Today, Thu 13 March 2025, City Varieties Music Hall celebrates its 160th birthday. From details about costumes from The Good Old Days to a retrospective on Sir Ken Dodd’s iconic eras at our venue, there’s plenty of history to celebrate today. So, here are some of my favourite facts and moments from The Varieties’ illustrious history that you might not know!
Written by Aaron Cawood
The curtain rises
In 1762, The Swan Inn opened on Swan Street.
You may know it better today as The White Swan, but back then, it was affectionately known to the locals as the Mucky Duck. Unrecognisable compared to the Swan Street we know today, it wouldn’t be until four years later that a singing room was introduced and then, in 1799, that our story started to unfold on that same site – as The Swan Inn underwent a renovation to include a larger music room. Enter, eventually, Charles Thornton, who took over the pub in 1857 and began major transformative work. Then, in 1865, the music hall as we know it today opened as Thornton’s New Music Hall and Fashionable Lounge. Catchy, right?
From building balconies to major works on the building, The Varieties grew from strength to strength from its humble beginnings. Through world wars and socio-political changes, plus a pandemic, The Varieties still earned itself the Guinness World Record for the nation’s longest-running music hall. 167 years down the line, and there’s too much history to mention hiding behind each curtain, seat and picture frame. Here are just a few of my favourites…
Highlights through history
A poster for Madame Paula, The Famous Reptile Conqueror.
1897 – The alligator incident
At the start of our venue’s story, music halls were not permitted to present dramas, ballets and the like. Necessarily then, variety performance took centre stage at venues like ours.
In the days of traditional variety performance, things were perhaps more weird and wonderful than they are now. Whether it was a trapeze artist, a fire-breather or a dancing bear*, audiences at City Varieties Music Hall were no strangers to acts that pushed the boundary of theatre (… and safety!)
In 1897, our stage was graced by Madame Paula, also known as ‘The Reptile Queen.’ Her act, most famously, included the hypnosis of a live alligator! Leeds audiences got lucky. In Glasgow, records suggest that an alligator escaped into the orchestra pit, to (understandable) ensuing panic.
* Also a true story!
Above: Lillie Langtry. Below: The prince's crest, before regeneration.
1898 – A right royal secret
Over so many years of history, it’s no surprise that The Varieties has played host to its fair share of famous artistes and patrons alike. Born in 1853, Lillie Langtry was a prominent performer across the country. Known as ‘The Jersey Lily’, she was primarily an actor, with West End plays under her belt, as well as experience performing comedy sketches through the Vaudeville scene.
She would go on to become a regular performer at The Varieties, to the delight of many fans, but perhaps none so prolific as a particular prince…
So the story goes, Prince Edward took quite the shine to Lily and would hole himself away in the privacy of Box D’s curtains, only ever twitching them open to get a glimpse of her performance. Though history may never know what, if anything, happened between the two, it is rumoured that the beautiful royal crest above the stage at The Varieties was a gift to the venue from the prince. A gift, perhaps, to reward the team for their discretion…
Harry Houdini age 26, c.1900
1902 – Breaking chains and beer barrels
When you think about iconic performers who have made history on our stage, Harry Houdini may be one of the names that comes to mind. We have extensive records of his two visits to our venue – in 1902 and 1904 – from how his performance was ‘extra special’, expressed in the management book from the time, to how much he got paid.
But the part of history that often slips through the cracks is that The Varieties was just one part of a bigger history happening in Leeds. Because, when Houdini returned to Leeds in 1911, one of his most infamous failed escape attempts happened just around the corner.
So,… want to know what happened? Well, luckily, there’s a blog for that!
A programme for a striptease show in 1954.
1950s – Stripping back the curtain
Many words might come to mind when you think of The Varieties in 2025. Comedy, music, magic and more. But ‘striptease’ might not be the first place your mind goes to…
The same could not be said in the 1950s when, in an attempt to counter the emergent success of cinemas, owner Harry Joseph decided it was time to bare all on stage at The Varieties. This led to a lot of fond history for the venue – from children with peashooters taking aim at the performers to giggly nights of first dates gone wrong.
Though our history of striptease is long behind us, it is still an era that is remembered fondly by patrons from the era. Want to know more? Luckily, there’s a blog for that too!
Above: Time capsule being hidden at The Varieties. Below: Some of the capsule's contents.
2011 – Until next time (capsule)
Unbeknownst to most, the wall behind the Stalls kiosk is home to a little historical secret of its own.
In 2011, students from Cookridge Primary School put together a time capsule inspired by the history of the venue and tucked it safely behind the brick. This came during a major regeneration project, which saw The Varieties treated to brand new backstage areas, a state-of-the-art fly rig, and more!
So, what would you tuck away in a theatrical time capsule?
That’s for the future fans of The Varieties to find out, but among the inventory, the students included items such as audio recordings of memories about the venue, a fragment of the original stage, and a strip of the venue’s famous wallpaper!
