The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, commonly known as The Grand, is a theatre located on Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton. The theatre was designed in 1894 by Architect Charles J. Phipps.[1] It is a Grade II Listed Building with a seating capacity of 1200.
The Grand Theatre opened on 10 December 1894.[2] It was not Wolverhampton's first theatre but has outlasted its rivals, including The Star Theatre, later known as the Theatre Royal, Clifton Cinema in Bilston Street, The Empire Palace, and later The Hippodrome in Queen Square which was destroyed by fire in the 1950s.
The site chosen for the new building was to replace the decaying eyesore next to the Victoria Hotel, later the Britannia Hotel, in Lichfield Street, then as now, a major thoroughfare close to the city centre. The driving force behind the theatre in these early stages was Alderman Charles Tertius Mander, Mayor of Wolverhampton.
The theatre was designed by eminent theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and incorporated four shops, two on either side of the main entrance, on its 123-foot frontage. Wolverhampton builder Henry Gough was appointed to carry out the construction work, which cost at that time an estimated £10,000. Astonishingly the theatre was completed in less than six months, from the laying of foundation stone by Mrs C.T. Mander on 28 June 1894 to the grand opening on 10 December 1894. The façade of the building has hardly altered during its two major refurbishments.
The seating capacity in 1894 was a staggering 2151. In the nineteenth century, seating in the auditorium was segregated by class, with the Dress Circle reserved for the gentry. For those "ordinary" people lucky enough to get in, they watched from the gallery where seats could not be booked in advance. The interior was overwhelming with its predominant colours of cream and claret and the ornate ceiling plasterwork. The decorations adorning the box and circle fronts and proscenium arch were painted gold. The theatre, with the exception of the stage, was lit by electricity.
For the next few years, people enjoyed entertainment varying from large-scale musicals and Shakespeare's plays to "wholesome" dramas. Starring in such productions the Grand played host to both the famous and soon to be famous. These included Sir Henry Irving the renowned Lyceum actor and a young Charlie Chaplin who was recorded as being company call boy in 1902.[3] Chaplain later starred at the Grand in one of his first acting debuts as Dr Watson's pageboy in Sherlock Holmes.
In 1909 the Grand was chosen for a spectacle of quite a different kind, when the president of the Board of Trade, Winston Churchill addressed the Budget League from the theatre's stage. Nine years later in 1918, Prime Minister, David Lloyd George played to a full house when he opened the Government's General Election campaign. Lloyd George declared ‘to make Britain a fit country for heroes to live in’ during his election campaign speech.
Until the early 1920s, the Grand was a touring theatre. It had no resident corps of actors but rather played host to a huge number of visiting professional companies, and also to various local amateur groups. During the recession all this changed and the Grand became a repertory theatre, initially under the direction of Leon Salberg.
This shift in emphasis meant that the superb stage and remarkable backstage facilities became available to a whole new generation of aspiring professionals, many of whom went on to become household names. During the thirties, forties and fifties, many future stars including Kenneth More, Peggy Mount, June Whitfield and Leonard Rossiter developed their talents in front of a discerning Black Country audience. Another famous daughter of Wolverhampton, and the Grand in particular, was Gwen Berryman, who later found nationwide fame playing Doris Archer in the well known BBC Radio series The Archers.
1939 - 1980
The Second World War hit the theatre badly. Rationing and shortages of materials meant that shows became austere and it was increasingly difficult to fill the house. Although post-war euphoria brought with it increased audiences, by the fifties the days of large repertory companies were numbered. There were of course some memorable moments, such as the Grand's diamond jubilee production in 1944 of South Pacific, featuring a young Sean Connery, but by then large rep companies were dying out.
The main problem was television. Across the country, provincial theatres were losing audiences and rep companies were disbanding. The Grand avoided closure by changing its format once again and 1959 saw the return of touring companies including Michael Caine and Terence Stamp in a production of The Long, The Short and The Tall, but even these failed to counteract the steady decline in audiences.
The late fifties and sixties also saw the return of variety shows and many famous stars appeared, notably singing star David Whitfield, who had more hit records than any other recording artist in the fifties. His last appearance at the Grand was in 1977. Eventually however in 1969, the Myatt Family, the principal shareholders were forced to sell the Grand Theatre to the local authority for £74,000. Thus ended a remarkable era - the theatre had been owned by the descendants of the original shareholders for 75 years.
The theatre underwent a small renovation in 1970, with the auditorium repainted from its old Wedgewood blue, white and gold to the new Spanish Chestnut red, white and gold. The painting was done on Sundays in August of that year, by sixty or seventy volunteers from the Grand Theatre Club. The paint was donated by the Mander family, and later a cheque from Bilston Operatic Society paid for the temporary scaffolding.
John Holland, a member of the Grand Theatre Club at the time, said about the refurbishment:
'I was the first Hon Secretary of the Theatre Club. We decorated the entire auditorium over a weekend. Ron Howard and I continued to add touches to the paintwork for many weeks’.
The paint was donated by the Mander family, local paint and ink manufacturers and developers of the Mander Centre.
Public money was needed to keep the theatre open. In order to attract funding from Arts Council England the theatre was made into a non-profit making trust, subsequently, a new company, Grand Theatre Wolverhampton Ltd, was born. The company began refurbishing the theatre in 1973, laying down a new stage, improving lighting in the building and strengthening the back wall in Berry Street. Throughout the seventies the Grand enjoyed some success with pantomime and numerous touring productions of musicals, ballet, opera and plays, but, as audiences again began to decline, the theatre was forced to close in 1980.
Fortunately, there were some Wulfrunians who recognised the need for live theatre, and immediately after the curtain fell in 1980 a public meeting was held to start a campaign to re-open the Grand. Fifty people attended the meeting and from that night the "Save the Grand Action Group" was born. Working in co-operation with Wolverhampton Borough Council, renovation work began while the council agreed that in common with other theatres of similar size, a substantial annual subsidy was required to enable the theatre operate successfully. With a grant from the Department of the Environment, the immense task of restoring the building began. The grant was awarded dependent upon the auditorium being restored to its original state. Consequently, the ceilings, boxes and proscenium arch which were painted cream and gold from the original colour scheme, while the use of claret that had predominated up until then, was restricted.
1980 - present day
Seating in the Upper Circle was redesigned, now with an overall capacity of 1200, and the existing seats were stripped and rebuilt, an induction loop was installed for the hard of hearing and ventilation systems were completely renewed. The Dress Circle was given a much more spacious area for patrons to wait before entering the auditorium; while in the foyer new glass doors helped open the theatre to the public outside.
In 1982 when the Grand re-opened it was one of the best-equipped theatres in the country. During the next ten years or so the Grand enjoyed many successes attracting the best touring companies and the theatre enjoyed by a loyal and supportive audience.
On 10 December 1994, the Grand celebrated its 100th Birthday with a gala performance from the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. It was exactly 100 years to the day since the company had opened the Grand Theatre.
The theatre's centenary offered a new incentive to ensure the long-term viability of the theatre was secured. To this end feasibility studies were carried out to look out how the theatre could be improved to meet the ever-increasing expectations of modern theatregoers.
The country's leading theatre architects RHWL were appointed in 1997 with a brief to continue the achievements of the earlier renovation. Their task was to improve access and circulation, to install lifts and air conditioning, to update the theatre's facilities and redecorate the theatre to enhance the beautiful style and features created by Phipps. With a successful application to the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England and partnership funding from the European Regional Development Fund, the £8 million refurbishment of the Grand Theatre was completed in December 1998.
In 2014 it was confirmed that the Grand Theatre would undergo a major refurbishment as part of the Black Country Growth Deal, along with the Wolves Civic. This would help enable the theatre to stage larger scale shows.[4]
In 2019, The Grand successfully acquired planning permission to transform the former Post Office which was located next door to the theatre into The Green Room a brand-new arts venue. Internationally renowned architect Keith R Williams produced the digital designs for the build. The new building was to feature a theatre as well as rehearsal spaces. The renovated building would have played host to alternative events such as exhibitions, concerts and performances by local community groups. The transformation was estimated to cost £3 million.[5] Despite good progress being made on these plans, the site was converted into Shakespeare House; a block of one bed flats. This, of course, put a halt to The Grand's expansion which began as one of the projects funded by Wolverhampton's Towns Fund which was worth a total of £25 million.[6]
After the theatre received a £2 million expansion grant from the government in 2023, they announcement that they would purchase the former music venue; The Slade Rooms. The purpose of this was similar to that of The Green Room plan explained above. After the conversion, the venue will feature a 250 seat studio theatre as well as rehearsal rooms, smaller performance spaces and exhibition facilities. This will a stand alone from the theatre.[7]
Producing
In 2017, The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre made a return to producing theatre in-house at the venue. The first in-house production in fourty years, Brassed Off which played from 23 August - 2 September starred Jeffrey Holland as Danny and featured both professional actors and actors from the local community. Principal cast was as follows - Ash Matthews (Shane), Chris Connel (Andy), Miriam Grace Edwards (Sandra), Clara Darcy (Gloria), Greg Yates (Jim), Tim Jones (Harry), Donna Heaslip (Rita) and Susie Wilcox (Vera).[8]
The theatre is due to produce an immersively staged version of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change which will see the audience seated on the stage, reducing the usual seating capacity of 1,200 to 150. The musical, which proved popular Off-Broadway, is due to play eight performances at The Grand between 16 and 20 July before it transfers to The Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it will play from the 2 - 24 August. This production will be the first in-house musical produced by the venue.[10]
Pantomime
After many years of external pantomime productions from Crossroads Pantomimes formerly Qdos Entertainment, the Grand decided to start once again produce their own in-house pantomimes with the first one being Cinderella for the 2021/22 season, starring; AJ and Curtis Pritchard, Evie Pickerill, Tam Ryan and Ian Adams. The production was the first in-house pantomime and was postponed from the 2020/21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was produced in association with Imagine Theatre. The following year, Aladdin was co-produced with Evolution Productions. [11][12]
The 2023/24 season production, Snow White was the first fully in-house pantomime at The Grand. They produced the show entirely independently and sourced sets and costumes locally. As has become tradition, the show was also written in-house by panto stars Tam Ryan and the theatre's resident dame Ian Adams.[13]
Wolverhampton Civic Hall is a music venue in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It has been one of the most notable live music venues in the county for several decades. It is part of a complex branded as University of Wolverhampton at The Halls, Wolverhampton including University of Wolverhampton at The Civic Hall, University of Wolverhampton at Wulfrun Hall and the Slade Rooms. The complex is owned by City of Wolverhampton Council, operated by AEG Presents and is a Grade II listed building.
The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows.
The Royal Court Theatre is a theatre located at 1 Roe Street in Liverpool, England. The current Royal Court Theatre was opened on 17 October 1938, after fire destroyed its predecessor. It was rebuilt in Art Deco style and soon became Liverpool's premier theatre. The interior of the building has a nautical theme, in line with Liverpool's seafaring traditions. The design of the basement lounge was based on the Cunard liner Queen Mary until its conversion into the Studio space during renovations. There are three viewing levels within the main auditorium: the Stalls, the Grand Circle and the Balcony.
The Sunderland Empire Theatre is a large theatre venue located in High Street West in Sunderland, North East England. The theatre, which opened in 1907, is owned by City of Sunderland Council and operated by Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd, on behalf of Sunderland Empire Theatre Trust.
The Northcott Theatre is a theatre situated on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, England. It opened in 1967 and was run until 2010 by the Northcott Theatre Foundation, when the company ceased operating after a period in administration. The theatre is now known as Exeter Northcott Theatre and became a registered charity in June 2013.
Pantomime is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It generally combines gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale. Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers.
The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various studio theatres over time.
Berwick Kaler is a British actor most famous for playing the dame in York Theatre Royal's annual pantomime, which he also wrote and directed until 2020. In 2021 he parted ways with York Theatre Royal and took his brand of traditional panto to the York Grand Opera House. He has been awarded the freedom of the city, and in 2002 received an honorary degree from the University of York. Having grown up in "the slums of Sunderland", Kaler left school at 15 to seek success on the London stage. He got taken on at Dreamland Margate to learn his trade. He has had TV roles in such shows as The New Statesman, Crocodile Shoes, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Spender as well as steady theatre work. However, it is his role in the York pantomime that has won him the most acclaim.
The Grand Opera House is a theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the period, Frank Matcham. It opened on 23 December 1895. According to the Theatres Trust, the "magnificent auditorium is probably the best surviving example in the United Kingdom of the oriental style applied to theatre architecture". The auditorium was restored to its former glory, and the foyer spaces and bars were reimagined and developed as part of a £12.2 million project in 2020/2021, generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. [1]
Grimsby Auditorium is a theatre situated on Cromwell Road, in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire. With a seated audience capacity of 1,200 the Grimsby Auditorium is the largest professional theatre in Lincolnshire, and one of the larger theatres in the East of England. Built in 1995, it is today managed by Lincs Inspire on behalf of its owners North East Lincolnshire Council.
The New Theatre is one of the principal theatres of Cardiff, capital city of Wales. It is located in the city centre on Park Place, close to Cathays Park.
The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. The theatre is primarily a receiving house for touring musicals, dance, comedy and circus-type performances. The theatre also provides a prominent stage for local amateur productions. The King's Theatre also stages an annual pantomime, produced by First Family Entertainment. The theatre is currently operated by the Ambassador Theatre Group, under a lease from Glasgow City Council who own the building.
York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to offer productions in-the-round. The theatre puts on many of its own productions, as well as hosting touring companies, one of which is Pilot Theatre, a national touring company which often co-produces its work with the theatre. Additionally the main stage and studio are regularly used by local amateur dramatic and operatic societies. York Theatre Royal was one of the co-producers of the historic York Mystery Plays 2012 which were staged in York Museum Gardens between 2–27 August. The theatre reopened on Friday 22 April 2016 following a £6million redevelopment, with a new roof, an extended and re-modelled front of house area, a refurbished and redecorated main auditorium and with major improvements to access and environmental impact.
The King's Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The New Wolsey Theatre is a producing theatre with a café & bar in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is a midsized regional theatre, with a seating capacity of 400.
Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre, Derngate Theatre and the Northampton Filmhouse. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years later in 1983, Derngate, designed by RHWL, was built to the rear of the Royal. Whilst the two theatres were physically linked, they did not combine organisations until a formal merger in 1999; they are run by the Northampton Theatres Trust. The Royal Theatre, established as a producing house, has a capacity of 450 seats and since 1976 has been designated a Grade II listed building; Derngate Theatre seats a maximum of 1,200 and is a multi-purpose space in which the auditorium can be configured for a variety of events including theatre, opera, live music, dance, fashion and sports. The Northampton Filmhouse, an independent cinema built to the side of the complex, opened in 2013.
American pantomime, panto for short, refers to works of theatrical entertainment that have been presented in the United States of America since 1876. The works are derived from the entertainment genre of pantomime that developed in England, presented either as they are in Britain or adapted for the American stage and tailored to American audiences. Pantomime in America, as in England, is usually performed at Christmas time. The entertainments, aimed at families, are based on nursery stories and fairy tales, and they incorporate songs, slapstick comedy, often topical jokes, magic, some cross-dressing, local references, audience participation, and mild adult innuendo. Like the British productions, American pantomimes incorporate audience participation. Earlier productions often also included a harlequinade.
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The Theatre Royal, Hanley was a theatre in Stoke-on-Trent, England with a long history.
The Prince's Theatre was a theatre on Park Row in Bristol in England which was built in 1867 and was destroyed by bombing in 1940 in the Bristol Blitz during World War II. Owned by members of the Chute family for most of its existence, at one time the theatre was the Bristol venue for many of the country's leading touring actors and theatrical companies in addition to being one of the most renowned pantomime houses in the country before briefly becoming a music hall and latterly a cinema. The actors Henry Irving and Ellen Terry made their last appearance together under Irving's management at the Prince's Theatre in The Merchant of Venice in 1902.
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