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10 Notable North-West Theatres
The North-West has long enjoyed a reputation for putting on a good show and can boast of some of the finest entertainment venues in the country.
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To celebrate the return of the traditional pantomime season, here is a list of ten of the region’s most iconic theatres.
LANCASTER GRAND THEATRE Credit: Peter Bond/CC BY-SA 2.0
GRAND THEATRE, LANCASTER
Lancaster’s historic Grand Theatre has been in near continuous use ever since it first opened its doors way back in 1782, making it the third oldest theatre in Britain. Originally known simply as “The Theatre, Lancaster”, the venue was the brainchild of 18th-century theatre impresarios, Joseph Austin and Charles Edward Whitlock. Whitlock was related by marriage to the day’s leading star, Sarah Siddons, and she performed on several occasions at the theatre, most notably, in 1795, in the role of Lady Macbeth. The Grand is one of several theatres across the country which is reputed to be haunted by Siddons’ ghost.
In 1897 the legendary Victorian theatre designer, Frank Matcham, was asked to redesign the entire stage and auditorium, but sadly his work was destroyed by a catastrophic fire in 1908. The renamed Grand Theatre reopened the following year with a completely new interior, although some traces of the original Georgian exterior survive to this day.
Today the Grand Theatre is owned by the Lancaster Footlights and is used as a venue for amateur drama productions, as well as playing host to touring comedians and music acts. An exciting project to build an impressive new foyer has recently been announced.
BLACKPOOL GRAND THEATRE Credit: Tony Hisgett/CC BY 2.0
GRAND THEATRE, BLACKPOOL
Frank Matcham’s work on Lancaster’s Grand Theatre has been sadly lost, but his design for Blackpool’s Grand Theatre survives to this day.
In late 1893 local entrepreneur, Thomas Sergenson, commissioned Matcham to design a new theatre in
Blackpool on a site where he had staged circus performances for several years. Matcham enjoyed a deserved reputation as the UK’s pre-eminent theatre architect and was briefed by Sergenson to build “the prettiest theatre in the land”. The Grand was the first of Matcham’s theatres to use a groundbreaking “cantilever” design to support the tiers, thus allowing him to discontinue the use of pillars and ensure that every audience member had a clear view of the stage. It is still regarded as one of the architect’s finest creations. In 1909 Sergenson sold the Grand at a considerable profit to the Blackpool Tower Company.
During its heyday the Grand hosted many of the leading variety stars of the day such as the North-West’s very own Gracie Fields and Arthur Askey, as well as theatrical greats like John Gielgud and Noel Coward. However, in 1972, following a decade or more of declining audiences, the Grand was threatened with demolition and was only saved for posterity because it had been Grade-II listed the previous year. After several years as a bingo hall, the Grand was finally reopened as a theatre in May 1981 when Prince Charles attended a Royal Gala Performance.
The battle to preserve the theatre’s treasured historic features remains ongoing, not helped recently by its prolonged closure because of the Covid pandemic. Let’s hope Blackpool’s Grand Theatre continues to offer audiences a magical theatrical experience for years to come.
KING GEORGE’S HALL, BLACKBURN Credit: Tim Green/CC BY 2.0
KING GEORGE’S HALL, BLACKBURN
Blackburn’s popular arts venue has just celebrated its centenary. Originally to be called Blackburn Public Halls, it took its current name when the then monarch, King George V, laid the foundation stone for the new building in July 1913. The venue’s completion was delayed because of World War I and the King George’s Hall did not officially open its doors to audiences until eight years later. That very first concert in October 1921 featured a performance by the prestigious Halle Orchestra, who still play regularly there today.
The impressive neo-classical building was sympathetically restored in 1994 and many of its original features remain.
The list of acts to appear at King George’s Hall over the years reads like a Who’s Who of pop music. In 1963 The Beatles took star billing, on a night which also featured performances from Roy Orbison and Gerry and The Pacemakers. Another pop icon, David Bowie, also famously visited there in 1973 as part of his Ziggy Stardust tour. Other legendary acts to appear at the venue include Queen, Blondie, Status Quo, The Stranglers and Take That.
MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE & PALACE THEATRE Credit: estherpoon / Shutterstock.com
PALACE THEATRE, MANCHESTER
The Palace Theatre on Oxford Street first opened its doors as the “Manchester Palace of Varieties” in May 1891. Designed by architect Alfred Darbyshire, the theatre cost a then considerable £40,000 to build. Frank Matcham worked on some later improvements to the building, before, in 1913, architect Bertie Crewe was placed in charge of a significant renovation project. The theatre reopened seven months later with a performance by escapologist Harry Houdini.
The Palace played host to many of the leading Music Hall acts of the early 20th century including Harry Lauder, Marie Lloyd and Vesta Tilley. The 1917 Christmas pantomime, Babes in the Wood, made headlines for featuring a set made entirely from Meccano. The theatre suffered a direct hit from a German bomb during the Manchester Blitz of 1940, but remained open throughout the wartime years.
The legendary Judy Garland appeared at the Palace Theatre in June 1951, with prices starting at just over three shillings per head for a seat in the Balcony. Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Danny Kaye are just some of the other cinematic greats to tread the boards there.
The theatre continues to host major musical touring productions, as well as comedy, ballet and drama, and enjoys a reputation today as one of the leading theatrical venues outside London.
LIVERPOOL EMPIRE THEATRE Credit: cowardlion / Shutterstock.com
EMPIRE THEATRE, LIVERPOOL
One of the city’s most notable landmarks, the current Liverpool Empire is the second theatre to be built at its present Lime Street location. The first theatre on the site opened in October 1866 and underwent several name changes before making way for the current building in the mid-1920s. The new Liverpool Empire Theatre created quite a stir when it opened its doors for the first time in 1925. Its innovative two-tier auditorium, consisting of just stalls and circle, was the largest of its kind in the UK and it also claimed to have the country’s then largest stage.
Following in the footsteps of the internationally renowned Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, a local group called the Quarrymen made their debut at the theatre in 1957. They subsequently performed at the venue on several further occasions under their new name of The Beatles. What proved to be the Fab Four’s final two shows in their native city took place at the Empire in December 1965. Over forty thousand people are said to have applied for tickets for the two shows.
In 2007, with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in attendance, the Empire staged the Royal Variety Performance, to commemorate Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture. Like Manchester’s Palace Theatre, the Liverpool Empire continues to enjoy a reputation today as one of the region’s premier arts venues.
OPERA HOUSE THEATRE, BLACKPOOL Credit: R Haworth/CC BY-SA 3.0
The Opera House Theatre, one of the largest in the country, is located within Blackpool’s iconic Winter Gardens. The current theatre is the third to have been built on the site. Frank Matcham, the architect also responsible for Blackpool’s Grand Theatre, designed the original building, which was completed in 1889. This made way for a new and larger building in 1910, before this too was demolished in 1938. The present 3000-seat Opera House Theatre, designed in a modernist Art Deco style, opened the following year. On the first night George Formby performed in a revue called Turned Out Nice Again.
When Blackpool’s popularity as a family holiday resort was at its height, the Opera House was renowned for its summer spectaculars. In April 1955 the first Royal Variety Performance to be held outside London was staged at the venue. The list of performers included Morecambe-born Eric Bartholomew with his comedy partner Ernest Wiseman, better known as legendary comedy duo, Morecambe and Wise. Reginald Dixon played the theatre’s Wurlitzer organ, which is still regularly used today.
The Royal Variety Performance returned to the Opera House in 2009. Compered by Peter Kay, the show featured a host of modern-day greats including Michael Bublé, Lady Gaga, Bette Midler and Whoopi Goldberg.
LOWRY COMPLEX,SALFORD QUAYS
THE LOWRY, SALFORD
The Queen officially opened The Lowry in October 2000. The development of this fine theatre and gallery complex, which is situated on the waterfront at Salford Quays, formed part of a larger scheme to regenerate the rundown area around the former Salford Docks.
The Lowry houses three theatre spaces. The Lyric Theatre seats 1730 people and has the largest stage in the UK outside London’s West End. The Quays Theatre seats 466 people and there is also a smaller drama studio. From the start the complex has prided itself on presenting a wideranging programme covering many different aspects of the performing arts including drama, music, dance, comedy and children’s shows.
The Lowry has staged many world and UK premieres and in 2011 hosted the Royal Variety Performance, when it returned to the North-West for the third time in four years. Now into its third decade, the venue continues to provide a spectacular and varied schedule of performances.
BURNLEY MECHANICS THEATRE
BURNLEY MECHANICS THEATRE
As the name suggests, the fine Grade II* listed building, in which this theatre is situated, started out life as a Mechanics Institute. Designed by Todmorden architect, James Green, it was opened in 1855 with the aim of providing the local adult workforce with a facility where they could continue their education and learn new technical skills. By the time the Mechanics Institute reached its centenary in the 1950s, it had lost its original educational purpose and had largely become a social club, so it was little surprise when it closed its doors for the final time in 1959.
The building was subsequently purchased by Burnley Council and leased to various leisure businesses before again facing closure in the late 1970s. The historic venue was, however, saved for posterity when, after a successful large scale refurbishment project, Burnley Mechanics was reopened as a theatre and arts centre in 1986. The Queen performed the official opening ceremony on a visit to the town.
Ever since, Burnley Mechanics has been a popular arts and entertainment venue, with a varied programme offering something for all the family. Burnley-born Sir Ian McKellen appeared at the Mechanics as part of his 80th birthday tour in 2019.
BOLTON’S OCTAGON THEATRE Credit: University of Salford/CC BY 2.0
OCTAGON THEATRE, BOLTON
When the Octagon was officially opened by Princess Margaret in November 1967, it was the first professional theatre to be built in the North-West since World War II. Its name has proved a source of confusion from the start, as, the exterior of the glass-plated building is hexagonal in shape and it was only called the Octagon to avoid confusion with Reading’s pre-existing Hexagon Theatre.
The first production at the Octagon was the world premiere of the play, Annie and Fanny, by local playwright, Bill Naughton. Best known today for his 1963 play, Alfie, which was subsequently made into a successful film starring Michael Caine, many of Naughton’s plays were first performed at the Octagon. When, in the early 1990s, the building was extended to add a studio theatre, the new annex was named in Naughton’s honour. Built with the help of public donations, the Octagon has always prided itself on supporting local northern talent. One of Bolton’s favourite sons, Peter Kay, even worked for a while in the theatre’s ticket office.
Bolton’s major cultural attraction has undergone a big redevelopment project over the last couple of years. With theatres across the region now reopen, audiences are now finally able to experience first-hand the Octagon’s new and improved facilities.
CHORLEY LITTLE THEATRE Credit: Chorley Robbie/CC BY-SA 3.0
CHORLEY LITTLE THEATRE
The building in which Chorley Little Theatre is now housed has been a popular entertainment venue ever since it first opened its doors in 1910 as Chorley’s first purpose-built cinema. The Empire Picture House, as it was then called, closed in the late 1950s and the building was subsequently acquired by Chorley’s Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society.
Since 1960 the Society has staged at least six productions per year at the theatre until the Covid-19 pandemic brought a temporary halt to activities. Run entirely by volunteers, the theatre’s shows have won many awards over the years and some notable performers have gone on to enjoy highly successful film and theatre careers including Steve Pemberton and Jodie Prenger. The latter was the support act for Liverpool comedy legend, Ken Dodd, when he made a special performance at the theatre in 1999 to raise much-needed funds.
The building is also still used for film screenings, making it one of the oldest still operating purpose-built cinemas in the world.
Chorley is just one of several towns in the North-West to have its own Little Theatre. These venues are usually more compact and less well-known than their grander counterparts, but deserve to be recognised for the important part they play in making the arts accessible to their local communities.
