Grace Pervades and Hotel Packages
The greatest actor of the Victorian age, his much loved wife, her extraordinary children and the theatrical legacy they left behind them are the themes of an astonishing new play by David Hare. Fresh from a sell-out season at the Theatre Royal Bath, David Hare’s new play comes to London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket in April 2026.
Henry Irving and Ellen Terry’s passionate, complex professional and personal relationship, had a huge impact on theatre and those around them, including her children, Edith Craig and Edward Gordon Craig. The play blends art, love, ambition, and the changing face of performance from the 1870s to the 20th century.
Miranda Raison (Spooks) joins Fiennes, playing Ellen Terry, who was the most loved and best paid actress of the day. When Terry joined Irving’s company at London’s Lyceum Theatre it started a theatrical adventure that changed theatre forever and is still celebrated to this day.
Hotels and Grace Pervades.
OK, so you better beware that Irving died in a hotel, but not in a London one and it wasn’t the hotels fault, so I reckon that is OK!
What are good hotels for a Grace Pervades Theatre Break?
Sir Henry Irving Statue is on Irving Street at one end of which is the five star Radisson Edwardian Blu Leicester Square. It is only a 2 minute walk from the theatre, so if money is no object I would head there.
The Montcalm is a four star hotel on the other side of Leicester square, in Shaftesbury Avenue, but is also only a short walk to the theatre (about 5mins) and runs out about £50 per head cheaper, so that’s dinner paid for!
There is also an argument for staying in a Bloomsbury hotel. With easy access from Russell Square to Piccadilly Circus you can absorb the bohemian life of the Bloomsbury Set who, when not in town often stayed at Ellen Terry’s family home in Smallhythe. It also gives you the opportunity to pop into the British Museum where there are many exhibits of Irving’s life including my favourite – a drawing of Irving in his dressing room applying make-up. Hotels are also cheaper in Bloomsbury!
When are Grace Pervades Breaks available?
Grace Pervades is available to book now for packages starting from 24 April 2026 and booking until 11 July 2026. Evening performances start at 19:30 although the first Thursday performance starts at 19:00. It is the “first night” . Matinees are on Thursdays and Saturdays and start at 14:30.
Where is Grace Pervades on at? The Theatre Royal Haymarket at 8 Haymarket. Just a 2 minute walk down from Piccadilly Circus underground station
Good Fact: Irving was a close friend of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. Bram Stoker wrote a novel, A Mask of Shadows, that mentions “underground caverns” near the Lyceum Theatre and a ghost thought to be Ellen Terry, Irving’s leading lady. Remember that when you get on the tube and go through Aldwych Tube station.