EXPENSES OF THEATRICAL MANAGEMENT.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 183, 18 December 1886, Page 8

EXPENSES OF THEATRICAL M A NAGEMENT.

As readers of " The Thousand and One Wights" will remember it was certain out ward characteristics of the palace of Sinba<i which led the poor porter to envy the falfe of its princely proprietor. Bo it may be that the externul aspect of Drury Lane Thoatre, with its nightly warning, ' * Stand' ing room only," is just now inducing some ill-formed passers-by to wish that it had been their lot to be theatrical managers. It ie no doubt with a view to dispel delusions of this sort that Mr Augustus Harris assures us that sc great are the expenses of his vast establishment, that if it were not for the fact that some of his patrons are content to stand, while others, at pantomine time, are found willing to pay a email extra fee for the privilege of escaping the crowd through what are known as " early doora," it would be, to use hia words, " quite impossible to conduct my management -with any profit whatever.'* Itegai cling the expense of managing Drury Lane, Mr Harris makes no more explicit statement than that they are "fifty per cont. greater than those of any other London theatres, and about three times greater than those of most; of them; " but if there is no mistake in his figures our London managers wonld certainly seem to be paying rents groatly in excess of the value of their holdings. According to the return furnished by Mr Chatterton to the Parliament tary Committe on Theatres gome years ago the pit of Di"ury-lane holds 1,000 persons, the gallery 1,300, the stalls 180, the boxes, including private boxes, l,3'2o— total, 3,800. It will be seen at present pricep this would represent, in the cpse of overflowing houses, a very large sum As a fact, we believe that since the production of " A Run of Luck " the weekly receipta at Diury Lane has not averaged less than £2,200. The expenses of management are estimated by outsiders, hand imperili, at about £I,ooo— at the moment they may be a little more. Pro* bably the apparent discrepancy is to be accounted for by the iact tKat. Mr Harris considers himsolf justified in treating authors' fees as " expenses." Under this head we believe we are correct in saying that he is just now dividing with his collaborator, Mr Fettit, something like £1,000 a week — a striking example of the possible gains of the eucceseful playwright in these days.