The Theater Royal

The Theatre Royal in Drury Lane is one of the oldest theatres in London. It was opened in 1663. The king came to the first performance, so it was called the Theatre Royal. Today, most people just call it Drury Lane, after the name of the street where it is. The theatre has many traditions. One of them is the Baddeley Cake, which started in the eighteenth century.

Robert Baddeley was a man who first worked as a pastry cook. Later, he became an actor and worked at the Theatre Royal. He was a good actor, and people in London liked the plays where he acted. When Robert Baddeley became very old, he gave some money to the theatre. He asked to buy a cake every year and give a piece of it to each actor and actress on Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is the 6th of January, the twelfth night after Christmas.

So, after the evening show on Twelfth Night, the actors and actresses come to the hall in their costumes and eat the Baddeley Cake together.