Ghost Theatres

It is sad to read reports that nearly fifty theatres are under threat from developers and general decay which will lead to the demolition, a fate that has already befallen some of the theatres on an earlier list, such as Waltham Forest Theatre and the Brighton Astoria.

Theatres still on the list, compiled by the Theatres Trust, include Morecambe's Winter Gardens, Derby Hippodrome, The Grand Pavilion in Matlock Bath, Brighton Hippodrome, Palace Theatre in Swansea, Athenaeum in Glasgow, to name but a few. A complete list can be found here, what I find interesting is looking back at the pervious years lists to see how many we have lost already.

Some theatres like Morecambe's Winter Gardens, which has been shut since 1977, have people working to save them. The Winter Gardens was purchased by a campaign group in 2006 but an application they made for £12.8m of funding was unsuccessful a few years later. They now host occasional events in an attempt to raise the money to patch it up and slowly restore it to its former glory, however there has been recent damage to the theatre roof and the insurance company is being slow to pay up causing further decay to the building and adding to the restoration bill.

Other theatres are not so luck like the Derby Hippodrome, which was partially demolished by its owner, illegally (unconfirmed) after they allegedly failed to get the proper planning permission for repair works. This left virtually only the front of theatre intact. It would seem that application to turn it into a multi-storey car park was refused at the site of the Derby Hippodrome, but it is clear that it's days are numbered since the demolition work was undertaken.

I guess it is a sign of the times that these theatres closed with the death of variety theatre, killed off by television which over worked the format may years ago, and the fact that people now prefer watching soaps on television than repertory theatre. Hopefully something can be done to preserve them and generate interest in theatre and variety theatre. In the case of variety theatre this interest could come from the comedy circuit as well as shows like Britain's Got Talent. I know one thing to lose so much heritage is such a waste when it could be preserved and these magnificent building could once come alive again to the sound of laughing and happy audiences.