We take pride in how beautiful our theatre is – the chandelier, the red carpets, the tiles – and it takes your breath away each time you enter the auditorium. But can anything compare to the first time? This World Theatre Day, we want to encourage you to cast your mind back to the very first time you walked into The Grand and felt the presence of its history and grandeur.
Written by Sarah Jewers
Theatre in Leeds hasn’t always been so grand
It’s hard to imagine walking into a theatre and not being in awe, whether it’s a survivor of the magnificent Victorian theatres like ours or a slicker modern piece of architecture – but the early theatre in Leeds didn’t sound like what we know today. The first drama theatre to open in Leeds was aptly named The Theatre, and it opened in 1771 across Leeds Bridge in Hunslet. It was quite small compared to The Grand, holding 600 people fairly tightly in a pit, a gallery and some boxes. In 1806, the Leeds Guide said of The Theatre that ‘its form [is] inconvenient, and utterly unworthy of the populous and flourishing town to which it belongs’. In a similarly scathing manner, an actress described it as “miserable and cold”, suggesting the building’s structure didn’t properly keep out bad weather.
Illustration of The Theatre in 18th Century Hunslet. Credit: Leodis.
So great and fine a structure
The contrast could not be more apparent to the early accounts of our lovely Grand Old Lady of Leeds. As we have previously documented on our blog, Leeds Grand Theatre opened on Mon 18 November 1878 with a performance of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and it was clear from the off that the theatre was a gem in Leeds’ crown. In his speech on opening night, first General Manager Wilson Barrett described it as “the first theatre in Europe for convenience” due to its sufficient room for patrons and performers alike, both Front of House and backstage. In a discovery from a recent trip to our archive, it wasn’t just Wilson Barrett shouting about his theatre’s greatness on opening night. We also discovered that a scribe felt so compelled by the theatre’s beauty, he needed to write some prose:
“When Thespis gave his show upon a cart,
and did not even see himself well billed,
He may have shown more real dramatic art,
Than many a ‘Star’ whose dates now well filled.
And, doubtless, in those wild and early days,
When audiences had not event stools,
There may have been a greater love of plays,
Than now, in spire of all our modern schools.
Yet from those days when Comedy was young,
And Tragedy had not yet been born at all,
A love of dramas grew, until there sprung,
To supersede the humble cart and stall,
The great theatres of ancient Greeks,
Filled to the doors of first nights and bespeaks.
The parallel may seem a trifle queer,
Yet in that great Athenian change one needs,
some similarity to that which here,
Has come about in this good town of Leeds,
For not so long ago, folks would repair –
Dramatic students almost everyone –
To see drama acted at a fair,
A canvas tilt scarce keeping of the sun.
From that they came to barns and sheds and then,
To proper buildings built from brick and stone.,
Till now they have the building which all men,
Declare for elegance stands quite alone,
Those patrons of the booths can now see stand,
So great and fine a structure as The G r a n d”
Architects Drawing of Leeds Grand Theatre from 1877, Credit West Yorkshire Archives, WYL762
The halycon doors of The Grand Theatre
Patrons continued to be amazed by the spectacle that even acclaimed theatre journalist and critic William Davenport Adams (1851 – 1904) was singing the building’s praises. Following a later performance of Much Ado About Nothing with actress Ellen Terry playing Beatrice, Adams wrote in the monthly publication The Theatre:
“I had never been to Leeds before, and I do not hesitate to say that, save under similar provocation, I have no anxiety to be there again. Yet what cannot the imagination do for me? For me, on this occasion, Leeds was apparelled in celestial light. Boar Lane and Briggate became for the novice the primrose path which led me to the halcyon doors of the Grand Theatre.
Leeds Grand Theatre Foyer audience. Credit: Chris Coote
“And fine doors they are. Everything is a little new perhaps: there is nothing of the venerable temple of the drama about this brand-new building with its imposing frontage and evident commodiousness. Clearly, you can say to yourself this is a specimen of recent handiwork and requires time in which to mellow but once you get through the delightfully cool passages which led from the vestibule to the stalls – once you put foot within the auditorium – and you are charmed with everything you see. It may be all fresh, but it is all very magnificent and impressive. O si sic omnes. If every theatre roof were but so high – if every pit were but so spacious and well lighted – if every Circle, Upper Circle and gallery were but so gracefully superimposed one above the other – and especially if everywhere there were such a rich profusion of decoration as one sees around me. Evidently there could be no more gorgeous frame for the picture which Miss Terry was about to paint for us.”
A modern first impression
This got me thinking about my impression of our amazing theatre. I first peeked inside our auditorium after my interview for this job, before being guided through the maze of backstage corridors and staircases. Even though I’d seen the photos on the website and had been to enough theatres that I thought I knew what to expect, it still felt magical. It is hard to believe that it’s tucked away beside you when you’re amongst the hustle and bustle of New Briggate. I then think back to sitting in the stalls for Life of Pi (my first show at The Grand), and it really did give me chills looking up and around, seeing the chandelier and experiencing the buzz with, as William Davenport Adams put it, a “gorgeous frame for the picture”: a feeling I definitely don’t take for granted!
Can you remember your first time at Leeds Grand Theatre? Do you remember the magic feeling? We’d love to hear from you! Send in your memories to us via email: info@leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Patrons chatting at Leeds Grand Theatre. Credit: Chris Coote
Leeds Grand Theatre. Credit: Chris Coote
Leeds Grand Theatre audience in the auditorium. Credit: Chris Coote
