After Mitchell left, the actress Laura Seymour (1820–1879) ran the theatre for a season in association with Charles Reade, from October 1854 to March 1855. Under Seymour's management the interior was remodelled, replacing the first tier of boxes with the now more fashionable dress circle. Among the few notable aspects of her tenure was the London debut of the comic actor J. L. Toole. The house was once again dark for most of 1856, but in 1857 the theatre returned to royal and public favour when Jacques Offenbach brought his opéra bouffe company from Paris, with a repertoire of nine of his works. This was followed by the Christy Minstrels who played to good houses for two weeks in August 1857 before moving to other venues.