Alexandra Palace Theatre: Difference between revisions
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== 1901 - Alexandra Palace Trust == |
== 1901 - Alexandra Palace Trust == |
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An unprotected film projector was installed in 1901<ref name=":1" /> and |
An unprotected [[Cinematograph]] film projector was installed in 1901<ref name=":1" /> and the theatre was mostly used as a cinema<ref name=":1" />. The audience were allowed to smoke in the auditorium and as the projector was used to project highly flammable film, there was an inevitable fire risk. |
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The Middlesex County Council ordered some work to be done in order to prevent fire.<ref name=":5" /> and as a result the theatre was closed from 1907-1908. One of these precautions was to build a box around the projector<ref name=":1" />, which can still be seen in the theatre today.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Willmott and Brearley |first=Nigel and Patricia |title=Drama at the Palace 2 Lost and Found:The Alexandra Place Theatre 1901-2019 |publisher=North One Communications Ltd |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-9930727-1-0}}</ref> Another was to fit a large iron girder weighing 6 tons and 40 feet long above the proscenium arch of the stage to be used with a fire-proof safety curtain dividing the auditorium from the stage.<ref name=":5" /> The upper bacony was removed, wooden staircase to the other balcony were replace and covered with brick walls, and emergency exits and an outside staircase were also built. |
The Middlesex County Council ordered some work to be done in order to prevent fire.<ref name=":5" /> and as a result the theatre was closed from 1907-1908. One of these precautions was to build a box around the projector<ref name=":1" />, which can still be seen in the theatre today.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Willmott and Brearley |first=Nigel and Patricia |title=Drama at the Palace 2 Lost and Found:The Alexandra Place Theatre 1901-2019 |publisher=North One Communications Ltd |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-9930727-1-0}}</ref> Another was to fit a large iron girder weighing 6 tons and 40 feet long above the proscenium arch of the stage to be used with a fire-proof safety curtain dividing the auditorium from the stage.<ref name=":5" /> The upper bacony was removed, wooden staircase to the other balcony were replace and covered with brick walls, and emergency exits and an outside staircase were also built. |
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Revision as of 10:32, 5 April 2024
Alexandra Palace Theatre was originally built in 1873, designed for performance of opera and ballet, but within a few weeks was burnt to the ground with the rest of the Palace. It was rebuilt and reopened, along with the rest of the palace in 1875, It included a 22 foot cellar below the stage with complex machinery[1] [2]for use in scene changes and movement of actors. It fell into disrepair for xx years but was reopened in 2018 after refurbishment. The stage machinery is Grade I listed and one of the few surviving in the country
1875 - rebuilt theatre
The co-architects of the second Place were John Johnson and Alfred Meeson.They worked with an expert in stage machinery called Thomas Walford Grieve, son of Thomas Grieve, who designed sets for many London theatres during the 19th century.[3]
According to articles in the Era in 1874 and the Hornsey Journal in 1901[4], the theatre could hold 4,000 people[5] and the stage could hold hundreds[4]. It had a floor area about the same as Drury Lane[6], but whereas the area of the Drury Lane stage is about half that of theatre area, that of Alexandra Palace Theatre is about a quarter, [7] with a distance of 38 metres between the back row of the stalls to the stage.[7] There were statues on either side of the proscenium arch.[8]
Most of the audience were seated in the raked floor are but there were also 2 balconies, neither of which reached to the proscenium arch of the stage as was the case in many other London theatres of the time[2] [8], and it was reported that the stage could be seen from all seats[8]. According reports at the time the acoustics were good from every seat[9][8] but others reported that the actors had to 'throw' their voices in order to be heard well by everyone.[10]
The theatre was originally lit by gaslight using gaseliers suspended from the ceiling[11] but also had natural light through glazed roofing and six large sash windows, which were blocked with dark screen during performances[11]. The theatre was one of the first to install electric lighting in 1898[7], and the saltwater dimmers used to control the brightness of the lights can still be seen backstage at the theatre.
Early performances at the theatre included the operetta Breaking the Spell by Offenbach, a pantomime based on the fairy tale The Yellow Dwarf, and a ballet called Minerva.
1901 - Alexandra Palace Trust
An unprotected Cinematograph film projector was installed in 1901[7] and the theatre was mostly used as a cinema[7]. The audience were allowed to smoke in the auditorium and as the projector was used to project highly flammable film, there was an inevitable fire risk.
The Middlesex County Council ordered some work to be done in order to prevent fire.[4] and as a result the theatre was closed from 1907-1908. One of these precautions was to build a box around the projector[7], which can still be seen in the theatre today.[12] Another was to fit a large iron girder weighing 6 tons and 40 feet long above the proscenium arch of the stage to be used with a fire-proof safety curtain dividing the auditorium from the stage.[4] The upper bacony was removed, wooden staircase to the other balcony were replace and covered with brick walls, and emergency exits and an outside staircase were also built.
Mr Macklin was the manager of the the theatre but also acted in productions[10].
From 1875 to 1900 Alexandra Palace was privately owned but In 1901 the palace and park became owned by the Alexandra Park Trust under the Alexandra Park and Palace (Public Purposes) Act..[13]
World War I
1922-1936
The theatre was refurbished in 1922, with the general manager, W. J. MacQueen-Pope, spending the war reparation money on refurbishing the auditorium. He abandoned the understage machinery that produced the effects necessary in Victorian melodrama; although much of the machinery is preserved[1],
In 1926 the theatre was leased by Archie Pitt[7], then husband of Gracie Fields, who appeared in the theatre. Fields also drew an audience of 5,000 people to the hall for a charity event.
1936-1969
The east section of Alexandra Palace, including the theatre .was leased to the BBC[14].
References
- ^ a b "Victroian Special Effects: Stage Machinery at Alexandra Palace". Google Arts and Culture.
- ^ a b "Alexandra Palace Theatre". Theatres Trust.
- ^ "Set design by the Grieve family, probably Thomas Walford Grieve". Collections V&A.
- ^ a b c d "Comments and Pencillings". Hornsey and Finsbury Park Journal. April 1901. p. 2.
- ^ "Alexandra Palace". The Era. June 1874. p. 12.
- ^ Harris, Janet (2005). Alexandra Palace A Hidden History (2nd ed.). Tempus Publishing. p. 18. ISBN 978 0 7524 3636 4.
- ^ a b c d e f g McAndrew, Marlene (2013). Alexandra Palace Theatre. Hornsey Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-905794-48-8.
- ^ a b c d "Alexandra Palace Theatre". The Era. May 1875. p. 11.
- ^ "Alexandara Palace". British Newspaper Archive. June 1874.
- ^ a b "Alexandra Palace". The Era. May 1885. p. 15.
- ^ a b "Alexandra Palace Theatre". British Newspaper Archive. May 1875.
- ^ Willmott and Brearley, Nigel and Patricia (2019). Drama at the Palace 2 Lost and Found:The Alexandra Place Theatre 1901-2019. North One Communications Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9930727-1-0.
- ^ Gay, Ken (1992). Palace on the Hill. A history of Alexandra Palace and Park. Hornsey Historical Society. p. 21. ISBN 0 905794 08 7.
- ^ "Alexandra Palace The birthplace of television". History of the BBC.