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Post by sph on Nov 10, 2022 14:53:14 GMT
A thought occurred to me the other day - do we ever see main house curtains any more? Do many theatres even still have them? I worked in many West End venues over the years and never saw the main house curtain in any of them - if they even existed!
When I was a kid, we'd go to see the local panto in a beautiful old Victorian theatre with a big velvet curtain which was down at the start of the show when you walked in - tassels, fringing, the lot - very spectacular. It made the theatre look much grander and more magical as you waited for it to go up and see what was waiting behind.
It seems all shows nowadays have their own show-specific "front cloth" or you walk in to see a stage already set. I understand it's probably a directorial choice and they want to make a show more immersive, but I do miss the spectacle and grandeur of the old house curtains!
Anyway, are they still used anywhere in the West End? Or anywhere at all?
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Post by karloscar on Nov 10, 2022 15:00:30 GMT
Fire hazard? Difficult to keep clean? Old-fashioned. Only suitable for Victorian melodrama. They won't be staging a return.
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Post by alece10 on Nov 10, 2022 15:49:12 GMT
London Collisseum still has them.
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Post by TallPaul on Nov 10, 2022 16:14:09 GMT
Don't tell me they've done away with them at the refurbished Drury Lane. 42nd Street wouldn't have been 42nd Street without *that* opening.
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Post by sph on Nov 10, 2022 16:28:33 GMT
Don't tell me they've done away with them at the refurbished Drury Lane. 42nd Street wouldn't have been 42nd Street without *that* opening. But were they the ones belonging to the theatre or were they just a set made specifically for that show? I imagine most theatres have put theirs in storage nowadays somewhere. |
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Post by lynette on Nov 10, 2022 16:52:01 GMT
Don't tell me they've done away with them at the refurbished Drury Lane. 42nd Street wouldn't have been 42nd Street without *that* opening. But were they the ones belonging to the theatre or were they just a set made specifically for that show? I imagine most theatres have put theirs in storage nowadays somewhere. Future Antique Road shows.. |
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Post by og on Nov 10, 2022 17:03:41 GMT
Don't tell me they've done away with them at the refurbished Drury Lane. 42nd Street wouldn't have been 42nd Street without *that* opening. All of 42's set left the venue with the production. The curtains wasn't Drury Lane's. |
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Post by tmesis on Nov 10, 2022 17:21:50 GMT
ROH still do good curtains, although for more modern productions (which are now becoming the norm) they’re not always used.
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Post by Dawnstar on Nov 10, 2022 17:55:07 GMT
The Royal Opera House is the only theatre I can think of where they regularly do front-of-curtain calls, so they definitely need to keep their curtains! I was vaguely under the impression that the Duchess, the Garrick & possibly Wyndham's had them but I guess I could have seen show-specific ones rather than the theatres' own ones. I think some regional theatres still have them. My local theatre, the Cambridge Arts Theatre, definitely still has its own velvet curtains. plain red. Other ones that I think might but I'm not certain of, as I've not been to them for a while, include the Bristol Hippodrome, Theatre Royal Bath, Leeds Grand, Buxton Opera House, Nottingham Theatre Royal & Hackney Empire.
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Post by Paulw on Nov 10, 2022 22:42:50 GMT
I think that the Palladium still have them, they were used in last years panto and as it was their own production (so to speak) I’m guessing they are still there
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 11, 2022 7:54:39 GMT
Palace and Opera House Manchester still have them (red velvet and green velvet to match the seats) but if the production has a front cloth that’s used instead.
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Nov 11, 2022 17:49:40 GMT
I’m certain the Mousetrap still has them - it helps with the general vintage vibe too!
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Post by mkb on Nov 11, 2022 17:58:08 GMT
Once a staple, curtains are even rarer in cinemas. The Odeon Leicester Square used to have two pairs. One set would open to reveal the second, which opened a few seconds behind the first. It was all very majestic and classy, especially when they were lit well. Sadly, they disappeared with the last upgrade.
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Post by alece10 on Nov 11, 2022 18:19:35 GMT
Once a staple, curtains are even rarer in cinemas. The Odeon Leicester Square used to have two pairs. One set would open to reveal the second, which opened a few seconds behind the first. It was all very majestic and classy, especially when they were lit well. Sadly, they disappeared with the last upgrade. I remember that. I also got to hear the organ played before a special screening of Sondheims Putting It Together, it came up from the floor. Wonder if it's still there. |
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