Theatre Royal
AROUND TOWN
sliding roof to let out smoke - costing £17,500 to build.
It was one of Barnsley’s popular variety theatres, yet its gigantic costs came at a short life span. The theatre closed in 1920, reopening as the 1,160-seat Empire Super Cinema. Sound was installed in 1929 to offer ‘talkies’ with the cinema later renamed the Gaumont in 1950. Shortly after modernisation, a fire totally gutted the building in 1954.
The new Gaumont, which opened in 1956, was a bland replacement for the ornamental Empire; yet the cinema still stands today as the Parkway.
Built by Charles Harvey, the hall was renamed the Harvey Institute in 1890, housing the town’s library, arts and entertainment. Run by the council, the institute was also home to Barnsley School of Art and Technical College. Moving pictures started to be shown in the early 1900s. In 1908, during a penny performance for children, a stampede on the staircase resulted in the death of 16 children under ten, another 40 seriously injured. The college moved out of the hall in 1932, with a restaurant and museum opening during the 40s. After major restorations, the Civic Theatre opened in 1962, offering a variety of performances from pop shows and opera to snooker and wrestling.
Charlie Chaplin who appeared in Sherlock Holmes in 1904. From Athur Askey to Ted Ray, Hylda Baker to Norman Evans, the crowds piled in. None more so than Gracie Fields who brought a record audience of 1,390 people – so much for health and safety. Rotherham’s Sandy Powell performed his famous catchphrase – Can You Hear me Mother? Before he became the world famous female impersonator, Danny La Rue appeared in Soldiers in Skirts after serving in the war. And Arthur Lucan took to the stage one last time in May 1954 with his Old Mother Riley skit; the following day, he collapsed in the wings before a performance at Hull and died in his dressing room. When television arrived in the 1950s, theatres took a huge hit, with the Theatre Royal starting to struggle to pull in audiences. In 1954, the owners spent £10,000 on redecorating the stalls only for it to close its curtains for good two years later. In 1961, the Royal became Barnsley’s first bingo hall, before becoming a nightclub in the late 90s.
Empire Palace
To compete with the Royal, a larger capacity theatre, the Empire Palace of Varieties, opened in 1908 on Eldon Street. Seating 2,600 people, the theatre had 12 dressing rooms and an electric
Empire Civic Theatre interior
However, thanks to an application by Roger, the building was leased to the newly-formed Barnsley Theatre Trust, which included Barnsley Playgoers, Barnsley Junior Operatic Society and Barnsley Children’s Theatre, for use as an amateur theatre. Following a surge of donations including £25,000 from volunteers, £15,000 in materials and labour, and a bank loan of £25,000, the rebirth of the Globe into a 400-seater theatre began.
Opening in 1983, the Globe was used avidly for amateur theatre by the Trust, with some
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aroundtownmagazine.co.uk 43 In 1998, the theatre closed due to Alhambra
maintenance costs, remaining shut for a decade. As part of the Rethinking Barnsley development initiative, the Civic reopened in 2009 as a mixed usage venue including offices, a gallery and a 384-seater performance space.
Globe Cinema-Barnsley’s first cinema
At a time of thriving entertainment in the town, Barnsley’s first cinema, the Globe, opened on New Street in 1912. With 1,000 seats over two levels, the cinema’s proscenium arch was 25 feet wide.
Alhambra Theatre
Now a busy shopping centre, Barnsley’s Alhambra was once the site of a theatre. With 2,600 seats, the Alhambra was opened in 1915 by Countess Fitzwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse.
After ten years as a live theatre, the Alhambra closed in 1926, becoming a cinema until 1960. After two years stood empty, the stalls were transformed into a bingo hall before the building closed indefinitely in 1979. After demolishing the Alhambra, the shopping centre was built in the 80s, keeping the former name of the site.
Civic Theatre
While the Civic didn’t open as a theatre until the 60s, the original building opened in 1878 as Barnsley’s Mechanics Institute and Public Hall.
The cinema became a bingo hall in the early 60s until it was bought by South Yorkshire County Council in the 80s to make way for the new dual carriage way which was to be laid.
Globe
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