The Grand Pavilion is an entertainment venue in
Porthcawl
Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the S ...
,
Bridgend County Borough
Bridgend County Borough ( cy, Bwrdeistref Sirol Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. I ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, opened in 1932. It has an
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...
al dome and extensive
frontage
Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of ...
, and was originally intended as a
Palm Court
A palm court is a large atrium with palm trees, usually in a prestigious hotel, where functions are staged, notably tea dances. Examples include the Langham Hotel (1865), Alexandra Palace (1873), the Carlton Hotel (1899), and the Ritz Hotel (1 ...
for hosting
tea dances, balls and civic functions.
Construction of the Grand Pavilion commenced in the summer of 1931. The use of
ferrocrete throughout - then a relatively new technology - meant that the construction was relatively quick and was complete by August 1932.
The Grand Pavilion hosts a variety of events throughout the year including live theatre, concerts, ballroom dancing, conferences, dances, and culminating in the ever-popular Christmas
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-speakin ...
. Recently, names such as
Rob Brydon
Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey'' ...
,
Eddie Izzard
Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime.
Izzard's stand- ...
,
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1946) is an English rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest success in the late 1970s and 198 ...
,
Cerys Matthews
Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s.
Matthews programmes an ...
,
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million ...
,
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.[Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...]
,
Ralph McTell,
Joe Pasquale
Joseph Ellis Pasquale (born 20 August 1961) is an English comedian, actor and television presenter.
He won the fourth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2004 and participated in the eighth series of ''Dancing on Ice'' ...
, and
Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongsid ...
have all appeared on the Pavilion's stage. In 1957 a US Government travel ban prevented
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...
from appearing in person at the Miners' Eisteddfod, however he still performed live via a secretly arranged transatlantic telephone link up. Fifty years on, in 2007, the Grand Pavilion celebrated this event with a concert featuring Sir
Willard White
Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British operatic bass baritone.
Early life
White was born into a Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first beg ...
.
The Grand Pavilion is also a conference venue, and hosts civil wedding ceremonies, receptions and parties.
The main hall features a fully equipped stage, and has a theatre seating capacity of 643. The hall also boasts one of the finest
sprung dance floors anywhere in South Wales. The octagonal floor is regularly used for ballroom dancing classes and tea dances.
Originally named the "lesser hall" (and subsequently the "Jubilee Room") the basement of the Pavilion houses a refurbished performance space now named "The Stage Door", which plays host to regular Comedy nights, folk and jazz nights, dance classes, theatre workshops, conferences and meetings. The Cafe Bar hosts its own series of events, such as Jazz, Chill-out sessions, Literary speaking and an Art Forum. Several metres to the west is the
Seabank Hotel
The Seabank Hotel is an historic hotel located in Porthcawl, southern Wales. The hotel is located on the corner of the front Esplanade and Picton Avenue overlooking the sea. The current building is dated to the mid-1930s. The distinctive white buil ...
.
{{Theatres in Wales
Buildings and structures completed in 1932
Buildings and structures in Bridgend County Borough
Porthcawl
Theatres in Wales
Tourist attractions in Bridgend County Borough