Music Halls and Variety Theatre
What started as free entertainment in coffee houses and taverns in the early 1800s fast became an established form of entertainment that appealed to the masses;
The Victorian music hall was a special kind of entertainment culture that staged all sorts of spectacle ranging from theatrical acts including singing and dancing to sensationalist performances like circus acts, magic acts and spiritualism. In this sense this popular leisure environment provided a multidisciplinary space of transgression and subversion, especially for women. Although the origins of the music hall are not clear, it is for certain that it originated as a working-class culture.1
By 1900 there were at least 167 major music halls in Britain and it was common to have multiple venues in town, below are examples of 3 in Redcar! Further reading on the general history of music halls can be found at the end of this page.
Redcar Theatres and Music Halls
Central Hall
Originally built as the railway station, it became Central Hall in 1873. After renovations and a new facade it reopened as the Central Cinema in 1932.
After closing due to fire damage in the 1940s it reopened in 1953 with the newest Cinemascope technology! But in 1964 along with the adjoining Regent Cinema (not to be confused with the later Regent) it closed its doors for the final time before being demolished.
The Palace of Varieties
The Palace of Varieties was opened in 1912, situated between the high street and the beach. It was an early adopter of the moving picture showing them as part of its programming. Though big names such as Vesta Tilley were still the main draw!
This
balance shifted in the 1920s and with a sound system installed it became the Palace Theatre in 1929. The cinema continued until its closure in 1962 after which it went the way of many theatres and became a bingo hall and then an arcade. The building was demolished in 2012 and in its place the Palace Hub with our very own Redcar Palace!
The New Pavilion / The Regent on Coatham Pier
Built in 1873 as part of the Coatham Pier, the original pavilion was demolished in 1910 and replaced by a glass building, known locally as the Glasshouse.
In 1928 this was then converted into a theatre and opened as the ‘New Pavilion’.
After World War 2 it was used as a dance hall and In 1965 it was converted into a cinema and reopened as The Regent. It continued to operate on and off until 2020 when it was demolished and replaced by a modern cinema with the same name.
Gender Roles in Variety Performance
Drag can be traced back to the Elizabethan period, when theatre culture demanded males to play female roles so as to forbid women from acting. Minstrel shows and vaudeville vignettes would follow in the 19th century, and involved performances of the exaggerated gender signifiers seen in drag today.
Male and female cross-dressing exposed the artificiality of gender roles through performative acts in the music halls. It was a very popular part of the entertainment, especially in pantomimes, and served as a tool to challenge artificiality of gender roles and social differences.2
“The vaudeville stage as a microcosm for broader social and cultural contexts that played out on early twentieth century…While drag is not always queer, the association of drag queens with the history of homosexuality as a subculture connected the [characters] played on stage and the issues in broader early 20th century society to the history and development of drag as an art form by and for queer communities. The queer subtext of vaudeville gender impersonation demonstrates the instability of gender in the early 20th century and through this cultivated the development of modern notions around sexuality and identity.”3
Vesta Tilley
Matilda Alice Powles (1864–1952) was an English performer who went by the stage name of Vesta Tilley. She became one of the most famous male impersonators of her time and was a celebrity in both Britain and America for over thirty years.4
Other performers
Nelly Power (1854 - 1887)
Ellen Maria Lingham, better known as Nelly Power was a principal girl, child star and mostly a male impersonator. Nelly was one of the biggest stars of the halls. Vesta Tilley was her understudy.
A copy of the music sheets to “Such a mash! Nellie Power’s great Masher song” can be found in the collection of Ormesby Hall.
Dan Leno (1864 - 1904)
George Wild Galvin, better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era.
Leno was billed at Middlesbroughs Hippodrome while her toured the UK, I wouldn’t be surprised if he came to Redcar as well.
Leno performed across the UK and was billed as “the funniest man alive” when he made his way to America.
Advertisement for Central Hall Pickford and Julian Eltinge in a publicity photo Mary Pickford in a breeches role.
A breeches role refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer.
EndnotesEllen Maria Lingham, better known as Nelly Power was a principal girl, child star and mostly a male impersonator. Nelly was one of the biggest stars of the halls. Vesta Tilley was her understudy.
A copy of the music sheets to “Such a mash! Nellie Power’s great Masher song” can be found in the collection of Ormesby Hall.
George Wild Galvin, better known by the stage name Dan Leno, was a leading English music hall comedian and musical theatre actor during the late Victorian era.
Leno was billed at Middlesbroughs Hippodrome while her toured the UK, I wouldn’t be surprised if he came to Redcar as well.
Leno performed across the UK and was billed as “the funniest man alive” when he made his way to America.
A breeches role refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer.