Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre

The Vokes Theatre, also known as Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre is a 1904 miniature of a London theatre - built by and named for Beatrice Herford, a renowned monologist. It is located on the estate of Mrs. Herford and her husband, Sidney Hayward.

The name "Vokes Players" came an an honor to Herford and Hayward's friend, Rosina Vokes, a British actress who performed as part of the traveling Vokes family. For over 30 years, her tiny theatre was open only to her friends, leading lights of the New York and London stages, 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, Norah Bayes, and others, some of whom (as well as others) inscribed their signatures on the inside of the box office door. In 1937, she gave use of the theater to a group of actors organized as the Vokes Players. The group refurbished the theater and continue to perform in it.

Beatrice Herford's theatre is a Massachusetts historical site and houses a notable collection of theater memorabilia and photographs, in addition to remaining in vibrant and active use as the home of the Vokes Players.