Members of Local History enjoyed a very interesting and detailed tour of the Lancaster Grand Theatre. We were met at the door by our guide, Adrian, wearing a top hat and frock coat and representing Henry Wilkinson who bought the theatre in 1884 and saved it from total destruction, and a lady who could have walked out of a 19th century novel.
We learnt about the history of theatre in general and the Grand in particular which is the third oldest surviving theatre in the UK. Sarah Siddons, Edmund Kean, Joseph Grimaldi and Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to appear in the UK, among many others have played there. Ira was popular because of his naturalistic style of acting, a change from the "posing" style. Adrian demonstrated the cringing, yet duplicitous servant.
From its initial building in 1782, the Grand has undergone many incarnations. Apart from being a theatre it has been a music hall where classical music was played, a Temperance lecture theatre and the ABC cinema. Frank Matcham, who also designed Blackpool Tower Ballroom installed a new stage in 1897. This was lost when it burnt down in 1908. Lancaster Footlights performed there in the 1920s and they finally bought it in 1958.
It has several ghosts including one lady who floats down the central aisle 6 feet above the ground. This is because when it was rebuilt after the fire, the auditorium was lowered by 6 feet! However, Adrian admitted he had never seen a ghost.
We stood on the stage, looking out into the auditorium which benefits from a cantilevered balcony so there are no pillars obstructing the audience's view. And we learnt precisely which is stage left and which is stage right; a rolling cotton reel showed us which is downstage, the front, and which is upstage. Adrian, also gave a practical demonstration of upstaging someone. He told us about superstitions with a possible explanation of the expression " break a leg" and the fact that in many ways the stage is a lot like a ship.
We went backstage, saw the dressing rooms and all the photos of people, many of them comedians, who have played at the Grand and Adrian explained how this contributes to the Grand being able to remain independent. Finally we saw the amazing prop store; it was so crammed we couldn't imagine how anyone could possibly find anything in it!
We would like to thank Adrian for a fascinating tour and if you like the sound of it, they run tours on Saturdays - just ask at the box office.