Rodney Hardcastle
Prologue
In 2022, my first book, ‘Fire! Fire! The Theatre’s on Fire’, was published. It focused on the devastating effect of theatres impacted by fire.
It was nominated for ‘The STR Theatre Book Prize 2022’ which is awarded each year by the Society for Theatre Research.
I was delighted with the compliments I received from the many people who bought my first book. Hopefully they will be just as complimentary about my second book!
The chosen subject for this book are theatres which are still standing, (just!), but are extremely vulnerable. The majority of these theatres are identified in the official ‘Theatres at Risk Register’ published annually.
Rodney Hardcastle and his brother William (Bill)
Dewsbury Empire
This was created in 2006 and it records theatres that are in need of considerable help, effort and support from many organisations. If they do not receive this they will be lost forever. Thankfully, having had the much needed support, some theatres are no longer on this list.
My first experience of a theatre closure was the sudden demise of my local theatre, ‘Dewsbury Empire’ in March 1955 and the life long effect it had on me, my family, the community, the town and the theatre world in general.
My mother, my brother William (Bill) and I attended the ‘first’ house at the Dewsbury Empire on most Monday evenings from 1950 onwards. I was eight at the time.
My father stayed at home and enjoyed the peace and quiet whilst we three were out! Despite my young years I was entranced by the sheer quality of variety the theatre presented. The stars of the day made their weekly or annual pantomime appearances, together with supporting acts. We looked eagerly towards their appearance particularly Old Mother Riley, Norman Evans and Frank Randle.
I also recall very clearly an unknown comedy pair, Morecambe and Wise appearing as ‘The Bad Lads of the Village’ at the bottom of the bill in the 1951/1952 pantomime, ‘Red Riding Hood’. I think you will have heard more of those two since then!
Our family could only afford to sit in the Gallery, also known as the ‘Gods’, costing my mother 7.5p for her and 5p each for my brother and I. At 35p for my mother and 25p per child to sit in the front stalls, that was truly unaffordable. At least we saw the same show but in less comfort.
To this day I remember the sadness when I heard from my mother that the Dewsbury Empire was to close at the end of the week, without any prior notice. The last ever performance was held on Saturday 23 April 1955 with the Dewsbury Collegians Amateur Operatic Society staging ‘Chu Chin Chow’.
Despite failed attempts to reopen the forlorn and neglected Empire, it was demolished in March 1960 to make way for a concrete monstrosity of an office block, nostalgically called ‘Empire House’. The ugly building stands to this day.
As a tribute to all the hard work that the numerous theatre appreciation societies are carrying out, I have selected fifteen theatres and have completed extensive research on their history as well as including the now infamous ‘Did You Know…?’ gossip section!
I sincerely hope that the members of the ‘Save the Theatre’ societies are successful in their magnificent efforts and that we see many more ‘Theatres At Risk’ saved for posterity. Thank you to you all for the marvellous efforts you are making in preserving these theatres and I would ask readers of this book to join me in assisting or donating to these good causes whenever possible.
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Foreword by Matthew Kelly
I love the theatre and so does Rodney Hardcastle. More than that, theatre, to me, is the heart and soul of our community. It is the bedrock of our culture and tradition. A place to bring people together to tell stories without judgment, entertain, lift spirits and create joy.
Theatres are in peril from old age, neglect, lack of funding and sometimes indifference. The loss of any one of these magnificent buildings is a huge loss to our history and heritage.
No one understands this better than the great theatre historian Rodney Hardcastle.
Rodney has selected fifteen of these ‘Theatres at Risk’, detailing the life story of each including the intriguing ‘Did You Know’ section. Most are listed on the annual ‘Theatres at Risk Register’ (devised in 2006). Sadly, more are added every year and the loss of each one to the community is immeasurable.
We can all do our bit to help stop this relentless decline through pressure groups to local authorities, volunteers to community groups, theatre going public to theatre owners.
This book is a call to arms!
I had the honour of writing the Foreword to Rodney’s wildly successful book
Fire! Fire! The Theatre’s on Fire!
My final words were ‘Here’s to Volume 2’.
Here it is – enjoy!
Publication
| Title: | Final Curtain Call? |
| Sub Title: | A History of Vulnerable Britiish Theatres |
| Author: | Rodney Hardcastle |
| ISBN: | ISBN 978-1-7398908-1-0 |
| Format: | Paperback |
| RRP: | £15.00 |
| Pages: | 450 |
| Dimensions: | 234 x 156 x 19 mm |
| Publication Date: | 2023 |
| Categories: | Biography, Arts Entertainment, Drama, Theatre, Regional National History |
