The Alhambra Theatre is a theatre in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, West Yorkshire, England, named after the

Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ar, الْحَمْرَاء, Al-Ḥamrāʾ, , ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the ...

palace in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, Spain, which was the place of residence of the

Emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

of the

Emirate of Granada The Emirate of Granada ( ar, إمارة غرﻧﺎﻃﺔ, Imārat Ġarnāṭah), also known as the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada ( es, Reino Nazarí de Granada), was an Emirate, Islamic realm in southern Iberia during the Late Middle Ages. It was the ...

. It was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 for theatre impresario

Francis Laidler The Alhambra Theatre is a theatre in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, named after the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, which was the place of residence of the Emir of the Emirate of Granada. It was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 for t ...

, and opened on Wednesday 18 March 1914. In 1964,

Bradford City Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, ...

bought the Alhambra for £78,900 and in 1974, it was designated a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It underwent extensive refurbishment in 1986. Today it is a

receiving house A receiving house (sometimes called a roadhouse) is a theatre which does not produce its own repertoire but instead receives touring theatre companies, usually for a brief period such as three nights or a full week. The incoming company may receive ...

for large-scale touring theatre of all types and the main house seats 1,456.

History

, who already owned two

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

s in Bradford, opened the new Alhambra Theatre in 1914. The architects were Chadwick and Watson, who described it as "English renaissance of the Georgian period".

Building

The building is recognisable for its large domed turret with giant-paired

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

s, an iconic landmark on the Bradford skyline together with the complementary domes on the adjacent, disused

Bradford Odeon Bradford Odeon is the name applied to two different cinemas in central Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. One, in Godwin Street, was built in 1930 and survives; the other, in Manchester Road, was built in 1938 and demolished in 1969. Godwin ...

. Behind this, the building is stepped up, culminating in tall square towers with smaller domes. It is situated on a sloping site amongst other Bradford landmarks – the National Media Museum, aforementioned Bradford Odeon, the former Windsor Baths building and

Bradford City Park Bradford City Park is a public space in the centre of Bradford, West Yorkshire. It is centred on the Grade I listed Bradford City Hall. The city park comprises three main areas (each side of the triangular City Hall site.) To the east of the Cit ...

. The entrance to the building is on the corner on the other side of the building to the dome and has a distinctive iron and glass canopy. Elsewhere, the exterior is faced in white

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

, which has now been painted white and grey. The faience was produced by Gibbs and Canning of Tamworth. Inside, the

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

consists of two tiers, a balcony and an aisle. It is highly decorated with plasterwork. There is moulded plasterwork to the curved balcony fronts and elliptically bowed balconies to the

boxes A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

, which are situated in round arched openings with giant fluted Corinthian columns. The circular auditorium ceiling is decorated and has a small rectangular dome to centre. There is a rectangular

proscenium arch A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...

Organisation

The Alhambra is part of the Bradford Theatres group, which also includes St. George's Hall and King's Hall, Ilkley. The theatre is also a member of the Dance Consortium, a group of theatres who collaborate to bring international dance theatre to the UK.

Facilities

Main house

The 1,400 capacity main house is a major touring venue and hosts a wide range of stage shows from ballet and opera to variety and comedy, musicals, drama and, of course, the annual

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

. Regular visits are made from prestigious companies such as Opera North, the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...

Northern Ballet Theatre Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company ...

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre. Choreographer In 2007, Bourne contemplated a gay version of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Despite the succ ...

's New Adventures and the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

to complement spectacular West End musicals such as '' Grease'', ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'', '' Whistle Down the Wind'' and '' The Phantom of the Opera''. ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * ''Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' ser ...

'' started its world tour at the Alhambra Theatre in 2016

Studio Theatre

The complex also houses a smaller studio theatre, with seating for 200, or standing room for 300. This is mainly used for new comedy, including tours by Alun Cochrane,

Tom Stade Tom Stade is a Canadian comedian who currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with his wife Trudy and their two children. Stade was encouraged to move from his hometown of Vancouver to the UK in 2001 by his friend and fellow comedian, Craig Campbell ...

Patrick Monahan Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, '' Las ...

Catering

In 2012 a new restaurant, called ''"Restaurant 1914"'' was opened at the top of the Alhambra theatre, with views overlooking

. This new restaurant, headed by head chef John Monkhouse and senior bars and catering manager Marc Johannson, was constructed at a cost of £250,000 and has more than doubled the dining capacity of the theatre.

In popular culture

*The Alhambra appears in the 211 second long, short film ''Bradford Silver Jubilation'' (1935). It's decorated in flags and buntin to celebrate

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

's Silver Jubilee. *On Christmas Eve 1973,

Junior Showtime ''Junior Showtime'' was a British variety show for children made by Yorkshire Television and shown on ITV between 1969 and 1974. The series' executive producer was Jess Yates. Jeff Evans ''The Penguin TV Companion'', London: Penguin, 2006, p. 45 ...

did a Babes in the Wood pantomime episode at The Alhambra. It starred Bobby Bennett as ''Robin Hood'', Peter Goodwright as ''Alan A'Dale'', Susan Maughan as ''Maid Marian'',

Roy Rolland Roy Rolland (29 June 1921 – 16 August 1997) was an English comedian and stage actor who was the understudy for Arthur Lucan as Old Mother Riley and who took over the role following the death of Lucan in 1954, playing it until about 1977. Biog ...

as ''Nanny Riley'', John Gower as the ''Sheriff of Nottingham'',

Eddie Large Edward Hugh McGinnis (25 June 1941 – 2 April 2020), better known by the stage name Eddie Large, was a British comedian. He was best known as one half of the double act Little and Large, with Syd Little (the stage name of Cyril Mead). Early l ...

as ''Private Large'', Syd Little as ''Private Little'', Colin Prince as ''Little John'',

Norman Collier Norman Collier (25 December 1925 – 14 March 2013) was a British comedian who achieved popularity following television appearances in the 1970s. He was best known for his 'faulty microphone' routine and for his chicken impressions. Career and ...

as ''Will Scarlett'', Bonnie Langford as ''Babe Tilly'', and Mark Curry as ''Babe Willy''. * The Dresser (1983 film) starring

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960) ...

and

Tom Courtenay Sir Thomas Daniel Courtenay (; born 25 February 1937) is an English actor. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Courtenay achieved prominence in the 1960s with a series of acclaimed film roles, including ''The Loneliness of t ...

was filmed at The Alhambra, as the main location of the film. *In March and April 1987, Tom O'Connor spent 5 days presenting ''The Tom O'Connor Roadshow'' live from The Alhambra stage, while his co-host

Debbie Greenwood Debbie Greenwood (born 16 September 1959 in Liverpool) is a British television presenter and a former beauty queen who won the title of ''Miss Great Britain'' in 1984. Career Greenwood began her broadcasting career in 1984, presenting regional p ...

explored the rest of the city. *

Testimony (1988 film) ''Testimony'' is a 1988 British independent musical film, musical drama film directed by Tony Palmer and starring Ben Kingsley, Sherry Baines and Robert Stephens. The film is based on the memoirs of Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) as dicta ...

starring Ben Kingsley filmed at The Alhambra. * Kate Nash's music video for Mouthwash was filmed at The Alhambra on the 20 August 2007, and had earlier filmed at the Bristol Hippodrome in late July or early August 2007. Nash performed with the touring cast of Starlight Express on both occasions, who learned two new routines for the video. It features Nash backstage of the theatres, and on the theatre stages playing the piano while the show is being performed. *In 2020 BBC Three's reality magic series ''School of Hard Tricks'', consisted of 6 Bradfordians learning how to do magic in just three weeks, which they then performed in front of a live audience at The Alhambra.

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Bradford Alhambra History

Alhambra Webcam Tour

{{Coord, 53, 47, 30, N, 1, 45, 25, W, display=title Buildings and structures in Bradford Grade II listed buildings in West Yorkshire Theatres completed in 1913 Theatres in West Yorkshire Grade II listed theatres 1913 establishments in England