The Palace Theatre is a 20th century Neo-Byzantine style theatre located in

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

, United Kingdom.

Architecture

Its Neo-Byzantine style was, at the time, considered exotic, up-marketed and fashionable. The main theatre's entrance façade follows the angle of the road junction, being divided into two bays by shafts with domed pinnacles rising several feet above the

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

. Ample foyer and refreshment room includes a big entrance with detailed wooden doors. The second floors has more detail. Three windows with Neo-classic details in-between them. The facade seems to be supported with 2 Arab-style

minarets A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

. The stage tower has a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

. Between the windows and the entrance the main sign of the theatre is held. Besides the entrance facade a similar one can be seen with a

memorabilia A souvenir (French language, French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memory, memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collecte ...

store. After its 200000£ renovation in 1988, some details were lost. In the

interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

, the theatre has 630 which include disabled seating. The theatre has free superfast

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

capable of video conferencing and en-suite toilets. The

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoriums can be found in entertainment venues, community halls, and t ...

has a curiously archaic appearance, like an early music hall, with

balconies A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

on three sides. The ceiling is flat, made up of eight panels each bordered with delicate plaster mouldings. The

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual 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 itself, which serves as the frame ...

has a flattened

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

with a width of 8.5m and a height of 6.7m. The

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is an area in a theatre (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays mostly out of sight in the pit, rather than on the stage as for a concert, when providing music fo ...

has been rebuilt and is capable of being covered over to provide an

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

. Originally the stalls floor was only slightly raked. The Palace theatre has a 1920s style

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

History

Built by local entrepreneur Emily Blagg, who, in a time when the

suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

were fighting for female independence, managed to carve out a successful career in property development. She had already opened Newark's first cinema, the Kinema on Baldertongate, in 1913 as well as building The Park and Lime Grove, Blagg made the decision to expand on her small empire and knocked down a building to create her vision of the perfect art deco theatre. The theatre was concluded in 1920 and opened in 5 July 2020. Blagg was a shrewd businesswoman and, although she opened the Palace Theatre as a

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

, she made sure to fit it out with a sizable stage and orchestra pit to allow for the possibility that the town's appetite for film might wane. And sure enough, within the year a strong catalogue of live events was in place. Its first screening, a version of

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' is an 1885 popular fiction, popular novel by the English Victorian literature, Victorian adventure writer and fable, fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. Published by Cassell and Company, it tells of an expedition through an ...

, it quickly became a popular haunt for the residents of Newark. Its tall

proved the ideal lookout post for spotting fires during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was altered in 1974 by Gordon Benoy and Partners, and again in 1988 by John Perkins when the seating was reduced and the circle slips boxes were created. The Palace Theatre was designated a

Grade II Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1993. While the cinema is no more, the Palace Theatre continues the tradition of hosting fantastic entertainment and bringing famous names to the town, which in recent years have included

Jason Manford Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer. Manford was a team captain on the Channel 4 panel show ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' from 2007 until 2010 and has presented numerous television shows for the BBC an ...

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is an Irish-British comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of One-line joke, one-liners. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regula ...

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading (, born 9 December 1950) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her first major commercial success came with her third and fourth albums, '' Joan Armatrading'' (1976) and '' Show Some Emotion'' (1977), a ...

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 millio ...

and more.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

References

Buildings and structures in Newark-on-Trent Theatres in Nottinghamshire Grade II* listed buildings in Nottinghamshire Grade II* listed theatres Theatres completed in 1920 Former cinemas in England 1920 establishments in England

External links

{{Commons category, Palace Theatre, Newark-on-Trent, Palace Theatre, Newark
Official website

Architecture

History

See also

Bibliography

References

External links