The Royal Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel Road (1858; 36), designed by G. H. Simmonds, was known as the Drury Lane of the East, probably because the giant order containing three stage boxes overlooking the forestage was reminiscent of Beazley's 1822 reconstruction of Drury Lane. The magnificent auditorium was designed to hold 3,000 people; the majority of the audience was poor, and hence its immense gallery with cheaply-priced seats.

In: Glasstone, Victor: Victorian and Edwardian Theatres: An Architectural and Social Survey. Harvard 1975 p. 38

Author: Victor Glasstone