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Marischal Street
818 In 1766, the Town Council of Aberdeen acquired a property known as the Earl Marischal's Lodging which had laid unoccupied for a number of years. It was then demolished to allow a street to be built to create improved access between the harbour and the Castlegate. It was named Marischal Street in his honour.
This view of the west side shows the properties at No 46 and 48 and an adjacent church. William Kennedy (1759-1836), advocate, lived in No. 46, where he wrote his two volume history of the city - Annals of Aberdeen.
Next door at No. 48 was the home of Dr William Dyce, father of the eminent artist William Dyce (1806-1864). Both of these properties have now been converted into flats.
The church shown on the left was built in 1881 on the site of the Theatre Royal built in 1795. It closed as a theatre in 1872 prior to the opening of Her Majesty's Theatre and Opera House (Tivoli) in Guild Street. This building is now occupied by the Elim Pentecostal Church. Aberdeen Theatres: His Majesty's Theatre
3356 Seating more than 1400, His Majesty's Theatre is the largest theatre in North-East Scotland and is now a category A listed building.
Situated on Rosemount Viaduct, it was designed by the architect Frank Matcham and costed £35,000. It was originally built as a replacement for the former Her Majesty's Theatre (now the Tivoli), meeting the need for a larger venue and better staging facilities.
Robert Arthur, the theatre impresario, submitted the plans for the new theatre in 1901. Construction started in 1904 and it opened on the 3rd December 1906 with a production of the pantomime Little Red Riding Hood, of which you will see the programme next in this exhibition. The pantomime played to a full house on its opening night and ran until the end of the year to great success.
Arthur's company presented plays, opera and pantomimes until 1912, when it ran out of funds. Robert Arthur Theatres Ltd. sold the theatre in 1923 to Walter Gilbert, managing director of the Tivoli Theatre. It changed hands again in 1932, after Gilbert's death, when it was bought by Councillor James F. Donald. The new owner refurbished the venue and introduced new features such as a revolving stage and a cinema projector.
In 1975, Aberdeen City council bought the venue, then allocated £3.5 million to give it a new life. After being closed for 23 months, His Majesty's Theatre was reopened on the 17th of September 1982 by Prince Charles.
In 2004, the theatre was once again closed for refurbishment. It reopened in 2005, renovated and modernised with a new green room, a coffee shop and re-upholstered seating. Aberdeen Theatres: Vestibule of His Majesty's Theatre
3359 The vestibule of His Majesty's Theatre, with the Box Office to the right of centre. The doors to Rosemount Viaduct are on the right of the image.
By 1927, the fortunes of the theatre were at a low ebb. In an effort to publicise the building nationally, a pictorial article appeared in a glossy weekly entitled "A Model Theatre". The Press & Journal newspaper lead a public appeal to save HMT in 1931.
The vestibule's black and white marbled floor provides a striking entrance, as does the polished wood surrounds. The ceiling itself consisted of a series of pre-fabricated panels. In the centre is the curtained doorway, taking the visitor into the "posh" seats. Aberdeen Theatres: The Tivoli Theatre
3366 The Tivoli Theatre on Guild Street opened in 1872 as Her Majesty's Opera House. The first performance was of with the play The Lady of Lyons. At the end of the show, architect Mr Phipps and the superintendent of works were called on stage by the audience to take a bow.
The auditorium was later altered in 1897 by the noted architect Frank Matcham. Her Majesty's closed in 1906 temporarily following the opening of the larger His Majesty's Theatre on Rosemount Viaduct. The interior of the theatre was reconstructed in 1909 and the venue reopened in 1910 as the Tivoli Theatre of Varieties.
The theatre enjoyed immense success until 1966 when it was converted into a bingo hall. The venue finally closed in 1997 and fell into disrepair.
In July 2009 the Tivoli Theatre Company Ltd. was formed and bought the building. Work to restore the historic theatre to its former glory was then started. The Tivoli Theatre reopened on the 25th of October 2013 with the play Inferno by Thomas Bywater.
Today, the Tivoli is a grade-A Listed Building, and remains a jewel of our city.
In addition to the Tivoli Theatre of Varieties, the Criterion Bar can be seen on the far left of this image.
The board in front of the Tivoli indicates that the theatre is hosting Happy Days, a variety show by the George West Company. This dates the photograph to around August or September 1935. His Majesty's Theatre: Harry Lauder
3458 A drawing and signature of Harry Lauder from an autograph album belonging to the Front of House Manager. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: The Stage House
3484 The Stage House under reconstruction c.1981. The Paint Frame is at the right of the image with the Stage Lift directly below. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] His Majesty's Theatre: The modern exterior
3489 The facade of HMT. The most recent extension, to the right of this image, incorporates new front of house and back stage facilities. The extension was designed by Trevor Smith from the Aberdeen City Council Architects Department. This photograph dates from 2005. [Image from the Aberdeen Performing Arts Archive.] Wallace Tower
448 This image was digitised from Artistic Aberdeen: A Sketch Book (1932) by W. S. Percy.
The book describes the scene as follows:
"Wallace Tower, an interesting and, by name, misleading corner in the Netherkirkgate. The building and the name are now given over to a public-house. The figure inset into the tower has nothing to do with William Wallace, who is commemorated in the city by a gigantic statue in front of His Majesty's Theatre. At one point this tower was known as Benholm's Tower, and the figure of a soldier with sword is thought to have been set up in the middle of the eighteenth century by John Niven, a tobacco and snuff manufacturer. On the left is Carnegie's Brae, leading to the East Green, the old main entrance to Aberdeen from the south." Mr Bannister's first night
470 A broadside from 1811 announcing the exclusive show of Mr Bannister, referred to as "the first comedian of the British stage".
This would have been the actor John (or Jack) Bannister (1760-1836). An entry, written by Joseph Knight and revised by Nilanjana Banerji, for Bannister can be found in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (available online with an active library membership). Bannister was a pupil of David Garrick, of the Drury Lane Theatre in London, and was one of the foremost comic actors of his day.
For six nights, Bannister was to perform in a comedy, Bold Stroke for a Wife, a comic song, The Tortoise-shell Tom-cat, and a farce, The Prize; or 2, 5, 3, 8.
These appearances in Aberdeen may have been part of a tour of the provinces and Ireland that Bannister commenced in 1809. His ODNB entry explains that the tour, comprising a monologue entertainment and songs, was called Bannister's Budget and was a financial, popular, and critical success.
Appealing to the expected high level of the entertainment, the reputation of the performer, and the great distance from Aberdeen to London, the theatre's manager, Mrs Mudie, hoped the public would understand slightly increased ticket prices for seats in the theatre's boxes and pit.
Tickets could be purchased from a variety of local booksellers; Messrs. Stevenson, Mortimer, Gordon, Spark and Watson or from a Mr. Phillips at the theatre's box office.
The Theatre Royal mentioned in this document, the first permanent one built in Aberdeen and opened in 1795, is no longer in use. It was turned into a church after the construction of Her Majesty's Opera House (later the Tivoli Theatre), which opened in 1872.
This playbill broadside was printed by Chalmers & Co. The document is referenced and transcribed in an Aberdeen Journal article from 26th November 1906, page 3, titled 'Two Aberdeen play-houses'. The article suggests that this might be "one of the earliest specimens of a local playbill probably in existence." |