From 1801, Thomas Edward Barker set up a rival panorama to his father's in Leicester Square, at 168/169 Strand.

Within weeks, the venture failed and was sold to the actress Harriet Waylett, re-opening on 29 May as The New Strand (Subscription) Theatre with Damp Beds.

Frank Talford wrote the earliest burlesque for the Strand, full of excruciating puns and enlivened by bright songs.

In one such piece in 1850 the afterwards famous Mrs. Stirling played Minerva, Mrs Leigh Murray was Apollo, and Rebecca Isaacs was Venus.

Here graduated Marie Wilton (later Lady Bancroft), Patty Oliver and Edward Terry; each would later maintain the burlesque tradition at the Prince of Wales's, The Royalty, and The Gaiety, respectively.

For some years, the Strand's programme began with a short drama, many written by H. T. Craven, including, The Postboy, Milky White, and Meg's Diversion.

These began with The Lady of Lyons, or Twopenny Pride and Pennytence; Fra Diavolo Travestie, or The Prince, the Pirate and the Pearl; The Maid and the Magpie, or The Fatal Spoon (an early play to include a dance at the end of a song); and The Babes in the Wood and the Good Little Fairy Birds.

[6][7] The celebrated burlesque on Kenilworth,[8] first performed in 1859 and played over many years, brought the Strand great prosperity.

It had a strong cast including Louisa Swanborough as the Earl of Leicester, H. J. Turner as Mike Lambourne, Mrs. Charles Selby as Queen Elizabeth, Marie Wilton as Sir Walter Raleigh, Patty Oliver as Amy Robsart, Charlotte Saunders as Tressillian, John Clarke as Varney and James Bland as Wayland Smith; Bland was reputed to be the king of the burlesque actors.

[13] The first appearance of the popular pantomime character, Widow Twankey, played by James Rogers in Byron's version of Aladdin, took place at The Strand in 1861.

Though it regained a portion of its vogue under the direction of a very clever American actor, John S. Clarke, it was no longer one of the attractions of the London theatrical world.

The musical comedy A Chinese Honeymoon opened in October 1901 and ran at the theatre for a record-breaking 1,075 performances, until closing in 1904.

[2] In the 16th century, Strand had hosted many grand houses by the River Thames and the area began to be built up.

A scheme was instituted to build a new road, Kingsway between Holborn and Strand, culminating in a grand crescent, Aldwych.