Last updated 15:54, Wednesday, 30 April 2008

IN THE days before cinemas, public entertainment in Whitehaven mainly took the form of amateur or semi-professional music-hall type acts throughout the pubs.

the final curtain: The dilapidated state of the Theatre Royal in Roper Street during demolition

The best-known was the Royal Standard on the West Strand.

Although the Standard was a pub, on part of its site there was a music hall reputedly built in about 1880 (and there are suggestions that it was built much earlier than that).

It adjoined the pub and replaced two cottages. My late father once informed me that, in the 1920s, a type of music hall entertainment was still held in the upper room of The Standard. These acts were varied but of a quite unsophisticated nature.

It seems that the fame of the Royal Standard had spread far beyond Whitehaven – a playbill, dated 1820, now preserved, stated that ‘two artistes, direct from the Royal Standard will appear in Liverpool’. This reinforces the supposition that the Music Hall was erected far earlier than the official date of 1880. To support that contention the Royal Standard ‘Theatre’ was mentioned in The Directory of 1847 and Slater’s Directory of 1848 (both national publications.)

The music hall annexe of the Royal Standard was demolished in 1954 as part of alterations to the pub.

In 1736 the Assembly Rooms were built in Howgill Street and the Howgill Street Theatre came into being. A playbill from January 1756 confirms its founding as preceding that of the newcomer, the Theatre Royal. An interesting footnote to their playbills reads: “We hope no gentleman or lady will take it amiss, if their servants are refused admittance, without paying.” Had it previously been de rigueur for prominent members of society to enjoy free admission for their servants?

Of course, in those days of a privileged upper class, the social lines had to be clearly demarcated, not just by the varied ticket prices and quality of seating, but in more obvious ways such as strict segregation.

Another playbill, dated 1777 advertised a performance of Cato, by students of a school run in Howgill Street.

The first evidence of a purpose-built theatre in Whitehaven was indicated by a playbill dated November 22 1769, the earliest one traced. So officially (and according to a plaque erected in 1992 to mark the site) the date 1769 was the beginning of the recorded history of the Theatre Royal, initially named the Whitehaven Theatre, or more commonly as The Roper Street Theatre.

Contemporary records indicated that there were only 20 or so such establishments outside London. It may seem surprising that Whitehaven had been selected as a suitable place for a theatre but it must be remembered that, in the 18th to mid-19th centuries, Whitehaven was a town of much importance in the English commercial world. With a population approaching 10,000 it compared in size to Hull and York.

The theatre, modelled on the one in Bath, was built in Roper Street, less than a stone’s throw away from the beautiful Old Trinity Church, now also sadly demolished. The Theatre Royal, Whitehaven, was by far the most important and sophisticated place of entertainment in Cumberland.

In 1774 The Cumberland Pacquet contained details of performances in the theatre, which was open three days a week. Prominent notices were displayed outside, such as “Nothing under full price be taken”, and “No money back once the curtain has gone up”.

In 1778 performances were advertised as being given “by His Majesty’s Servants” (the sobriquet was used by two actors, Messrs Austin and Whitlock) – the name reserved for actors who played in Theatres Royal. From this period onwards the name of the theatre was therefore changed to the Theatre Royal.

In 1768 a new theatre had been opened, apparently near the bottom of Rosemary Lane where it joins the Market Place; and in 1774, a well-known dancing master advertised dances in this theatre. The building was also used for church meetings.

On one occasion, in 1780, a group of players applied for a licence to re-open the theatre, which had been temporarily closed. They were advised to obtain the consent of the local landowner, the Earl of Lonsdale but, through an oversight, they neglected to do so and put on their show.

The Earl was enraged when he heard of this unauthorised show and had the players arrested and committed to prison in Penrith. There was no appeal against the Earl’s diktat, which is evidence of the vast powers he had over the hoi polloi. A certain amount of satisfaction was obtained later, through the publication of a cutting, satirical pamphlet excoriating the Earl and which must have put him into a towering rage.

Of lesser importance but still noteworthy is the fact that there was also a music hall attached to the old Shakespeare Hotel in Roper Street (now defunct). This was active from the late 1860s until the early 20th century. It is thought that artistes who appeared at The Standard also performed their acts at the Shakespeare.

To return to the Theatre Royal. Almost a century after its opening it was closed for renovation but reopened in 1869. Further improvements followed in 1870-1 and in 1909. However, by the 1930s the building had become a fire risk and was closed permanently; it was eventually demolished in 1960, having fallen into a state of utter disrepair.

During its heydays, one has only to read the names of thespians who trod the boards at the Theatre Royal to appreciate that it had much importance nationally as a serious theatre: William C. McCready, a renowned Victorian actor, appeared at the theatre, as, much later, did (Sir) Donald Wolfit who, when playing there in 1922 was ‘given the bird’. He survived this misfortune and went on to fame and fortune on stage and cinema as one of the greatest actors of his generation.

Several of the better known actors on the English stage appeared at the Theatre Royal. In May 1844 Mr Charles Kean and Mrs Charles Kean – “the first and most celebrated of British Artistes” headed the bill.

Mr Corbet Cooke appeared at the Theatre on January 7 1847, in The Cricket on the Hearth, with, additionally, a ‘variety of singing’; the advertisement for this appeared directly above an advertisement for “Crosthwaites’ occult lozenges”!

In a playbill for productions in February/March 1848, amusing and humble invitations were given to the local aristocracy to attend performances and on March 9 1900, a patriotic entertainment was offered in aid of the Transvaal War Fund, as the Boer War had broken out. In those days, appeals to patriotism never failed to succeed.

The Theatre Royal ticket prices are interesting:

1844: Boxes: 4s (shillings). Upper Boxes 2/6d; Pit: 2/-; Gallery: 1/-.

1847: Boxes: 2/6d; Upper Boxes 1/6d; Pit: 1/-; Gallery: 6d.

1848: As above but half-price at Nine o’ Clock (yet no starting time shown in the advertisement.

1880: 3s (shillings), 2s., 1s., and 6d. Children half-price. Zero inflation really!

In 1913, a theatre bill giving details of the programme at the Theatre Royal for the week beginning March 17 1913, came into the hands of The Whitehaven News. This item is especially interesting because it lists one Mr. Charles E. Jagger as the pianist at the Theatre in those days. Later, he became pianist at the Royal Standard Inn Music Hall and also at the first picture palace above the old butter hall in the Market Place. In view of rock singer Mick Jagger’s family connections with the town, one need only put two and two together to ascertain the connection...

But the public eventually appeared to tire of music hall entertainment. The advent of moving pictures heralded the death knell for live theatre, certainly in the smaller towns. The Queen’s Cinema was built in 1928, near the Market Hall, and was used for both theatrical and film entertainment. Other cinemas were the Gaiety in Tangier Street and The Empire in Roper Street. These two cinemas were custom-built for use as such and could not be adapted for use as live theatres.

All three cinemas enjoyed good audiences until the advent of television.

The Kells Community Centre was opened in 1940. It was an advanced type of entertainment complex, with an auditorium capable of holding 750 people; plus a large stage and dressing rooms. Although the auditorium was used mainly as a cinema it also staged productions for the local amateur operatic society. The writer recollects watching a very good amateur production of The Mikado in the early years of World War Two. As a bonus there were excellent indoor gymnastic facilities and also good outside playing areas.

Regrettably, the whole building was demolished a number of years ago, for unaccountable reasons but probably connected with the demise of the local coal mines as the community centre had been built mainly to accommodate that group’s leisure requirements.