Matcham’s Theatres
In the early 20th century, new purpose-built theatres, many
designed by
Frank Matcham, sprang up across Britain. These were the Empires, Palaces
and Hippodromes, beautiful Edwardian theatres with chandeliers,
gold leaf decorations and red plush velvet seats. Unlike music
halls where the audience sat at tables, the Edwardian theatres
had
proscenium arches, with fixed seats and separate bar and auditorium. The traditions
of eating and drinking during the performance disappeared. Audiences
sat in rows in a darkened auditorium which discouraged audience
participation. The old spirit of music hall gradually faded
away and was replaced by variety.
Oswald Stoll
Variety artists were employed by the season to perform on
a circuit of theatres controlled by producers. By 1925
Moss Empires controlled twenty-four theatres,
Oswald Stoll sixteen. Oswald Stoll built the London Coliseum, designed by
Frank Matcham, in 1904. The Coliseum was at that time the only
theatre in Europe that had lifts. It had a marble staircase
and tea room on every tier. Oswald Stoll was a teetotaller who
wanted to create entertainment for families. The seats in the
Coliseum had armrests and for the first time could be booked
in advance for performances. There were four performances of
the variety show daily.
As well as traditional music hall acts, Stoll introduced musical
spectaculars, ballets (including the Diaghilev Ballet), and
short dramatic plays with major theatrical stars like
Sarah Bernhardt. At first many theatre stars did not wish to appear in a variety
bill with acrobats, jugglers and animal acts. Sarah Bernhardt
cabled Oswald Stoll before signing her first contract with the
message ‘Between tigers. Not’. She was implying that she would
not go on stage before or after any animal acts as this would
not be appropriate for a woman of her status.
Some music hall artists never appeared at the Coliseum - including
Marie Lloyd. When
the first Royal Variety Performance took place at the Palace
Theatre in London’s West End Marie Lloyd was not on the bill.
She was considered too vulgar for a Royal audience. In anger
she booked another theatre for the same night. The posters for
the event proclaimed: ‘Every performance by Marie Lloyd is a
Command Performance by Order of the British Public’. She played
to a sell out audience.
The Origins of Music Halls
