This construction plan was for the upper circle of the Borough Theatre Stratford that opened on Monday 31 August 1896 with a production of Henry lV Part 1 by Herbert Beerbohm Tree's company from the Haymarket Theatre. With seating for over 3,000 the theatre soon became a popular venue, nicknamed 'The Drury Lane of the East' and attracting celebrity performers to the East End. It was designed by Frank Matcham (1854-1920), one of the most celebrated and prolific Victorian theatre architects, and since the theatre was stripped out and refitted as a cinema in 1933, no records of the interior design have previously been found. This plan clearly shows Matcham's characteristic use of the cantilever principle for supporting the balcony, removing the sight line problems that bedevilled earlier theatres. An associated drawing acquired with this plan, possibly executed for an illustrated magazine, gives an indication of the joyously decorated interior of the theatre.

Born in Devon in 1854, Frank Matcham was apprenticed to a local architect and to a quantity surveyor in London. In the 1870s he joined the firm of Jethro Thomas Robinson, theatre architectural adviser to the Lord Chamberlain, and subsequently married his employer's daughter. In 1878 he took over the practice on Robinson's death.

From 1879 to 1912 Matcham built or rebuilt over 150 theatres across Britain, and introduced innovations such as cantilevered galleries. His emphasis was on practical aspects including maximising audiences and ensuring good sightlines, but he also created rich interiors in a variety of styles. Examples of his theatre work include the Grand Opera House Belfast, the Grand Theatre Blackpool, the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, Richmond Theatre Surrey, the Gaiety Theatre Douglas (Isle of Man), the Hackney Empire, the Shepherd's Bush Empire, the London Palladium and, perhaps most famously, the London Coliseum. He also designed pubs, cinemas, hotels, the County Arcade in Leeds, and the Tower Ballroom and Circus in Blackpool.