The Grand Pavilion is an entertainment venue in
Porthcawl
Porthcawl () is a town and community in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales. It is located on the south coast, west of Cardiff and south-east of Swansea.
Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the South ...
,
Bridgend County Borough
Bridgend County Borough () 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. Its members of the Senedd are Sarah Murphy ...
, Wales, opened on 8 August 1932 by Councillor Russell Mabley J.P., Chairman of P.U.D.C.
It has an
octagon
In geometry, an octagon () 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, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...
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 Palm Court may refer to:
* Palm court - a large room, usually in a prestigious hotel, where functions are staged
* Palm Court (Alexandria Hotel) - historic ballroom in Los Angeles, California
* Palm Court at the Ritz Hotel - site of "Tea at ...
for hosting
tea dance
__NOTOC__
A tea dance, also called a ''thé dansant'' (French for "dancing tea"), was a dance held in the summer or autumn from 4 to 7 p.m. In the England , English countryside, a garden party sometimes preceded the dance.''Party-giving on E ...
s, 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 completed 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, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
. Recently, names such as
Rob Brydon
Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He gained prominence for his roles in film, television and radio. He was appointed Order of the British Empire, Member of the Order ...
,
Eddie Izzard
Suzy Eddie Izzard ( ; born Edward John Izzard, 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 pantomi ...
,
Elkie Brooks
Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder; 25 February 1945) is an English Rock music, rock, blues and jazz singer. She was a vocalist with the bands Dada and Vinegar Joe (band), Vinegar Joe, and later became a solo artist. She gained her biggest su ...
,
Cerys Matthews
Cerys Elizabeth 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 now ...
,
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide ...
,
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine 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 singles that found success in Europe and Australia, with both "Can the Can" (1973) and "Devil Gate Drive" ...]
,
Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell (born Ralph May; 3 December 1944) is an English singer-songwriter and guitar player who has been an influential figure on the UK folk music scene since the 1960s. McTell is best known for his song " Streets of London" (1969), which ...
,
Joe Pasquale
Joseph Ellis Pasquale (born 20 August 1961) is an English comedian, actor and television presenter. He is well-known for his squeaky, high-pitched voice.
In 1987 he was the runner-up on the TV talent show New Faces, since then he has appeare ...
, and
Gerry & The Pacemakers
Gerry and the Pacemakers were an English beat music, beat group prominent in the 1960s Beat music, Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. Their early ...
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, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...
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 its golden jubilee with a concert featuring Sir
Willard White
Sir Willard Wentworth White, Order of Merit (Jamaica), OM, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 10 October 1946) is a Jamaican-born British operatic bass baritone.
Early life
White was born into a Jamaican family in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingst ...
.
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 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 ...
.
References
{{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