Farm Hall at the gorgeous Theatre Royal, Haymarket

I'm a bit late with this as Farm Hall, the production I went to see a few weeks ago, has now finished its run. I really enjoyed the play – clever and thought-provoking conversations between captured officers imprisoned in a stately home during WW2 – go Google for reviews.

The thing about going to the theatre or to the cinema is that we rarely look around us at the often sumptuous surroundings being as we are too busy chatting with our friends, trying to find our seats, or queueing for drinks, ice cream or the toilet during the interval. Then the play ends and we all splurge out into the street having missed all the clever architectural embellishments within.

I often go to the theatre or cinema alone to be able to pay attention to the production without interjections and conversations and, during the intervals, I like go investigating. I have visited The Theatre Royal Haymarket many times and each time, even though it's small, I find something new. Many years ago I went on a tour of the building, yet I don't seem to have written about that experience here. (note to self; dig out those photos and add to this post). 

On this occasion my seat was in the stalls and I took a sequence of snaps of the opulent surroundings 

The first half of the play flew by being as it was so engrossing. In the interval I went exploring and  found intriguing little hinges and handles and shiny brass plates within the floor and as push plates on doors:

These doors lead to The Oscar Wilde Room, named to commemorate his two plays that were staged here. The room is also signposted at the front of the theatre under the portico and there is a green plaque at the rear of the theatre at shoulder level here.  Adjacent to this room is a recess that would have contained an ash tray, no doubt used by Oscar himself, a keen cigarette smoker. 

Continuing the subject of ashtrays, the very first pic showing my ticket is in front of a brass corner shelf on the stairs which was also used for this purpose. Here's a better pic of it:

The second pic is looking down into the bar area which, as these next pics show, is slathered in stucco:

And then the bell rang and we all returned to our seats via the doors marked 'Exit' 

I am convinced that there used to be a bakelite phone within one of the stairwells. Or perhaps I am getting my theatres confused. 

UPDATE: Yep... I have found some pics I took in 2015 whilst on a guided tour:

The phone was on the stairs where a flower-shaped window offered a marvellous view out to Haymarket and Her Majesty's Theatre, opposite. But I cannot recall seeing the phone when I went to see Noises off* in November 2013 otherwise I'd have taken more photos of it.

The next two pics show a brassy little pot that I expect was instead used to stash chewing gum or other small rubbish. Not being screwed down, I suspect it was pocketed. The animal head along the handrail is one of many in the bar area.

*my one-word review of that 2023 production of Noises Off: painful.