Portal:Theatre/Selected anniversaries/October

October 1971 – Michael Billington, Britain's longest-serving theatre critic, joined The Guardian
1 October 1684 – Death of Pierre Corneille, often called the "founder of French tragedy"
6 October 1952 – Premier of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, the longest running show in London's West End
10 October 1881 – Opening of the Savoy Theatre in London, built by impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte
16 October 1854 – Birth of Oscar Wilde, whose plays include Salome and The Importance of Being Earnest
17 October 1896 – First performance of Anton Chekhov's (pictured) The Seagull was booed by the audience and Chekhov decided that he was finished writing plays
23 October 1969 – Announcement that Samuel Beckett won the Nobel Prize in Literature
28 October 1994 – Premier of 'Art', an award-winning play by French playwright Yasmina Reza