We recently gave you a sneak peek into The Grand: The First Hundred Years, a pamphlet that had seemingly been lost to the archives. Inside were stories that we could never have fathomed. It also introduced us to the concept of limelighting, solving the mystery behind the phrase ‘the limelight’, often used to describe actors or performers who are the centre of attention, rightfully or wrongfully overshadowing their peers.
Written by Aaron Cawood and Sarah Jewers
What’s in a phrase?
When reading through this pamphlet, limelighting feels like a mere footnote in a rich history of a Victorian building, but the concept is hard to imagine in a time of strict health and safety we currently live in and you wish more time was spent explaining how it fit in at The Grand.
“Electricity had not been introduced into the theatre at the time and limelighting, for the making of which the theatre had a plant, was used. People sitting in the wings had the alarming experience of seeing braziers fed with powder for coloured lighting effects. The operation caused much smoke.”
Considering the context of fires in theatres in Leeds in the 1800s, something that John Beaumont, the author of the pamphlet, had covered, it is surprising how little detail he gives a topic that “caused much smoke”.
“Following the burning down of the Royal and the Amphitheatre, the Directors were extremely fire conscious. Every precaution was taken to make the building safe. To guard against the spreading of fire, the departments of the theatre were placed in blocks. Characteristically, Wilson Barrett explained that “if the stage were engulfed in fire, every gentleman would have time to light his cigar comfortably, give his arm to his lady love, and saunter pleasantly out of the building.
In those days, there was no electricity in the theatre. Lighting was supplied by 400 gas jets, 15 miles of piping in all, incorporating a most ingenious idea. As further precaution against fire, water could be substituted for gas, and distributed at pressure through the 400 jets in an intelligent anticipation of the present day.”
If fires were at the front of everyone’s minds, even without modern technology, using something that produces smoke to light stages doesn’t seem to be the choice they would have made.
Limelight, from The Grand: The First Hundred Years
Before the lights come up
To understand how such a dangerous technique came to be used and its advancements in technology, we need to back up and take a whistle-stop tour through the history of lighting in theatre.
Greek theatres were built so that the moving sun would light the actors, not the audience. Most British theatres were evidently built with circular holes in the roof to utilise natural lights in a similar way. Indoor theatres then became prevalent from the 1570s, using candles and creating more intimate performance spaces, changing the way shows ran, introducing breaks to accommodate for replacing candles.
‘Footlights’, another known phrase, comes from candles burning at the ‘foot’ of the stage and, by the late 1600s, oil was introduced. The next major development didn’t come until the turn of the 19th Century when gas lighting was introduced into the theatre and, with it, the earliest examples of lighting desks. In Philadelphia in 1816, the Chestnut Street Theatre became the first to be full gaslit. Want to know more about gaslighting in entertainment spaces? Our cinema Hyde Park Picture House is one of the last known gaslit cinemas in the world.
In the limelight
A simple diagram of the limelight
Bridging the gap between gas lighting and electricity comes limelighting. It was a brief period of experimentation and perhaps a laps in judgement. So, what does “braziers fed with powder for coloured lighting effects” actually mean?
Limelighting was discovered in the 1820s by Goldsworthy Gurney, an English chemist and surgeon, when experimenting with quicklime. He learnt that by heating quicklime to 2572 degrees, it produced a bright glow.
Initially used for surveying, the invention was quickly distributed and was recorded to be used in theatre for the first time in 1836. Its first use for to light a juggling performance by magician Ching Lau Lauro in Kent. Apparently, “the whole pier” was “overwhelmed with a flood of beautiful white light”. It seems dangerous, but limelighting was a step forward in terms of lighting technique as it could be focused, meaning the ‘follow spot’ was born. Limelights did require constant care to maintain both the quicklime and cylinders of gas which is also thankfully a thing of the past now we have automated lighting desks.
As well as the two theatres in Leeds, countless other theatres suffered flame-ridden fates when gas and limelight reigned supreme. Thankfully, the world changed at the end of the end of the 1870s when Joseph Swan patented the world’s first electric lamp and Thomas Edison demonstrated the first light bulb and we were just left with a phrase.
Brighter days ahead
Since the invention of electricity, lighting everywhere, including theatre, has become more sophisticated, more experimental and, most importantly, safer. Rather than making sure the lighting doesn’t set the place ablaze, lighting developments focus on efficiency, making climate-conscious decisions and future-proofing. Just last year, during major works at Leeds Grand Theatre, we updated our auditorium lighting rigging to make sure we can light up stages for years to come.
In the 21st Century, it’s hard to imagine using flame, heat, oil and gas to help audiences enjoy whatever was on the stage in front of them. You can definitely say that electricity stole the limelight.
Leeds Grand Theatre Buildings Fund
As a Grade II listed building, we want to preserve Leeds Grand Theatre for future generations, making it more accessible, sustainable, and comfortable. Everything we do will enhance your customer experience. All donations will be fully invested in ongoing projects, including improved access facilities, changing our lighting to LED, and a new Flying system.
