suffolk Company of Comedians.
A man of great ambition, Fisher set about erecting or adapting theatres in thirteen towns over Norfolk and Suffolk, stretching from Wells-on-Sea to Woodbridge, Lowestoft to Newmarket. Our Bungay theatre, listed as Grade II, was one of the last to be built and is one of the very few still standing. It is certainly the only survival which, reborn, is once more a place of entertainment, the other remaining buildings being in use as a dress shop, auction rooms, offices and community hall.
The Fisher company would visit the theatres on their circuit once every two years, staying for about eight weeks and drawing in their excited patrons with songs, dances and the latest London plays, all of which lasted from about 6.30 p.m. till midnight – you certainly had your money’s worth. In Bungay those two months must have been the talk of the town.
By the mid 1800’s, however, there was a recession in the fortunes of these small travelling companies. The general economic situation was part of the problem but also the arrival of better transport facilities meant that people could now travel in to the cities for their entertainment instead of waiting for it to come to them. One by one the troupes gave up and the Norfolk and Suffolk Company of Comedians finally succumbed in 1844. The Broad Street building was put up for auction, failed to attract a buyer and was bought in by the remaining trustees who eventually sold it to a conglomeration of five men. They put it to use as a Corn Hall, by which name it was known for many years.
But throughout its existence, even in the days of David Fisher’s visits, many other things took place inside that theatre building. William Cobbett lectured there, Charles Dickens reported on a speech, Edward Fitzgerald attended choral concerts which took place every so often. Then at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries the Corn Market ceased. But the dust did not settle in thick layers nor did the cobwebs hang from the roof. A roller-skating rink was set up to the delight of local children, the theatre showed films, there was boxing, sometimes there would be bazaars and the occasional touring company would put on a play. During WW2 the building closed to the general public although it was used as a reporting centre for a time. Then, in 1951 it underwent yet another change of use when it became a laundry, until finally it housed a textile warehouse.
Such a variety of happenings has this building seen taking place inside – entertainment, industry, song, chatter and discussion. Now, there it is – a real theatre again. I sat inside watching an excellent play performed by a well-known local group but found that, gripping as was the performance, part of me kept travelling back to the 1800’s and I thought myself sitting there in our box with my trailing skirts spread around me, bonnet rising high over an elaborate hairdo, elegantly fluttering my fan, ooh-ing and aah-ing with the rest of the audience as I watched David Fisher and his company perform.
The play came to an end and as I mingled with the throng of people chattering their way out into the street he was there, bowing and smiling. I graciously inclined my head, flourished my fan and gushed ….. but what came out was “Wow!”
© Ivy Collins
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