The theatre opened on 14 December 1835 with a triple bill consisting of two farces by Gilbert à Beckett and an opera, "Agnes Sorel", with music by his wife, Mary Anne à Beckett. This ran for a month before being replaced by one of the few successes of Braham's tenure, another bill containing an operetta – "Monsieur Jacques" – and a farce, "The Strange Gentleman", by "Boz" (Charles Dickens). In April 1836 the first of many visiting French companies played at the theatre, a tradition that endured intermittently throughout the 122-year existence of the St James's.