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
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 cer ...
of the
Emirate of Granada
)
, common_languages = Official language: Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino
, capital = Granada
, religion = Majority religion: Sunni IslamMinority religions: Ro ...
. It was built in 1913 at a cost of £20,000 for theatre impresario
Francis Laidler, and opened on Wednesday 18 March 1914. In 1964,
Bradford City Council 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 for large-scale touring theatre of all types and the main house seats 1,456.
History
Francis Laidler, who already owned two
music halls 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 columns,
an iconic landmark on the Bradford skyline together with the complementary domes on the adjacent, disused
Bradford Odeon. 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
The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...
, aforementioned Bradford Odeon, the former Windsor Baths building and
Bradford City Park. 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
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...
.
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 a ...
, 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, 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
Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...
.
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
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...
, the
Royal Shakespeare Company,
Birmingham Royal Ballet,
Northern Ballet Theatre,
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 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 roma ...
'', ''
Whistle Down the Wind'' and ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
''.
''
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'' s ...
'' started its world tour at the Alhambra Theatre in 2016
Studio Theatre
The complex also houses a smaller
studio theatre
A black box theater is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction. The black ...
, with seating for 200, or standing room for 300. This is mainly used for new comedy, including tours by
Alun Cochrane
Alun Cochrane (born 8 February 1975) is a Scottish comedian. He was born in Glasgow and raised in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
Career
Stand-up comedy
In 2004 Cochrane's first Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, ''My Favourite Words in My Best ...
,
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, ''Last ...
.
Catering
In 2012 a new restaurant, called ''"Restaurant 1914"'' was opened at the top of the Alhambra theatre, with views overlooking
Bradford City Park.
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 his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
'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. 4 ...
did a
Babes in the Wood
Babes in the Wood is a traditional English children's tale, as well as a popular pantomime subject. It has also been the name of some other unrelated works. The expression has passed into common language, referring to inexperienced innocents en ...
pantomime episode at The Alhambra.
It starred Bobby Bennett as ''Robin Hood'',
Peter Goodwright
Peter Goodwright (12 May 1936 – 2 November 2020) was an English comedic impressionist. He appeared on the ITV impressions show ''Who Do You Do?'' in the 1970s. Goodwright was born in Haslington, Cheshire.
Career
Goodwright has been referred t ...
as ''Alan A'Dale'',
Susan Maughan
Susan Maughan (born Marian Maughan, 1 July 1938) is an English singer who released successful singles in the 1960s. Her most famous and successful song, " Bobby's Girl" (a cover of the Marcie Blane single), reached number three in the UK Sing ...
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
Syd Little (born Cyril John Mead; 19 December 1942) is an English comedian who was the straight man in the double act Little and Large, with Eddie Large.
Life and career
Born in Blackpool, Little was raised in Manchester. After leaving Yew T ...
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
Bonita Melody Lysette "Bonnie" Langford (born 22 July 1964) is an English actress, dancer and singer. She came to prominence as a child star in the 1970s, when she had a notable role in the TV series ''Just William''. In the 1980s, she played c ...
as ''Babe Tilly'', and
Mark Curry as ''Babe Willy''.
*
The Dresser (1983 film)
''The Dresser'' is a 1983 British drama film directed by Peter Yates and adapted by Ronald Harwood from his 1980 play ''The Dresser''. It tells the story of an aging actor's personal assistant struggling to keep his employer's life together. T ...
starring
Albert Finney 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 ...
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) starring
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...
filmed at The Alhambra.
*
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English singer-songwriter and actress.
Nash launched her music career in 2005. Her 2007 single " Foundations" became a hit and brought her to public attention in the UK. Her debut album, '' Made of Bricks ...
's music video for
Mouthwash
Mouthwash, mouth rinse, oral rinse, or mouth bath is a liquid which is held in the mouth passively or swilled around the mouth by contraction of the perioral muscles and/or movement of the head, and may be gargled, where the head is tilted back ...
was filmed at The Alhambra on the 20 August 2007, and had earlier filmed at the
Bristol Hippodrome
The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as re ...
in late July or early August 2007.
Nash performed with the touring cast of
Starlight Express
''Starlight Express'' is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope o ...
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
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
'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.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bradford (City Ward)
City is a ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It contains over 180 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, three are listed at Grade I, the hig ...
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Bradford Alhambra HistoryAlhambra 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