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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Feb 19, 2019 14:31:41 GMT
If you mean the one in the middle with the dagger, I think it records a rather unpleasant incident in the "day seat" line on the Kerry Ellis changeover Saturday. Blimey and nudity...what happens in the day queue for Wicked?! |
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Post by daisy24601 on Feb 19, 2019 17:29:51 GMT
I believe it is some kind of strip game scenario, where any time someone says the word "riff" or asks who your favourite Elphaba is, they have to remove an item of clothing. I remember waiting at stage door once at the Adelphi and reading an interesting plaque, see below.
I was intrigued and looked up the story.
"On 16 December 1897, as he was entering the Adelphi Theatre through the stage door in Maiden Lane to prepare for the evening's performance of Secret Service, Terriss was stabbed to death by a deranged and disgruntled actor, Richard Archer Prince. Terriss had helped the struggling younger actor to find work in various productions that he had a hand in. However, Prince had, over the years, increasingly abused alcohol and become mentally unstable During the run of The Harbour Lights, in which Prince had a minor role, Terriss took offence to something that Prince said about him and had Prince dismissed. Terriss, however, sent small sums of money to Prince via the Actors' Benevolent Fund, and continued to try to find him acting work. By the end of 1897, Prince was destitute and desperate for work, but he had become unemployable.
On 13 December 1897 Prince was forcibly ejected from the foyer of the Vaudeville Theatre, and he and Terriss were seen to argue the next night in Terriss's dressing room in the Adelphi Theatre. On the day of the murder Prince asked for money at the Fund's office, but was told that his request could not be considered that day. He then apparently crossed the street and waited for Terriss concealed in a doorway near the Adelphi's stage door."
While reading this I realised I was probably standing in that exact doorway!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 18:37:01 GMT
Apparently he's a reasonably commonly seen theatre ghost too...
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Post by Dawnstar on Feb 19, 2019 18:58:44 GMT
Nothing to do with the architecture but I like the location too. Only 2 theatres in Victoria, which means that public transport afterwards is usually more bearable. Compare that to Shaftesbury Avenue/Haymarket, where 6 or so venues will be emptying at the same time and all heading for Piccadilly Circus Station. Nightmare! Three. Don't forget The Other Palace. |
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421 posts
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Feb 20, 2019 10:26:58 GMT
I believe it is some kind of strip game scenario, where any time someone says the word "riff" or asks who your favourite Elphaba is, they have to remove an item of clothing. I remember waiting at stage door once at the Adelphi and reading an interesting plaque, see below.
I was intrigued and looked up the story.
"On 16 December 1897, as he was entering the Adelphi Theatre through the stage door in Maiden Lane to prepare for the evening's performance of Secret Service, Terriss was stabbed to death by a deranged and disgruntled actor, Richard Archer Prince. Terriss had helped the struggling younger actor to find work in various productions that he had a hand in. However, Prince had, over the years, increasingly abused alcohol and become mentally unstable During the run of The Harbour Lights, in which Prince had a minor role, Terriss took offence to something that Prince said about him and had Prince dismissed. Terriss, however, sent small sums of money to Prince via the Actors' Benevolent Fund, and continued to try to find him acting work. By the end of 1897, Prince was destitute and desperate for work, but he had become unemployable.
On 13 December 1897 Prince was forcibly ejected from the foyer of the Vaudeville Theatre, and he and Terriss were seen to argue the next night in Terriss's dressing room in the Adelphi Theatre. On the day of the murder Prince asked for money at the Fund's office, but was told that his request could not be considered that day. He then apparently crossed the street and waited for Terriss concealed in a doorway near the Adelphi's stage door."
While reading this I realised I was probably standing in that exact doorway!
Apparently William has been known to move lots of items inside the Adelphi theatre (as reported by the cleaners). If you get the chance it's worth having a look at what would have been the stage door at the time he was murdered. It's next to the one that is currently being used and is quite ornate. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 10:33:35 GMT
Only 2 theatres in Victoria, which means that public transport afterwards is usually more bearable. Compare that to Shaftesbury Avenue/Haymarket, where 6 or so venues will be emptying at the same time and all heading for Piccadilly Circus Station. Nightmare! Actually there can be positives to getting caught up in the commotion as all the shows kick out. I remember a few years back getting onto the tube platform at Charing Cross and just after me two women with 2 children each arrived, all around 10/11yrs old. Clutching programmes, one of the girls was singing Angel of Music and dancing around and it genuinely made me happy knowing that Phantom had bitten her and that would probably be the start of an ever increasing theater obsession. Quite heartwarming. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 8:50:12 GMT
In many older West End theatres, the "dress circle" was once divided into boxes. They removed the walls when they realised how many extra seats could be squeezed in. Nothing much changes... Wouldn't it have been wonderful indeed to have sat in that auditorium, though. Indeed it would have. Soo many boxes! I did not know that about many west end venues though, know of any examples? Found this, this morning. This one of the earlier revisions of The Adelphi on Strand from around 1850. You can see a taster of the boxes on the dress that curves round. May also be of interest to tonyloco  And preliminary plans, showing from above the dress circle split into boxes.  |
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Feb 21, 2019 10:47:39 GMT
Indeed it would have. Soo many boxes! I did not know that about many west end venues though, know of any examples? Found this, this morning. This one of the earlier revisions of The Adelphi on Strand from around 1850. You can see a taster of the boxes on the dress that curves round. May also be of interest to tonyloco And preliminary plans, showing from above the dress circle split into boxes. Amazing find my friend  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 13:27:29 GMT
Going back to my seating plans archive from 1888, The Alhambra Leicester Square and Empire did, with Drury Lane partially splitting with three rows of seats with the boxes behind. By the 1910s, the Adelphi, Covent Garden, Hippodrome, Little and (out of town) Cardiff Empire still had the same configuration. Pre-cantilever, it rather suited venues anyway, as the pillars caused sightline issues in what should have been the best seats, so far better to make a virtue of a necessity, I'd guess. Many thanks, Monkey, for that brilliant information. It's a pity that there are not more images of the interior of theatres from that period. The one that I am particularly familiar with (I have copy framed on my wall) is the picture (drawing) from the Illustrated London News of the interior of the Savoy Theatre in 1881 when it first opened with Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Patience' and that has no boxes across the front of the Dress Circle. This picture can be seen on the internet if you Google 'Savoy Theatre'. Here's another one for the list. Theatre Royal, Haymarket. Mid 1800's before the auditorium re-design at the turn of the century.  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2019 13:28:24 GMT
I should probably credit these pictures. Sourced from the amazing archive of the RIBA.
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Post by paddy72 on Feb 21, 2019 23:06:31 GMT
 The Stoll Theatre on Kingsway, where Kismet was playing at the time of this photograph....  Inside it looked rather grand apparently...  And now we've got this (so we can imagine what that looks like on the inside even if we haven't been in and had the misfortune of sitting through The Snowman...  ) Is there anything else I can do for you, my old china, TallPaul ?  The mention of the Barbican Theatre (not my idea of "cosy" to be honest) made me think of two things I love about that place- the long, long rows of seats, each with its own door, all closing as if by magic just before the performance starts! And yes, I agree, I feel that certain magic when I first walk into an auditorium. There's a smell too... I always have to look around before I sit down, and then once I've sat down, and if there's no-one to disturb, I might have to get up and walk to the front, look back, look up, look into the orchestra pit. Drink it all in... Mmmmmmmmm, yes. (As Kate Bush once said.) When I go to the theatre I want the experience to begin outside- the building should make me want to go in. Then the foyer's got to welcome me. I want to feel excited on my journey, walking up, down, along to the auditorium. Touring Radio City Music Hall in NY some years back, we were told that the architect wanted patrons to feel that they were boarding a magnificent cruise ship, at a time when cruises were only for the rich and famous. There's a vast sloping foyer you take in before you discover the beauty inside.  |
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Post by paddy72 on Feb 21, 2019 23:07:52 GMT
The Stoll Theatre on Kingsway, where Kismet was playing at the time of this photograph.... Inside it looked rather grand apparently... And now we've got this (so we can imagine what that looks like on the inside even if we haven't been in and had the misfortune of sitting through The Snowman... ) Is there anything else I can do for you, my old china, TallPaul ? The mention of the Barbican Theatre (not my idea of "cosy" to be honest) made me think of two things I love about that place- the long, long rows of seats, each with its own door, all closing as if by magic just before the performance starts! And yes, I agree, I feel that certain magic when I first walk into an auditorium. There's a smell too... I always have to look around before I sit down, and then once I've sat down, and if there's no-one to disturb, I might have to get up and walk to the front, look back, look up, look into the orchestra pit. Drink it all in... Mmmmmmmmm, yes. (As Kate Bush once said.) When I go to the theatre I want the experience to begin outside- the building should make me want to go in. Then the foyer's got to welcome me. I want to feel excited on my journey, walking up, down, along to the auditorium. Touring Radio City Music Hall in NY some years back, we were told that the architect wanted patrons to feel that they were boarding a magnificent cruise ship, at a time when cruises were only for the rich and famous. There's a vast sloping foyer you take in before you discover the beauty inside. |
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Post by paddy72 on Feb 21, 2019 23:28:57 GMT
Big big thank you to all of you who posted pictures of The Stoll Theatre. I’ve only just discovered this thread. Anyway I’ve just showed them to my 80 something year old mum who was in Kismet there which you also showed a pic of. She says it was a cold old barn of a building. The audience was so far away that they all had to exaggerate every move and wear thick cake make up just to get seen. She remembers doing two shows daily and three on matinees. In between they used to go for a smoke up on the roof. She can’t remember if they were mic’d for sound but thinks not. At least they had a full orchestra which she said sounded wonderful every night and made Kismet her favourite show she ever did. Finally she told me it was also the theatre where she first met my dad who was a very young ASM on the same show. Thank you all so much for making a very old lady very very happy tonight.
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Feb 22, 2019 7:46:43 GMT
Big big thank you to all of you who posted pictures of The Stoll Theatre. I’ve only just discovered this thread. Anyway I’ve just showed them to my 80 something year old mum who was in Kismet there which you also showed a pic of. She says it was a cold old barn of a building. The audience was so far away that they all had to exaggerate every move and wear thick cake make up just to get seen. She remembers doing two shows daily and three on matinees. In between they used to go for a smoke up on the roof. She can’t remember if they were mic’d for sound but thinks not. At least they had a full orchestra which she said sounded wonderful every night and made Kismet her favourite show she ever did. Finally she told me it was also the theatre where she first met my dad who was a very young ASM on the same show. Thank you all so much for making a very old lady very very happy tonight. What a wonderful connection to the past history of this theatre and of course a lovely story which this thread is all about. Thank you so much for sharing |
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2019 18:25:11 GMT
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Mar 7, 2024 20:02:45 GMT
I’m resurrecting my thread from a few years ago…
I was in The Peacock Theatre recently and it was upsetting the auditorium is now just a black indeterminate “blob”. If you look online at drawings and photos from the auditorium was new in 1960 and opened it had lovely chandeliers and a shaped entrance around the stage. This had all gone. Does anyone know when this happened? It’s sad really as it now is devoid of any beauty at all.
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Mar 16, 2024 17:02:32 GMT
One of the complaints I read about West End Theatres is the foyers are cramped. Let's choose His Majesty's Theatre for an example. The foyer is rather small, yet all ticket holders use this as their entrance. The reason is that when the theatre was first built, this was not the case. There were separate entrances for each level of the theatre, thereby ensuring the different types of audience didn't mix. Many West End venues are like this.
Also interesting about His Majesty's Theatre is the Balcony (the highest level) is not placed above the Upper Circle (the level below) like in many theatres, but rather it is above and totally behind in an alcove. Can you think of any other venues you have seen this? I can't off the top of my head.
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on Apr 8, 2024 20:00:24 GMT
If anyone is interested, I’ve been looking into the Broadway venues and found this really great site with videos. spotlightonbroadway.com/theaters-handheldWouldn’t it be amazing if somebody did the same for the West End 😀😀😀 |
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