The Alhambra was a popular theatre and

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 Br ...

located on the east side of

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicest ...

, in the West End of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two years and reopened as the Alhambra. The building was demolished in 1936. The name was also adopted by many other British music hall theatres located elsewhere; 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 ...

, in Hull and in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

etc. The name comes from association with the Moorish splendour of 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 ...

palace in

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, Spain.

History

Origins

The Alhambra was originally known as the Royal Panopticon and was a landmark building at 23–27 Leicester Square, completed in 1854 by T. Hayter Lewis as a venue for showcasing the finest in the arts and for

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

demonstrations and popular education. This lasted for two years, and then the decision to add a circus ring was taken. When it reopened on 3 April 1858 it was renamed the Alhambra. The 1858 building conversion to the ''Alhambra Circus'', was also by T. Hayter Lewis. It had a frontage and was very tall for the time. It was built in a

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or s ...

style, with lavish fenestration, two towers and a dome, similar to the eponymous

theatre in architectural style. It was a complete contrast with the neighbouring buildings. Inside there was a central rotunda in diameter and high. There was a secondary entrance to the rear on

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street) and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direction ...

.''Alhambra Theatre'' (Arthur Lloyd)
accessed 23 Oct 2007 Jules Léotard2

The Leicester Square theatre's name was changed frequently, but usually reflected the building's (very loose) stylistic associations with the celebrated

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. By 1864, the circus had become the Alhambra

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 Br ...

. Rebuildings occurred in 1866 and 1881, by Perry and Reed. From 1871, when it obtained a licence, an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

was performed. From 1872 to 1898 (except for 1883–84) Georges Jacobi was musical director of the Alhambra. Over the years he composed more than 100 works for ballet, many of them performed at the Alhambra where for some years the prima ballerina was Emma Palladino. The Alhambra was destroyed by fire in 1882, and was rebuilt in a more restrained style by Reed, reopening in 1884 as the Alhambra Theatre. Further rebuildings were in 1888 by Edward Clark, 1892 by Clark and Pollard, 1897 by

W. M. Brutton William Mortimer Brutton (1 December 1860 – 1937) was a British architect. Early life He was born in Kensington, London, the second son (and second of three children) of William Courtenay Brutton (1831–1878), who was a solicitor, originall ...

, and in 1912 by the prolific theatre architect,

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...

. Other names used during the life of the theatre were the Royal Alhambra Palace; Alhambra Theatre of Varieties; Theatre Royal, Alhambra; Great United States Circus and New Alhambra Theatre.

Entertainments

London's Alhambra was predominantly used for the popular entertainment of the day,

. The usual music hall acts were performed, as well as the début of Jules Léotard performing his aerial act, above the heads of diners in May 1861. Other entertainments included "patriotic demonstrations" celebrating the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

and British military successes. The theatre also staged

and light

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

. In the 1860s,

John Hollingshead John Hollingshead (9 September 1827 – 9 October 1904) was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. After a journalism career, Hollingshead managed the Alhambra Theatre and was later th ...

took over management at the Alhambra and made it famous for its sumptuous staging, alluring

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

and the notorious front-of-house Promenade bar. At its bars, the attractions of the Alhambra's ballet were not merely artistic: The '' Can-Can'' as presented at the Alhambra by the 'Parisian Colonna' troupe proved so sexually provocative that in October 1870 the Alhambra was deprived of its dancing licence. Another example of the fare on offer was this 1882 production, written by Dion Boucicault and J. R. Planche: Early films were also a part of the entertainment, with Robert W. Paul, a former collaborator of Birt Acres, presenting his first theatrical programme on 25 March 1896. This included films featuring cartoonist

Tom Merry Tom Merry is the principal character in the "St Jim's" stories which appeared in the boy's weekly paper, ''The Gem'', from 1907 to 1939. The stories were all written using the pen-name of Martin Clifford, the majority by Charles Hamilton who wa ...

drawing caricatures of the German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II (1895), and Prince Bismarck (1895). Merry had previously performed his lightning fast drawing as part of a music hall stage act. During World War I, a series of hit revues played at the Alhambra that included ''

The Bing Boys Are Here ''The Bing Boys Are Here'', styled "A Picture of London Life, in a Prologue and Six Panels," is the first of a series of revues which played at the Alhambra Theatre, London during the last two years of World War I. The series included ''The Bing ...

'' (1916), which featured the first performances of the song '' If You Were The Only Girl In The World'', performed by

Violet Lorraine Violet Loraine (26 July 1886 – 18 July 1956) was an English musical theatre actress and singer. Early life She was born Violet Mary Tipton in Kentish Town, London, in 1886 and went on the stage as a chorus girl at the age of sixteen. Musical ...

and

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 10 May 2014. known professionally as George Robey, was an ...

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This was followed by ''The Bing Boys on Broadway'' (1917) and ''The Bing Boys are There'' (1918). The music for the revues was written by

Nat D. Ayer Nathaniel Davis Ayer (August 5, 1887 – September 19, 1952) was an American composer, pianist, singer and actor. He made most of his career composing and performing in England in Edwardian musical comedy and revue. He also contributed songs to Br ...

with lyrics by Clifford Grey, and the text was by George Grossmith Jr. Like many other theatres, the Alhambra went into decline after World War I owing to the increasing popularity of cinema and radio. It was demolished in 1936 to make way for the

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

, which remains on the site. The entrance on

has also been demolished and is now a modern office block.

Notes

References

* ''Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950'', John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 128 (Theatres Trust, 2000) * ''Assassins Creed Syndicate October 23, 2015''

External links

Bradford Theatres
incorporating the Alhambra website

* ttp://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Alhambra.htm Alhambra Theatre HistoryArchive Material, Information, and Images on the Alhambra Theatre, Leicester Square. {{Authority control Former theatres in London Former buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Theatres completed in 1858 1936 disestablishments in England Former music hall venues in the United Kingdom 1882 fires in the United Kingdom Leicester Square 1858 establishments in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures demolished in 1936 Demolished buildings and structures in London