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____________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Grand Theatre, Peter Street, Manchester Formerly - The Grand Circus / The Grand Temperance Theatre of Varieties / The Grand Theatre of Varieties / Later - The Palladium Cinema
Above - The remains of the former Grand Theatre, Peter Street, Manchester - Courtesy G7uk.com |
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The Grand Circus in Peter Street, Manchester opened on Saturday the 29th of September 1883 and was built for Edward Garcia as home for Circus. Designed by Mr. Weldon, the building had a plain stuccoed frontage and an interior on three levels consisting of Pit and Gallery on the ground level, reserved seating on the first level, and a large promenade on the third level. The building was compared to the Paris Grand Cirque or Hippodrome in a review by the ERA the month after it opened, who also mentioned that the Circus was lined with mirrors throughout and that the seats were upholstered in velvet throughout. The opening night performance consisted of equestrian artists, jugglers, performing horses, and jesters, all headed by the then celebrated Mr. Wallet. This performance was well received and continued to be popular on the following nights. Ten years after the Grand Circus opened it was converted for Theatrical use and opened as the Temperance Theatre of Varieties on Monday the 20th of February 1893 with a new stage and a much improved auditorium. The opening production included performances by the Flying Dillons, the Courtney Brothers, Nellie Leybourne, Alex Day on his Cornet, Lillie Winter, Archie Howard, the Columbia Trio, Kittie Hives the skipping rope dancer, Danton and Dunbar, Ted Bride the Irish Comedian, and the Stanley Combination's sketches. By March the same year the Theatre was being called the Grand Temperance Theatre of Varieties, and by the end of March the Temperance had been dropped in favour of the simpler Grand Theatre of Varieties. Eventually this was simplified furthur to the Grand Theatre which continued in the variety tradition but was less successful than Manchester's other Variety Theatres and in 1916 it was converted into a Cinema called the Palladium by reconstructing the interior and changing the Balconies to make the auditorium smaller. In 1924 the Theatre was furthur converted, this time into a Church when the Balconies were divided and the backstage and FOH areas were converted for business use.
Above - The rear of the former Grand Theatre, Peter Street, Manchester - Courtesy G7uk.com In the 1970s the Facade was demolished and replaced so that now you would be hard pressed to know that there was ever a Theatre there in the first place. However it is apparently still possible to see some parts of the 1916 Cinema and a few remains of the original Theatre such as the balcony fronts, part of the proscenium, and some of the stage, in the present Church. If you know any more about this Theatre of have programmes or images you are willing to share please Contact Me...
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