Theater-goers in Richmond will witness an unusual theater production tonight. Actors will stage a show not seen since 1811 – a performance that ended with a deadly fire.
It was the day after Christmas, 1811, and patrons of the Richmond Theater were treated to a comedy – Father of the Family.
Then came a drama called Raymond and Agnes or the Bleeding Nun.
“The chandelier was lowered for the end of act one.”
That’s Melissa Rayford, a director with the Richmond Shakespeare and Henley Street Theater. As the chandelier swayed, she explains, flames from the candles it carried spread from a backdrop to the rafters, and sparks were soon falling on the actors.
“The play was ceremoniously stopped by the actor playing Raymond. He turned to the house and said, ‘The House is on fire.' A lot of people were trampled to death. Some people were helped out of windows and dropped into waiting arms, but a lot of people died that night.”
72 to be exact – including the state’s governor. In memory of the victims, an imposing church was built at the site. It opened 200 years ago, and served a congregation until 1965. Tonight, it becomes a theater, and when the play stops – at about the point where it ended in 1811, a panel of historians and the theater’s artistic director will talk with the audience about the tragedy and a 21st century effort to remember it.
