Theatres Act 1843

Theatres Act 1843
	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for regulating Theatres.
Citation	6 & 7 Vict. c. 68
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	22 August 1843
Commencement	22 August 1843
Repealed	26 September 1968
Other legislation
Amends	Plays and Wine Licences Act 1736
Repeals/revokes	Theatre Regulation Act 1605; Licensing Act 1737; Theatrical Representations Act 1788;
Amended by	Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (No. 2); Summary Jurisdiction Act 1884;
Repealed by	Theatres Act 1968
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Theatres Act 1843 (6 & 7 Vict. c. 68) (also known as the Theatre Regulation Act) was an act in the United Kingdom. It amended the regime established under the Licensing Act 1737 (10 Geo. 2. c. 28) for the licensing of the theatre in Great Britain, implementing the proposals made by a select committee of the House of Commons in 1832.

The act restricted the powers of the Lord Chamberlain, so that he could only prohibit the performance of plays where he was of the opinion that "it is fitting for the preservation of good manners, decorum or of the public peace so to do". It also gave additional powers to local authorities to license theatres, breaking the monopoly of the patent theatres and encouraging the development of popular theatrical entertainments, such as saloon theatres attached to public houses and music halls.