William George Robert Sprague (1865 – 4 December 1933) was a theatre architect. He was apprenticed to Frank Matcham, and later established his own practice, designing at least thirty-five theatres between 1890 and 1929. Of his surviving London theatres, eleven are Listed – officially designated as of particular architectural or historic interest deserving special protection. Ten are listed in the basic category, Grade II, and one – Wyndham's is in the middle category, Grade II*.

The two substantially intact Sprague theatres outside London are the Lyceum, Sheffield, which is Grade II* Listed, and the Théâtre Édouard VII, Paris, designated a .

Life and career Sprague was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1865, the son of an English actress, Dolores Drummond, and her husband, William Drummond Sprague, a law clerk."Dolores Spragg in the New Zealand, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1840–1902", Ancestry.com. Retrieved 20 August 2025 ; and "Mummer Memoirs", Sydney Sportsman,18 September 1907, p. 3 The couple were based in Melbourne, Australia, where Drummond had a successful career, sometimes using the stage name Dolly Green. After her husband died she moved to London with the young Sprague and his four sisters in the latter part of the 1870s."Dolores Drummond Is Dead", The North Western Courier, 22 July 1926, p. 5

Both in Australia and after moving to England, Sprague was a friend and protégé of the actor-manager Charles Wilmot, who was instrumental in securing for him an apprenticeship to Frank Matcham,"Mr W. G. R. Sprague", The Era, 30 October 1897, p. 13 the leading theatre architect of the time.Earl, p. 30 Sprague remained with Matcham between the ages of sixteen and twenty, and was then articled to Walter Emden for three years.Mackintosh and Sell, p. 216

He was in a partnership with Bertie Crewe until 1895. According to a 1982 study of Britain's old theatres, once he set up on his own, Sprague, "well trained in the practicalities of theatre architecture, but uninhibited by the pedantries of an academic education", designed numerous theatres including some that remain as "the most elegant smaller houses of the West End". Unlike Matcham and Emden, Sprague studied architectural forms and conventions and used his knowledge in his designs, saying of himself that he "liked the Italian Renaissance" as a style for his frontages, but would take liberties when needed "to get the best effects". He told an interviewer in 1897 that in his view there was nothing more foolish than to make a theatre too large:

Sprague often had to convince his clients that traditional theatre layouts of three or four tiers did not in reality accommodate a larger audience than his preferred two-tier auditorium: "Used with a proper ingenuity the two tiers can be made to accommodate the same number of people as three tiers, making them ever so much more comfortable and dividing the classes of playgoers quite as effectually". Sprague hated obstructive pillars in the construction of a theatre, and considered it the responsibility of the architect to ensure that every occupant of a seat had a clear view of the entire stage. The theatrical newspaper The Era commented in 1902:

Sprague married twice. His first marriage was in November 1890 to Mary Jane Beer; they had a daughter, Maud. They divorced in 1898 and in April 1900 he married Isabella Katherine Bennett; they had a daughter and two sons."William George Robert Sprague", Ancestry.com. Retrieved 22 August 2025 Sprague died from heart failure at his home in Maidenhead on 4 December 1933, aged 68.

Theatres In London, except where stated. Of Sprague's surviving theatres, thirteen are Listed – officially designated as of particular architectural or historic interest deserving special protection. Eleven are listed in the lowest category, Grade II, and two – the Lyceum, Sheffield and Wyndham's, London are in the middle category, Grade II*. DateTheatreCapacityNotes 1890 Olympic Theatre, London (with Bertie Crewe) 3,000 Demolished 1905 1891 Theatre Royal, Aldershot (with Crewe) 700 Demolished 1893 Theatre Royal, Lincoln (with Crewe) 475 Exterior rebuilt in 1945. (Interior survives and is Listed Grade II) 1894 Camberwell Metropole (with Crewe) 2,200 Demolished 1937 1896 Shakespeare, Battersea 3,000 Demolished 1956 1897 Grand, Fulham 2,239 Demolished 1958 1897 Lyceum, Sheffield 3,000 Listed, Grade II* 1897 Lyceum, Newport 1,250 Demolished 1898 Coronet, Notting Hill Gate 1,143 Listed, Grade II 1899 Wyndham's 759 Listed, Grade II* 1899 Terriss Theatre, Rotherhithe (later called Rotherhithe Hippodrome) 2,087 Demolished 1955 1899 Holloway Empire 1,210 Demolished mid-1970s 1899 Princess of Wales's Theatre, Kennington 1,347 Demolished 1949 1899 Empire Palace of Varieties, Stratford 2,000 Demolished 1899 Royal Duchess, Balham 1,200 Demolished 1960s 1899 Empire, Bradford 2,000 Demolished 1980s 1900 Camden Theatre (now called Koko) 2,434 Listed, Grade II 1900 Euston Palace of Varieties (later called the Regent) 1,380 Demolished 1968 1902 King's, Hammersmith 3,000 Demolished 1965 1902 New, London (later called the Albery and then the Noël Coward Theatre) 1,250 Listed, Grade II 1902 Royal Artillery, Woolwich 1,000 Demolished 1956 1905 Hicks Theatre (now the Aldwych Theatre) 1,092 Listed, Grade II 1905 Waldorf (later the Strand; now called the Novello Theatre) 1,146 Listed, Grade II 1906 Globe (now called the Gielgud Theatre) 1,000 Listed, Grade II 1907 Queen's (now called the Sondheim Theatre) 1,120 Listed, Grade II 1907 Palace, Reading 1,460 Demolished 1961 1908 Grand Opera House, Norwich (later called the Hippodrome) 1,836 Demolished 1966 1908 New, Oxford 1,200 Demolished and replaced 1933 1910 Kilburn Empire (later called the Broadway) 1,913 Mainly rebuilt in 1970s; fragmentaryremainsofSprague'swork 1912 New, Northampton 2,300 Demolished 1950 1913 Ambassadors 490 Listed, Grade II 1913 Théâtre Édouard VII, Paris 800 1915 Penge Empire 1,500 Demolished 1960 1916 St Martin's 600 Listed, Grade II1929Streatham Hill Theatre 3,000 Listed, Grade II Source: Mackintosh and Sell, and Arthur Lloyd website.Mackintosh and Sell, pp. 216 and 222; and Arthur Lloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2025

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