Recent visits from starry names like Kenneth Branagh, Joseph Fiennes and Dominic West might lead you to think the Sheffield’s theatrical reputation is only a recent phenomenon. But long before the Crucible landed in Tudor Square, Sheffield was a thriving theatrical scene with a surprising number of theatres, music halls and entertainments occupying the city, setting up and closing down as cultural trends waxed and waned.
Two men who know a lot about this rich history are Roy Rogers and Chris Reece. Both have worked in theatres across the country in a variety of roles, and for a number of years for Sheffield Theatres, where Chris was Theatre Manager and Roy Marketing Manager. Together their lifting the curtain on Sheffield’s theatrical past with a series of events starting tomorrow:
A Short History of Theatre in Sheffield
Saturday 6th October & Thursday 15th November at 2.30pm
Meet and return: Tudor Square (outside The Crucible) Sheffield, S1 1DA
Tickets £5 (pay on the day) Duration: 1hr 20mins
Sheffield’s early theatres all stood within a few hundred metres of Tudor Square and included: The Assembly Rooms, The Music Hall 1824, the 1st Theatre Royal, Olympic Circus and the Surrey Music Hall. Visit the sites of Sheffield’s Empire Palace, Hippodrome and Albert Hall – with tales of the architects, managers and the stars that trod the boards. Chris and Roy visit the site of the Sheffield Playhouse on Townhead Street with tales of the actors and directors, not forgetting larger than life actor/manager Donald Wolfitt.
A History of Theatre in Sheffield 1750 – 2012
Saturday 24th November 2012 11am – 3.30pm
Venue: Quaker Meeting House 10 St James Street Sheffield S1 2EW (near the Cathedral)
Tickets £16.00/15.00 (Conc)
Bookings: Quay Tickets: 0843-208-0500 wwwquaytickets.com
Chris Reece and Roy Rogers lead a workshop day which includes a presentation with slides and overhead projections tracing the extraordinary history of Sheffield Theatre.
Some of the topics we will cover will include:
• The Georgian Theatre in Sheffield
• The life and times of Master William Grossmith
• Victorian Spectacular Theatre
• Stage Lighting from Candles to Electricity
• The Music Hall – ‘the stars that tread the boards’
• Annie Horniman, the Birth of the Repertory Theatre Movement
• A History of Sheffield Repertory Theatre Company