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Theatres and Halls in Belfast, Northern Ireland Grand Opera House - Lyric Theatre - Ulster Hall - Royal Hippodrome - Alhambra Theatre - The Coliseum - Theatre Royal - Empire Theatre of Varieties The Grand Opera House, Great
Victoria Street, Belfast.
Above - The Grand Opera House, Belfast - From a 1943 Programme.
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The Theatre was renamed the Palace of Varieties in 1904 and the name survived until 1909 when it reverted to it's former title but Variety continued through the 1920s and 30s. Right - Programme for 'Paddy The Next Best Thing' at the Grand Opera House, Belfast in August 1943. The Theatre has had various improvements over the years including a remodeling of the entrance and dress circle bars in 1950 but in 1961 the Theatre was converted for Cinema use. This continued for many years until bomb damage caused the Theatre's closure. The building reopened as a Theatre again after extensive refurbishment in the 1980s when it was completely restored and modernised. The Theatres Trust says that the 'magnificent auditorium is probably the best surviving example in the UK of the oriental style applied to theatre architecture.' The Theatre was again damaged by bombs in 1991 and 1993 and the dressing room block in Glengall Street, the stage door, and the 'get in' had to be extensively rebuilt, however the auditorium survived mostly intact with only a small amount of damage. The Stage has a proscenium width of 39' 8", a depth of 45' and a newly increased height of 52', and this Grade II Listed Theatre has a capacity of 1,001. You may like to visit the Theatre's own Website here...
Above - Programme details for 'Paddy The Next Best Thing' at the Grand Opera House, Belfast in August 1943.
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The Lyric Theatre, 55 Ridgeway Street, Southern Belfast The Lyric Theatre originally opened in the 1950s and was constructed by altering the rear of a private house owned by Mary and Pears O'Malley. In the 1960s the Theatre was given a new home on Ridgeway Street beside the River Lagan in Southern Belfast and this new Lyric Theatre, costing £80,00 to build, opened the 26th October 1968. In June, 2008 the Theatre was demolished to make way for the building of a new Theatre on the site. On Thursday the 10th of September 2009 the Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney unveiled the Threshold Stone which marked the beginning of construction for a new Lyric Theatre to be built on the site of the old one. The new Theatre is projected to open in 2011 and will cost considerably more than the 1960s Theatre, at some £17.85m. BBC News covered the story here. You may like to visit the Lyric Theatre's own Website here... |
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The Ulster Hall was built by W. J. Barre for the Ulster Hall Company in 1862. The Hall closed on April the 1st 2007 for major renovation but is now being promoted as 'the perfect venue for weddings, conferences and exhibitions.' For much more information on the Ulster Hall you may like to visit the venue's own Website here...
Above - Belfast street scene with advertising carts for the North American Animated Photo Company's film showings at the Ulster Hall in 1901. The film is part of the Mitchell and Kenyon collection from the BFI You Tube Channel. (You will need to have the Macromedia Flash Player plug-in installed to be able to view this Video) |
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Royal Hippodrome,
Belfast
Above - The Hippodrome, Belfast from a postcard. The Royal Hippodrome Theatre was built by Bertie Crewe and opened in 1907. The Theatre was demolished in 1996. |
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The Alhambra Theatre was built by Stevenson and opened in 1873 . The Theatre was destroyed by fire and demolished in 1959. Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed here in 1892. |
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The Coliseum,
Belfast The Coliseum was built in 1875 and was rebuilt in 1909 and renamed the Alexandra Music Hall. By 1958 only a fragment remained of this Theatre. Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed at the Coliseum, Belfast in 1861, 1862 |
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Arthur Lloyd is known to have performed here in 1890. If you have any information or images you are willing to share for this Theatre then please Contact Me here... |
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Empire Theatre of Varieties, Belfast The Empire Theatre, also known as the Theatre of Varieties, was built in 1894 and demolished in 1965. If you have any more information or images you are willing to share about any of Belfast's Theatres then please Contact Me here... |
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The
Grand Opera House, Great Victoria Street, in Northern Ireland's Capital
City Belfast, was built by the renowned Theatre Architect 
