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Grand Theatre, Islington
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Grand Theatre, Islington
The Grand Theatre, Islington – formerly the Philharmonic, Islington, later the Empire, Islington, and finally the Empire Cinema – was a theatre and later a cinema in the London suburb of Islington. Opened in 1860 as a concert hall it became a theatre in the 1870s. After it was destroyed by fire in 1882 a replacement was designed by Frank Matcham; it opened in 1883, was burnt down in 1888, rebuilt to Matcham's designs, and burnt down again in 1900. Matcham again designed a replacement, which survived a 1933 fire and stood until the building was demolished in 1962.
The theatre was home to French opéra comique in the 1870s, melodrama in the 1880s and a range of productions in the 1890s. It became a regular first stop for companies from the West End going on provincial tours, and many stars appeared there including Henry Irving, George Alexander, Arthur Bourchier, Lottie Collins, Tom Costello, Harry Randall and Lewis Waller. In the 20th century the building became first a music hall and then, for its last thirty years, a cinema.
The site of the Grand Theatre, Islington, was on the east side of Islington High Street, at No. 40. It was the location for four successive places of entertainment, under different names, from 1860 to 1962.
The theatre opened in 1860 as the Philharmonic Hall, designed by Finch, Hill & Paraire, with a capacity of 1,500. The site had been a notorious slum in the early 19th century, described by The Era as "miserably dilapidated and filthy tenements, inhabited by the very lowest and most dangerous classes". It was later occupied by a furniture dealer until his premises burned down in 1848. The site remained unoccupied until the Philharmonic Hall was built.
The proprietors of the new hall, Frederick Sanders and Edward Lacey, were granted a music licence on 15 October 1860, and the hall opened on 10 November. It was advertised as "by far the most Elegant Music Hall in the Metropolis, with its Italian Corridor and Richly Decorated Pompeian Courts for Billiards and American Bowls". Initially the hall staged upmarket musical entertainments, including potted versions of operas such as Norma, I Puritani and other works by Bellini, but its standards declined. Ten years after its inauguration it was, in the words of one theatre historian, "a rather grubby Hall ... often referred to by its habitués as 'The Spittoon' from its lack of the virtue which ranks next to godliness". In 1870 a new proprietor, Charles Head, appointed Charles Morton as its manager to restore the original standards of the house. Its title was changed to the "Philharmonic Theatre of Varieties".
Under Morton, alterations included a new stage and promenade and the seating was reduced to 758. From 1871 Morton engaged Emily Soldene as his leading lady, and instituted a programme of light French operas, some with can-can girls, attracting a fashionable male audience. His first big success was Offenbach's Geneviève de Brabant, with Soldene as Drogan, the pastrycook, and Selina Dolaro in the title role. The success of the show was assured when the Prince of Wales booked a box to see it; the production had a highly profitable run of more than a year and a half. The author of the English libretto, H. B. Farnie, took rooms nearby during the run but, as the historian Charles Harris puts it, "he found himself busy in West End light musicals" because the success of Offenbach in Islington stimulated the production of British shows in central London. The Philharmonic remained focused on French imports. Light operas by Offenbach, Delibes and Lecocq followed, though without the enormous success of Geneviève de Brabant. Soldene was in the company for the earlier productions, but eventually left to play in America and Australia. Fashionable audiences from the grander areas of the capital tailed off and the clientele of the theatre was largely local later in the 1870s and early 1880s. Richard D'Oyly Carte directed a revival of Geneviève de Brabant in 1878 with Alice May as Drogan and Alice Burville in the title role. The young Henry Lytton, later to be closely associated with Carte, made his first appearance on the stage at the Philharmonic in March 1881.
The Philharmonic was destroyed by fire on 6 September 1882.
The next building on the site was short-lived, lasting for four years from its opening in 1883. Frank Matcham designed the new theatre, renamed The Grand. In his Modern Opera Houses and Theatres (1896) Edwin Sachs commended the "good sighting and acoustics of the auditorium, economy of space and cost, and rapidity of execution", but added that the building was "not exactly distinguished for worthy conception, or even careful architectural rendering". Matcham's improvements of sightlines were a result of his use of cantilevered steel. His new design allowed the balcony to protrude into the auditorium without the use of supporting pillars which increased seating capacity and gave the audience better views of the stage. The capacity of the auditorium was further enlarged by abandoning the billiard rooms and bowling saloons of the old Philharmonic, and devoting the whole site to the theatre.
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Grand Theatre, Islington
The Grand Theatre, Islington – formerly the Philharmonic, Islington, later the Empire, Islington, and finally the Empire Cinema – was a theatre and later a cinema in the London suburb of Islington. Opened in 1860 as a concert hall it became a theatre in the 1870s. After it was destroyed by fire in 1882 a replacement was designed by Frank Matcham; it opened in 1883, was burnt down in 1888, rebuilt to Matcham's designs, and burnt down again in 1900. Matcham again designed a replacement, which survived a 1933 fire and stood until the building was demolished in 1962.
The theatre was home to French opéra comique in the 1870s, melodrama in the 1880s and a range of productions in the 1890s. It became a regular first stop for companies from the West End going on provincial tours, and many stars appeared there including Henry Irving, George Alexander, Arthur Bourchier, Lottie Collins, Tom Costello, Harry Randall and Lewis Waller. In the 20th century the building became first a music hall and then, for its last thirty years, a cinema.
The site of the Grand Theatre, Islington, was on the east side of Islington High Street, at No. 40. It was the location for four successive places of entertainment, under different names, from 1860 to 1962.
The theatre opened in 1860 as the Philharmonic Hall, designed by Finch, Hill & Paraire, with a capacity of 1,500. The site had been a notorious slum in the early 19th century, described by The Era as "miserably dilapidated and filthy tenements, inhabited by the very lowest and most dangerous classes". It was later occupied by a furniture dealer until his premises burned down in 1848. The site remained unoccupied until the Philharmonic Hall was built.
The proprietors of the new hall, Frederick Sanders and Edward Lacey, were granted a music licence on 15 October 1860, and the hall opened on 10 November. It was advertised as "by far the most Elegant Music Hall in the Metropolis, with its Italian Corridor and Richly Decorated Pompeian Courts for Billiards and American Bowls". Initially the hall staged upmarket musical entertainments, including potted versions of operas such as Norma, I Puritani and other works by Bellini, but its standards declined. Ten years after its inauguration it was, in the words of one theatre historian, "a rather grubby Hall ... often referred to by its habitués as 'The Spittoon' from its lack of the virtue which ranks next to godliness". In 1870 a new proprietor, Charles Head, appointed Charles Morton as its manager to restore the original standards of the house. Its title was changed to the "Philharmonic Theatre of Varieties".
Under Morton, alterations included a new stage and promenade and the seating was reduced to 758. From 1871 Morton engaged Emily Soldene as his leading lady, and instituted a programme of light French operas, some with can-can girls, attracting a fashionable male audience. His first big success was Offenbach's Geneviève de Brabant, with Soldene as Drogan, the pastrycook, and Selina Dolaro in the title role. The success of the show was assured when the Prince of Wales booked a box to see it; the production had a highly profitable run of more than a year and a half. The author of the English libretto, H. B. Farnie, took rooms nearby during the run but, as the historian Charles Harris puts it, "he found himself busy in West End light musicals" because the success of Offenbach in Islington stimulated the production of British shows in central London. The Philharmonic remained focused on French imports. Light operas by Offenbach, Delibes and Lecocq followed, though without the enormous success of Geneviève de Brabant. Soldene was in the company for the earlier productions, but eventually left to play in America and Australia. Fashionable audiences from the grander areas of the capital tailed off and the clientele of the theatre was largely local later in the 1870s and early 1880s. Richard D'Oyly Carte directed a revival of Geneviève de Brabant in 1878 with Alice May as Drogan and Alice Burville in the title role. The young Henry Lytton, later to be closely associated with Carte, made his first appearance on the stage at the Philharmonic in March 1881.
The Philharmonic was destroyed by fire on 6 September 1882.
The next building on the site was short-lived, lasting for four years from its opening in 1883. Frank Matcham designed the new theatre, renamed The Grand. In his Modern Opera Houses and Theatres (1896) Edwin Sachs commended the "good sighting and acoustics of the auditorium, economy of space and cost, and rapidity of execution", but added that the building was "not exactly distinguished for worthy conception, or even careful architectural rendering". Matcham's improvements of sightlines were a result of his use of cantilevered steel. His new design allowed the balcony to protrude into the auditorium without the use of supporting pillars which increased seating capacity and gave the audience better views of the stage. The capacity of the auditorium was further enlarged by abandoning the billiard rooms and bowling saloons of the old Philharmonic, and devoting the whole site to the theatre.