Vokes Theatre
The Vokes Theatre, also known as Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre, is a 1904 miniature of a London theatre in Wayland, Massachusetts built by and named for Beatrice Herford. The theatre is located on the estate of Herford and her husband, Sidney Hayward.
History
Herford built the theatre as a tribute to the London music halls that were typical for monologist's performances and in 1946, Herford donated the theatre to the Vokes Players, a local non-profit group.For the first 30 years or so of the theatre's life, it was not open to the public. Rather, Herford would invite her friends, who included leading actors on the English-speaking stage, singers, New England artists, and others to be her guests at her estate in Wayland. In the theatre, performing only for their own amusement, leading lights of the New York and London stages would perform plays as an ensemble. A wall exists showing the signatures of some of those who came to Wayland including Ellen Terry, George Arliss, Florence Arliss, Katharine Cornell; the house archives show that other guests included diva Geraldine Farrar, and actors Ethel Barrymore, John Drew, Nora Bayes, and others.