Editing Squire Bancroft (section)

==Early life and career==
Bancroft was born in [[Rotherhithe]], London. His first appearance on the stage was in 1861 at [[Birmingham]], and he played in the provinces with success for several years. His first London appearance was in 1865 as Jack Crawley in J. P. Wooler's ''A Winning Hazard'' at the [[Scala Theatre|Prince of Wales's Theatre]] off [[Tottenham Court Road]]. He was then using the stage name Sydney Bancroft; also in the cast was his future wife, [[Effie Bancroft|Effie Wilton]].<ref>{{cite news|title= Prince of Wales's Theatre |newspaper=[[The Era (newspaper)|The Era]]|date= 23 April 1865|page= 15}}</ref> This theatre was managed by [[Henry James Byron|Henry Byron]] and Wilton, whom Bancroft married in December 1867.<ref>{{cite news|title= Marriages |newspaper= Pall Mall Gazette |date= 4 January 1868|page= 6}}</ref> After their marriage the Bancrofts became joint managers of the theatre.<ref>[[Thomas Edgar Pemberton|Pemberton, T. Edgar]]. [https://archive.org/stream/societyandcastee00robeuoft/societyandcastee00robeuoft_djvu.txt ''The English Drama from its Beginning to the Present Day'' – ''Society'' and ''Caste''], D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers Boston USA and London (1905)</ref>

Mr and Mrs Bancroft produced and starred in all the [[Thomas William Robertson]] comedies beginning in 1865: ''[[Society (play)|Society]]'' (1865), ''Ours'' (1866), ''[[Caste (play)|Caste]]'' (1867), ''Play'' (1868), ''School'' (1869) and ''M.P.'' (1870), and, after Robertson's death, in revivals of the old comedies, for which they surrounded themselves with an admired company.  Together, Robertson and the Bancrofts are considered to have instigated a new form of drama known as "drawing-room comedy" or "cup and saucer drama".<ref>Stedman, p. 87</ref> The Bancrofts gave Robertson an unprecedented amount of directorial control over his plays, which was a key step to institutionalizing the power that directors wield in the theatre today.<ref>Vorder Bruegge, Andrew "W. S. Gilbert: Antiquarian Authenticity and Artistic Autocracy" (Associate Professor, Department Chair, Department of Theatre and Dance, Winthrop University).  Professor Vorder Bruegge presented this paper at the Victorian Interdisciplinary Studies Association of the Western United States annual conference in October 2002 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510212618/http://faculty.winthrop.edu/vorderbruegg/winthropweb/vitaindex/gilbert.html|date=10 May 2011}}, retrieved 26 March 2008</ref>

The Bancroft management at the Prince of Wales's Theatre constituted a new era in the development of the English stage and had the effect of reviving the London interest in modern drama.  They were also responsible for making fashionable the "box set", which [[Lucia Elizabeth Vestris]] had first used at the [[Olympic Theatre (London)|Olympic Theatre]] in the 1830s – this consisted of rooms on stage which were dressed with sofas, curtains, chairs, and carpets on the stage floor.  They also provided their actors with salaries and wardrobes.  Also, the Bancrofts redesigned their theatre to suit the increasingly upscale audience: "The cheap benches near the stage, where the rowdiest elements of the audience used to sit were replaced by comfortable padded seats, carpets were laid in the aisles, and the pit was renamed the stalls."<ref>[http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/guided_tours/drama_tour/19th_century/cup.php Information about Cup and Saucer realism] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416042300/http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/guided_tours/drama_tour/19th_century/cup.php |date=16 April 2007 }} (PeoplePlay UK)</ref>

Other plays they premiered or produced there were [[W. S. Gilbert]]'s ''Allow Me To Explain'' (1867) and his romantic comedy tribute to Robertson, ''[[Sweethearts (play)|Sweethearts]]'' (1874), as well as ''Tame Cats'' (1868), [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton|Lytton's]] ''Money'' (1872), ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' (1874), [[Dion Boucicault|Boucicault's]] ''London Assurance'' (1877), and ''[[Diplomacy (play)|Diplomacy]]'' (1878), an adaptation of [[Victorien Sardou|Sardou]]'s ''Dora'' by [[Clement Scott]] and [[B. C. Stephenson]].
[[File:SquireBancroftBrompton01.jpg|thumb|right|Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London]]