The first lessees were Messrs Loome and Windley, and on the evenings following the opening they had engaged a company that performed The Lady of Lyons. The Earl and Countess of Dudley were present, and the Theatre was crowded to excess. But the establishment was not crowned with success. Loome and Windley were in control for only a few months. At the end of the first year, one newspaper complained that the companies had been poor, and 'the reputation of Worcester as a toen giving encouragement to the drama has not been improved because we have a really elegant little theatre'.
Following Loome and Windley, Miss Sarah Thorne became lessee, and opened her first regular season on March 27, 1876. In her short but able reign she greatly raised the prospects and repute of the Theatre; but on the morning of Saturday, November 24, 1877, disaster fell and the fine new building was burnt to the ground.
Miss. Thorne, who also controlled two or three other theatres, was a much respected member of the theatrical profession, and in her Stock Companies several of our most notable actors and actresses first gained their experience.
After the fire Miss. Thorn's lease was cancelled.
