What would later become the Adelphi Theatre, the Sans Pareil (Without Compare) Theatre was founded in 1806 in The Strand by colour merchant John Scott and his daughter Jane (Illegitimate Theatre in London, 1770-1840). It was a smaller theater, seating only 1,500 compared with Covent Garden, which sat twice that (The Literary Panorama, 1812).
Jane Scott was a theatre manager, performer and playwright until her retirement and marriage in 1819, when the Sans Pareil was sold and rebranded as The Adelphi.
Scott was known for her interest in experimental drama, and produced adaptations of novels by Maria Edgeworth, Sir Walter Scott, and hosted hybrid “techno-gothic” peformances involving scientific inventions (The Encyclopedia of Romantic Literature, 3 Volume Set, Volume 1)
It was a prosperous theatre (and sold for a tidy profit later) that features burlettas, pantomimes, plays, musicals and other events (The Cambridge History of British Theatre, Volume 2).
Scott has been proclaimed by many as a pioneer: “By using her published songbooks and playbills to define a space for ‘illegitimate’ dramatic entertainments within the heart of the city, Scott effectively tested the stereotype of what an early nineteenth-century minor theatre not only should but, more provocatively, could be” (Staging the Peninsular War: English Theatres 1807-1815, 2016, p. 111)
UMass has a comprehensive website with details about the theatre, including performers, performances, and back stage info: https://www.umass.edu/AdelphiTheatreCalendar/img265c.htm
