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Magic Memories, Future Dreams As part of the 125-year anniversary, the Blackpool Grand is looking to raise £125,000. The funds will go towards repairing the decorative copper tiled dome roof and iconic pineapple. Both the dome and pineapple suffered considerable damage last year when Storm Doris came to the town’s shores. Slates were blown off the roof as were a number of leaves off the pineapple. The pineapple, a symbol of warmth and hospitality, is the landmark sculpture of the theatre and repair work is needed to reinstate the roof to its original condition. There will also be continued fundraising to help make further improvements to the theatre itself.
Anthony Stone
John Grady
Chair of Grand Theatre (Arts and Entertainment) Ltd
Chair of Friends Of The Grand
The Future - It is a privilege to be part of the team of volunteers who support and govern this wonderful charitable asset for the town and its people. The Grand may be 125 years old, but me and my team are firmly rooted in the present and constantly looking to the future. Our mission is ‘to inspire a life-long love of theatre’ and we do this by offering a wide variety of arts and entertainment, whilst constantly looking at ways of re-inventing ourselves to stay vital and relevant. This year, for instance, we’ve commissioned and produced our very own summer show – Around the World in 80s Days – as part of our contribution to making this a great place to live, work and visit. We want the people of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre to feel the same sense of pride and passion about this lovely theatre as those people, back in the day, who saved it from demolition. And we are working hard to achieve that.
Volunteering - When I became a volunteer, thirty-eight years ago, I was only supposed to be helping out for six months. But the bug bit me and here I am, all those years later, still working hard, along with the rest of the Friends of The Grand, to welcome customers to this special place. the Friends of The Grand volunteer their services, help raise funds and spread the word about all the amazing things that happen here. We meet all kinds of people from all walks of life, from tiny tots to grannies and granddads, all stepping over the threshold to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the excitement of a great night out at the theatre. From pantomime to contemporary dance, from classic opera to drama, we just love helping make Blackpool Grand Theatre a wonderful place see, do and learn through theatre. We’re always ready to welcome new members.
Roger Lloyd Jones
Ruth Eastwood
Chair of Blackpool Grand Theatre Trust
Chief Executive Blackpool Grand Theatre
Our beautiful building - Being the custodians of a Grade II* Listed building as beautiful as the Grand Theatre, brings with it a commitment, not just to preserve our heritage asset, but to ensure it is as accessible, comfortable and financially sustainable as possible for years to come. With this in mind, the Grand Theatre Trust has invested its efforts, in this anniversary year, to assessing and understanding as much as possible about this amazing theatre. Working with Theatre Historian, David Wilmore, and Theatre Architect, Paddy Dillon, we have been investing in a master planning exercise to preserve what’s significant and improve what we can in this much-loved gem of a building. We’re at the beginning of this important journey and, once the birthday celebrations are over, we’ll be looking to raise the funds to make the best of this wonderful venue for the benefit of local people, visitors and future generations to come. We look forward to sharing our exciting plans with you soon.
The programme - My job at the theatre is to choose a programme of arts and entertainment, presented across the whole year, that will give as many people as possible the chance to come and enjoy a night out at the Grand. Not everyone will love everything, but if I can please enough of you, enough of the time with the great variety of events on offer, then I will be part of making sure The Grand continues to play an important role in the rich tapestry that is Blackpool’s nightlife. In this special year, I’m particularly proud to be able to host another visit to the town from the Royal Shakespeare Company, to kick off the national tour of that marvellous thriller, The Woman in Black and, of course, to offer great family entertainment with our traditional pantomime, Peter Pan. Most exciting of all is our new summer show, Around the World in 80s Days. Funny, fast-moving and made especially for Blackpool, I do hope you’ll book your ticket and celebrate everything that makes this place so special.
(L to R: John Grady, Ruth Eastwood, Roger Lloyd Jones, Amanda Thompson OBE, Anthony Stone.)
Our 50th Anniversary In our backwards glance at the highlight shows of the Grand Theatre’s 125 years, we’ve arrived at another big anniversary, the 50th. The “guest list” in 1944 had plenty of famous names, but with Britain still in the grip of war it would have been unseemly to have a conspicuous birthday bash. No doubt the Tower Company chairman, Mr Robert G Bickerstaffe, invited his directors to the boardroom on or around July 23, the date of the theatre’s opening in 1894. Glasses would have been raised to “The Grand – here’s to the next 50 years.” But they couldn’t have imagined that 25 years later the theatre would have new owners and would be closed in 1972.The theatre survived through The Friends, who raised money to buy The Grand and put in six months of hard work to restore and equip the place as a working theatre. The main attraction of January 1944, was a two-week annual visit by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in the popular Gilbert and Sullivan shows. The first play of note, in February, saw the return from Broadway of Britain’s drama queen, Flora Robson, in an adaptation of Emil Zola’s “shocking” novel Therese Raquin, with the stage title of Guilty. She would turn heavy drama into box office joy in several 40s and 50s visits. However, it was not an individual star who was the highlight of 1944. It was a dramatic work. The black comedy Arsenic and Old Lace, by American writer Joseph Kesselring, was in its fourth year on Broadway and had played two years in London when it toured to The Grand for two weeks in April. It was the story of two kindly Brooklyn sisters who took in lonely old gents - and bumped them off. Mary Merrall and Nellie Bowman were the deadly old dears and the play was so well received that it was rebooked for two October weeks at The Grand. Just before the summer season, Anna Neagle took a break from filming to tour in Jane Austen’s Emma and scored a “personal triumph in bringing the character to warm and vibrant life”, said the Gazette. In later years Dame Anna spoke of Emma as her favourite role. The summer season revue in 1944 was We’re Coming Over, written round a wartime story of an ENSA concert party (Entertainment National Service Association) touring Allied bases in the Mediterranean. The stars were comedy duo Ethel Revnell and Gracie West, vocalist Afrique, and the legendary sand dancers Wilson, Keppel and Betty. Very few readers will have heard of Alfred Lunt and his British wife Lynn Fontanne but there were no bigger stars on Broadway, where there is a theatre named after them.
Vivien Leigh
In October 1944, their Grand Theatre visit, in Robert E. Sherwood’s war story There Shall Be No Night, followed an Aldwych Theatre run and was billed as the most brilliant play of the London season. The most intriguing play, to us today, was Bernard Miles in his own story, They Also Serve, a comedy about the odd members of a Home Guard unit, seen at the theatre in October. One was a veteran of the Zulu and Boer wars. Another was a pompous professional man who was the unit’s “colonel.” Did this play inspire the creation of TV’s Dad’s Army 25 years later? The year ended with a Christmas week of Daphne Du Maurier’s first work written for the stage. Clive Brook and Nora Swinburne starred in The Years Between, a topical story of an Army officer, presumed dead, who returned from the war to find his wife had succeeded him as an MP and was about to remarry. The play opened at Wyndham’s Theatre five weeks later and ran for 617 performances. At the start of 1945 a Gazette writer said Blackpool drama lovers no longer needed reminding how lucky they were in seeing plays that were heading for London. In 1945 there were nine such shows and two of them were premieres. In March, John Mills starred in Duet From Two Hands, written by his wife, Mary Hayley Bell, and in December Denholm Elliott starred in The Guinea Pig. But the longest London run, after an October week at The Grand, was scored by Under the Counter, a comedy about the wartime black market, starring Cicely Courtneidge and directed by her husband, Jack Hulbert. It came to Blackpool prior to two years at the Phoenix Theatre and a year’s tour of Australia. Miss Courtneidge was born in Sydney in 1893 when her mother and actor father (later producer) Robert Courtneidge were working there. Summer season shows at The Grand were leaning to a simple varietyrevue style and the theatre’s 1945 show, Hoopla, included Robb Wilton, Max Wall, Suzette Tarri, Polly Ward, Harold Berens, and Harry Lester and his Hayseeds. We can’t close this chapter without mentioning the only time that Laurence Olivier set foot on the Grand Theatre stage. It was on Sunday, May 6, 1945, as he rehearsed his wife Vivien Leigh, Cecil Parker and Ena Burrill for the Monday opening of Thornton Wilder’s fantasy play, The Skin of Our Teeth.
Max Wall
Actress Anna Neagle and husband Herbert Wilcox
Richard Attenborough in Blackpool with Eve Boswell
Richard “Dickie” Attenborough Many great names appeared at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre in the 1940s but none of them had a career that came close to that of Richard Attenborough, who was affectionately known as Dickie by generations of show people. Our series of highlights from The Grand’s 125 years comes to the play that made him a star and the fact that its world premiere was at The Grand. On Tuesday, February 16, 1943, Graham Greene’s crime thriller, Brighton Rock, began a short prior-to-London tour with the 19-year-old actor as racetrack hoodlum Pinky Brown and Dulcie Gray as Rose, his adoring girlfriend. The play ran nightly until Saturday with matinees on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. A few months earlier Richard and Dulcie had played junior roles in Lillian Hellman’s classic play The Little Foxes at the Piccadilly Theatre. When Brighton Rock opened at the Garrick Theatre, in March, 1943, the two young actors had rave reviews and were given equal billing with Hermione Baddeley. After war service with the RAF film unit, Richard returned to Civvy Street and starred in the film version of Brighton Rock. The Gazette’s reviewer of the 1943 stage premiere seemed to have been surprised by the play’s violent theme. He wrote: “The central figure, that of 17-years-old Pinky, strains one’s credibility and though Richard Attenborough plays the part with skill which won admiration, it never invited sympathy.”
He should have read Barry Band’s book! In 1993, when he was researching his Grand Theatre centenary history, he spoke to Michael Denison, husband of Dulcie Gray. The couple had appeared many times at The Grand. He told me the importance of Brighton Rock in the careers of his wife and Richard Attenborough. He said the posters, on tour and for the London opening, had Hermione Baddeley as the sole star. “I was at the London opening, in uniform, and the response to Dulcie’s and Dickie’s performances was so tremendous that the following day their names joined Hermione’s above the title and Dulcie was offered a film contract that, ironically, was to prevent her from making the film of Brighton Rock a few years later,” said Michael. Brighton Rock is touring again this year, but it’s premiere in wartime Blackpool is probably unknown in today’s world of theatre. Richard Attenborough (1923-2014), actor, film producer and director, arts administrator, fund-raiser, and life peer, is our major figure of 1943 at The Grand. The same year two of London’s most popular plays came to The Grand. Robert Morley appeared in September, after 709 performances at the Savoy Theatre, playing the objectionable film critic in The Man Who Came to Dinner, by Kaufman and Hart. In November, prior to starting a London run of 1134 performances, Michael Wilding starred in Terence Rattigan’s new comedy While the Sun Shines.
FAMOUS FATHER AND DAUGHTER
In selecting names to highlight from the Grand Theatre’s 125 years it helps if there is current interest in the names! Screen and stage star Vanessa Redgrave has appeared in BBC1’s series Call the Midwife while Arnold Ridley is an ever-present Saturday night TV face, as Old Godfrey in Dad’s Army.
His first success as a writer was with the comedy-thriller The Ghost Train, in 1925. He wrote more than 30 plays but continued to act and visited Blackpool several times.
You are so alert! How could Vanessa have appeared at The Grand in 1947, when she was only 11 years old?
His last appearance at The Grand was in March, 1964, when he played the Reverend Wood in a tour of Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë.
She didn’t – but her father, Michael Redgrave (1908-1985), appeared in Macbeth in November, 1947, and told Blackpool’s Gazette a story of how Vanessa could have become a Walt Disney child star.
In 1976 he was in the stage tour of Dad’s Army, which played two weeks in June at the Opera House.
The newspaper’s showbiz scribe, Bill Burgess, interviewed the actor and heard the Redgrave family had just spent three months in Hollywood, where Michael starred in RKOs three-hour movie of Eugene O’Neill’s tragedy Mourning Becomes Electra.
In 1968, at the age of 72, Arnold Ridley joined the cast of the BBC’s Home Guard sitcom and was with the show to its final episode in 1977. Are there any other actors from that era who can still be seen on the telly, every Saturday night?
He told Burgess they had met Walt Disney, who was involved in pre-production work for his cartoon feature of Alice In Wonderland. Disney was struck by Vanessa’s resemblance to Sir John Tenniel’s classic illustrations of Alice in Lewis Carroll’s original book. When Walt heard that Vanessa could sing and dance he proposed a screen test with a view to casting her in films. Michael Redgrave said he and his wife, Rachel Kempson, declined Disney’s offer, believing it would have been wrong to uproot their daughter from home and bedazzle her with the glamour of a stardom that might not materialise. Eleven years later (January, 1958) Vanessa began her rise to adult stardom, at the Grand Theatre, appearing with her father (by then Sir Michael) in the premiere of A Touch of the Sun, by NC Hunter.
Arnold Ridley
As for the 1947 performance of Macbeth, Bill Burgess said Michael Redgrave was an actor who loved and understood his material. It was a performance in which the warrior took second place to the poet. “Such artistry restores nobility to the theatre,” he wrote. For contrast in the 1947 plays at The Grand, how about Arnold Ridley (1896-1984) in the premiere of Easy Money, his own play about a big football pools win. He didn’t intend to be in it but during rehearsals the leading actor, Hylton Allen, was taken ill. Arnold saved the week by stepping in.
Michael and Vanessa Redgrave
Who is Frank Matcham? Frank Matcham was an English theatre architect and designer. During his 40-year career, he was responsible for the design and construction of over 90 theatres and the redesign and refurbishment of a further 80 throughout the UK.
According to the dramatist Alan Bennett, there was a Matcham theatre in every corner of Britain. Matcham was best known for his work in London, under Moss Empires, which included the designs of the Hippodrome (1900), Hackney Empire (1901), London Coliseum (1903), London Palladium (1910), and the Victoria Palace in 1911. Born in Devon the son of a brewery clerk he was brought up in Torquay where he went to Babbacombe school. In 1868 he became apprenticed to George Bridgman, a local builder and architect. In the mid 1870’s he moved to London to join the architectural practice of Jethro Robinson who was consulting theatre architect to the Lord Chamberlain. In 1877 Matcham married Robinson’s daughter and the following year when Robinson died suddenly, the 24-year-old Matcham found himself taking over the practice. His first major job was to complete the Elephant and Castle Theatre which Robinson had started. Following this, Matcham went from success to success and over the next 30 years he became unrivalled as the most prolific theatre architect of all time. It is impossible to be definitive as to his total output, but on current research we can say that he designed at least 80 theatres as original architect and he refitted or worked on at least as many again. He also designed pubs, cinemas, hotels and notably the County Arcade in Leeds and the Tower Ballroom and Circus in Blackpool. Sadly, only 21 of his theatres survive with a further dozen having been drastically altered as bingo halls, nightclubs and cinemas. Matcham never qualified as an architect and was snubbed by many in his profession, but he became the supreme example of his craft. Despite his vast output each theatre was unique and his ability to produce magnificent theatres on difficult sites speedily and economically led him to become highly respected by theatre owners and managers.
Image © Frank Matcham, National Portrait Gallery.
Thomas Sergenson The Grand was designed by Victorian theatre architect Frank Matcham and was opened in 1894 after a construction period of eight months, at a cost of £20,000 between December 1893 and July 1894. The project was conceived and financed by local theatre manager and entrepreneur Thomas Sergenson who had been using the site of The Grand for several years to stage a circus. He had also transformed the fortunes of other local theatres. Matcham’s brief was to build Sergenson the “prettiest theatre in the land”. The Grand was Matcham’s first theatre to use an innovative ‘cantilever’ design to support the tiers, thereby reducing the need for the usual pillars and so allowing clear views of the stage from all parts of the auditorium. Sergenson’s successful directorship of the theatre ended in 1909 when he sold the operation to the Blackpool Tower Company for a considerable profit. The success of The Grand continued through World War I and on until the 1930s. The theatre now faced stiff competition from the newly introduced talking pictures and the building was operated as a cinema outside the summer tourist season. This practice continued until 1938 when the nearby Opera House was constructed.
Images © seanconboy.com
The Grand was able to stay open during World War II but the post-war rise in the popularity of television was probably the cause of the theatre’s dwindling popularity toward the 1960s. The theatre’s programme archives show that from 1964 The Grand was a summer seasonal venue. Plans were filed for the demolition of the historic site in 1972 but the theatre had become a Grade II* listed building earlier in the year, thanks to the initiative Jeffrey Finestone, a member of the Victorian Society and local support. This enabled a group of theatre friends to successfully oppose any redevelopment. The theatre continues, and this year celebrates its 125th Anniversary. The theatre was unused for three years before an agreement was reached with The Grand’s owners, EMI, that a refurbishment of the then unused building would take place if it could be used as a bingo hall. After three years of bingo use, the group of friends, now called The Friends of the Grand, with the support of Blackpool Borough Council negotiated to lease and eventually buy the theatre back from EMI over a period of a few years. The purchase was complete by 1 October 1980 and a refurbishment, achieved partly through voluntary effort, was begun. Finally, on 23 March 1981 The Grand re-opened as a theatre once again to stage an Old Vic performance of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice featuring Timothy West and Prunella Scales. The theatre’s return was further confirmed in May of the same year when a Royal Variety Performance was staged in the presence of Charles, Prince of Wales.
THE STORY BEGINS Entertaining since 1894
1901
Sergenson buys out his investors and becomes sole owner of Blackpool’s Grand
1901
Victoria dies and is succeeded by Edward VII
1863
Opening of the new Blackpool Pier
1872
Parcels of land for sale on Church Street indicate that the site is ripe for development
1837
1897
Queen Victoria Becomes Queen
1876
Alexander Bell invented the telephone and Primary Education was made compulsory
Guglielmo Marconi Awarded Radio Communication Patent
1894
The theatre opened with a production of Hamlet, Wilson Barrett in the starring role. The Theatre was hailed as Matcham’s Masterpiece
1887
The local impresario known as the ‘People’s Showman’ Thomas Sergenson purchased a row of old cottages and shops in the corner site
© Blackpool Grand Theatre 2019
SO THIS IS SHOW BUSINESS
1942
1902
Winston Churchill held a lecture at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre before becoming Prime Minister (1940-45)
Noel Coward toured three shows in his ‘Play Parade’ Present Laughter and This Happy Breed were World War Premiers and Blithe Spirit was a West End success
1939
1904
This was Sir John Gielgud’s first visit to The Grand in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde directing a cast of star players
More than half of the Grand’s attractions were billed as a ‘first time in Blackpool’
Comedy favourite Arthur Askey plays at The Grand
1926
Thomas Sergenson Died (Apr) in Kenilworth, Warwickshire
1914-1918
1905
Sarah Bernhardt performed in Pellea set Melisande for just one afternoon known as a Flying Matinee
World War I
1909
Blackpool’s Grand is sold to The Tower Co. (23 Dec) for £47,500
1953
Arthur Askey in The Love Match reflects the popularity of northern comedy which played to packed houses every summer for two decades
1912
‘Titanic’ sinks with the loss of 1,503 lives
THE EPIC STRUGGLE Royal GALA 1981
1974
The Grand re-opened with the Old Vic Company Tour of A Merchant of Venice starring Timothy West and Prunella Scales. There follows the ultimate honour of a Royal Gala in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales. However, much work needed to be done to the aging building
1979
Public outcry as Blackpool’s Grand remained closed
Blackpool’s Carter Street closed off for M&S build re-christened Matcham Court
1973
Public enquiry held at the Town Hall to decide theatre’s fate. Peter Boydell QC. fought the case on behalf of the Friends of The Grand and the Theatre was saved
1969
Concorde, makes its maiden flight
1981
Sir Edward Richard George Heath KG MBE, Conservative Conference (19 Oct) delivering a speech from Blackpool Grand’s stage
1972
Grade II listed building status achieved by Jeffrey Finestone. Closure by current owners EMI Company Notice of proposed demolition
1982
Falklands War
1984
12-month ‘Miners’ Strike’ over pit closures begins
© Blackpool Grand Theatre 2019
REACH FOR THE STARS
2001
The Glorious Grand Appeal was planned in two phases. The First Stage was to restore The Grand to its pristine 19th Century condition with extensive work to the artwork, plasterwork and domed ceiling
2002
2008 1997
Princess of Wales dies
1997
Wrought iron and glass canopy erected at rear of Blackpool’s Grand in Matcham Court
The
CENTENARY
1994
A Centenary Appeal was launched to raise money to re-instate a Victorian style canopy in place of the 1950s design. This was in place for the visit of HM The Queen and HRH Prince Philip
1994
Arts Council England is formed a non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
2019
January 18, A Gala Celebration with Carl Rosa Opera Co. with ‘The Mikado’ unveiled the restoration work
Election of Barack Obama
The Grand Theatre Blackpool celebrates it’s 125th Anniversary (23 Jul)
2018
Blackpool’s Grand Theatre becomes Arts Council England Sustainability Champion for touring arts
2012
Blackpool Grand became an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation. Blackpool’s Grand Theatre has set the standard for heritage theatres and has been featured in the ACE environment report, Sustaining Great Art
Lawrence Wright
Lest We Forget Little has been written about what was on at Blackpool theatres in 1918 but there’s a story to tell, using the Grand Theatre’s list of shows. First, there were no dramatic plays with war themes. The carnage of the war as revealed in the casualty lists in the newspapers. On stage, nearly everything was glamorous and fancy free in comedies, musicals and revues (optimistic songs and sketches). A revue seen at the Grand in May was Khaki and Blue, by Lawrence Wright, who was to have many Blackpool connections, not least his On With the Show summer seasons at the North Pier. A second discovery in the files is that some shows returned several times during World War One and the following months. As many as eight times! The problem facing stage producers for London shows and tours was the shortage of men. After conscription started in 1916 the problem became acute. Many an ageing matinee idol had his career extended and promising juniors stepped up to adult roles. The theatre’s programme often had a panel stating: No member of the cast is eligible for military service.
A musical titled Betty made eight visits (weeks) to The Grand from 1915-19. A more famous show, The Maid of the Mountains, made six visits from 1917-19. War dramas were “off limits” but a morale-boosting tale was welcome. The touring company of the London success Seven Days Leave visited The Grand four times. It was a spy story set in the east coast. An officer on leave led local heroes in foiling a German plot. The public would not accept anything by writers with German-sounding names. When an American musical titled Soldier Boy opened in London in June 1918, and came to The Grand in May, 1919, the Hungarian-born composer Sigmund Romberg was listed as S Rombeau, which sounded French. In the 1920s, nobody wanted a stark reminder of the war and it was 10 years before it appeared in the form of RC Sheriff’s Journey’s End. Even then, the main London producers turned it down and it was left to Britishborn Maurice Browne, a founder of the American Little Theatre system, to present it with a stage society in London in December 1928. It starred Laurence Olivier, who had another role waiting and was not with the play in its West End success the following year.
A GRAND ROYAL OCCASION The Royal Wedding with HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s big day unfolded on our televisions. (19 May 2018). Over 1,200 members of the public were lucky enough to receive a personal invitation to attend the Windsor Wedding. We recap on some of the Grand Royal occasions...Blackpool’s Grand has hosted many a Royal occasion including Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In May 1981, the theatre had a prestigious two-week visit by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company with their Gilbert and Sullivan repertoire, and on Friday 29 May the ultimate theatrical honour of a Royal Variety Performance in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales. The Royal performance produced by Robert Nesbitt and included such stars as; Barbara Windsor (who also starred in the summer show that year The Mating Game), Anita Harris, Ray Cornell and his Dancers, Danny La Rue, Petula Clarke, Lennie Bennett, and local chorus Blackpool Operatic Players, Blackpool and Fylde Light Opera Company and Thornton Cleveleys Operatic Society, all hosted by then TV legend Russell Harty. On 22 July 1994 on the eve of the Grand Theatre’s centenary Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh attended. Her Majesty was greeted and escorted throughout by Samuel Lee Chairman of the Grand Theatre Trust Board. Mr Lee introduced Her Majesty to a selection of people including; George Thomson Vice Chair of The Trust Board and Chair of the Friends of The Grand, Mr David Coupe Chairman of the Arts and Entertainment Board and Mr Will Quekett Theatre Manager. Miss Rebecca Brookes (Aged 5) presented Her Majesty with a posy. Her Majesty was escorted to the Stalls for an opportunity to view the Theatre and see a dress rehearsal for the Centenary Gala to be held the following evening. After the rehearsal an informal meeting of some of the artists. Her Majesty then had the opportunity to view a small display of archive materials of the theatre’s history. Finally, in the Dress Circle Samuel Lee invited Her Majesty to unveil a plaque commemorating the Centenary of the Theatre.
SUMMER IN BLACKPOOL An 80s extravaganza, The Blackpool Grand Theatre’s new summer show is this August! In celebration of its 125th Anniversary, Blackpool’s Grand Theatre has created its own production company and has launched a new musical summer show, Around The World in 80s Days. The Grand has commissioned Ian McFarlane as writer and director. McFarlane has created the musical show based on Jules Verne’s acclaimed novel Around The World in 80 Days. On asking McFarlane about where the ideas for Around The World in 80s Days came from, he said: “Well, Ruth Eastwood Chief Executive and the management team at Blackpool’s Grand had been thinking about the theatre producing its own summer show for some time. As this is the theatre’s 125th Birthday, it seemed like the right time to do it. “The theatre has a tradition of music shows during the summer period; the idea was to give the audience something extra special. As always, it’s going to be a show that you can expect to know lots of the songs from, but we’ve tried to step it up a gear. There is a story, but we use the 1980’s music to tell it - sometimes in ways that you might not expect, sometimes in ways that will make you laugh but always in a way in which you are going to have a brilliant night out.” The musical tells the story of the fabulously wealthy British gentleman Phileas Fogg, as he accepts a bet for half his fortune to prove it really is possible to travel around the world in eighty days. Fogg and his valet set off on a thrilling race against time - outwitting dastardly villains, escaping perilous locales and finding themselves in hilarious situations in this high-octane comedy musical – all mixed with your favourite chart hits from the 1980s! Songs will include; Gold (Spandau Ballet 1982 No.2), Don’t You Want Me? (The Human League. No. 1 1981), Loveshack (B-52’s 1989 No.2), Take On Me (Aha 1984 No.2), Locomotion (Kylie Minogue 1988 No. 2), I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner 1984 No.1), Give It Up (KC & the Sunshine Band 1983 No.1), and Come On Eileen (Dexys Midnight Runners 1982 No.1), and many more. The 80s has to be the nation’s favourite decade, big shoulder pads and even bigger hair will collide with one of greatest adapted tales of all time, in this brand-new action and comedy packed show that will keep audiences of all ages captivated.
The cast for the show includes Laurie Denman Musical Director and Arranger, Andrew Bentley as Phileas Fogg; Oliver Mawdsley as Passepartout; Daniel Cane who plays villain, Cassius Gold, Justina Kehinde as the mysterious African-American archaeologist Akilah, and Christina Meehan who plays a company member. Christina, 34, brings a Blackpool connection to the cast having first performed at Blackpool Grand as a child. Ian McFarlane added: “We’ve started working in the rehearsal room and we are having the best time. The cast are seriously funny, it’s hard to get through a scene without someone laughing hysterically!
HOW TO SUPPORT US A DONATION WHATEVER SIZE
Donate direct on our website blackpoolgrand.co.uk/donation
LIMITED EDITION 125 BADGE
Purchase a limited edition 125 lapel badge online blackpoolgrand.co.uk/gshop from the Box Office, or one of our Friends of The Grand
THE BIG 125 DRAW
Purchase a draw ticket online. Prizes: £1,000, £2,000 and £5,000. blackpoolgrand.co.uk/125draw from the Box Office, or one of our Friends of The Grand
OUR 125 SPECIAL EVENTS
Attend One of our 125 Special Events. Tours and Talks, to Workshops and Shows. We have lots on offer all year!
THANK YOU
Every donation is incredibly valuable to us. Our aim is to raise £125,000 in this Anniversary year. To follow our events and what’s happening visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk/125years
Actress Flora Robson, seen here at Durham University, in 1958
125 Celebrations The most successful stage show ever seen in Blackpool prior to London.
Most of the starry nights of Blackpool’s showbiz story won’t be found on the internet. Who appeared here? What did they appear in? Where? And when? As Michael Caine is supposed to have said, not a lot of people know. Names may be remembered – but dates are the problem. Assured by a visitor that he and his wife had been on honeymoon in Blackpool in September, 1953, when they saw Frank Sinatra at the Opera House. They couldn’t have? Sinatra sang there in July of that year. The irate visitor said: “Are you telling me I don’t know what I did on my honeymoon?” As Eric Morecambe did say: “There’s no answer to that.” Take, for example, the most successful stage show ever seen in Blackpool prior to London. It was the musical comedy Me and My Girl, which toured to The Grand for the last week of October 1937, before opening at the Victoria Palace on December 16 for a run of 1,645 performances. The show was revived several times and then revised, literally, by Stephen Fry in the 1980s before Robert Lindsay triumphed as Bill Snibson, the Cockney lad who inherited an earldom. But back to 1937. A Gazette reviewer said it was “a gaily crazy revel from first to last, a real laughter show the had the audience rocking. It is, of course, due to Lupino Lane all through.” The writer continued: “Noel Gay has written some exceedingly catchy tunes, notably the Me and My Girl and Lambeth Walk numbers. The latter will be whistled by everyone soon, I dare predict.”
The Grand was still a dual purpose venue, but things were looking up. By 1938 the Depression had receded and building was in progress – the Derby Baths, the Odeon, the Pleasure Beach Casino – but more significant for The Grand was the building of the new Opera House. It would soon lead to The Grand’s return as an all-year live theatre. At Easter, 1938, Flora Robson was in a Russian play called Autumn, the first of her nine visits in dramatic roles over 25 years. A Gazette reviewer thought it a superb piece of dramatic and emotional acting that held the audience spellbound. Another great actress, Gladys Cooper, made her first Blackpool appearance in Dodsworth, adapted from a Sinclair Lewis novel about a shallow woman with a pathetic belief in her vanishing charms. In lighter mood was JB Priestley’s When We Are Married, the story of three couples who discovered, after 25 years, that they might not actually have been married. A local link in this play was the actor in the plum role of the press photographer – former Blackpool journalist Frank Pettingell. For seven weeks in the summer, a Tom Arnold ice show called Switzerland occupied The Grand’s stage. And in the autumn, the theatre saw the tour of Ivor Novello’s Drury Lane hit Crest of the Wave. Demolition of the old Opera House began in October, leaving The Grand clear for a full line-up of live shows in 1939.
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Blackpool Grand Theatre would like to give special thanks to Blackpool Gazette and Barry Band for their assistance in creating this special publication to celebrate The Grand Theatre’s 125th Anniversary. Barry has a fantastic collection of books charting the history of Blackpool entertainment and buildings.