Swanley History Group – December 2016 meeting
A childhood home in Chatham, which was also a boarding house for professional performers appearing at local theatres, provided Wilf Lower with an intimate knowledge of the world of theatre and variety which he shared with members of Swanley History Group at our December meeting.
Stills and film clips, of performances by music hall and variety artistes from the ‘Good Old Days’, gave us a flavour of those raucous and lively places of entertainment where visual acts appealed to audiences. Speciality acts were particularly popular – the strong woman who bent iron bars with her teeth – plate throwing and other circus skills – animal acts such as the lion tamer and crocodile wrestler. People in the cheaper seats were penned in like livestock – hence the term ‘stalls’. Later theatre architect Frank Matcham created ‘places of wonderment’ filled with elegant balconies, painted ceilings and gilding, examples being The London Coliseum and The Palladium.
Chatham offered a choice of theatres and variety halls, including The Theatre Royal and The Empire Theatre, regularly gutted by fire and rebuilt! This attracted names at the top of the bill – such as Marie Lloyd and George Formby and his formidable wife Beryl, as well as many other well-known performers such as Wilson, Keppel and Betty, better known as The Sand Dancers. Wilf said that his school friends were particularly interested in coming home for tea when dancers from the chorus line were boarding! Life in some ‘digs’ was not always comfortable with strict rules such as only 5 inches of water in the weekly bath! His mother was happy to provide main meals after performances ended at 11.30 pm for their boarders.
With the coming of television a new way of attracting customers was needed ….sex. Due to strict decency rules this was not quite what was on offer at The Moulin Rouge in Paris. Paul Raymond introduced ‘tableaux’ (nude posing) which artfully required that no naughty bits were on view. Sadly by the late 1950’s two to three variety halls and theatres closed each week. Today only the façade and front of house of The Theatre Royal, Chatham remains. The Empire closed in1960.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser
to edit.
A childhood home in Chatham, which was also a boarding house for professional performers appearing at local theatres, provided Wilf Lower with an intimate knowledge of the world of theatre and variety which he shared with members of Swanley History Group at our December meeting.
Stills and film clips, of performances by music hall and variety artistes from the ‘Good Old Days’, gave us a flavour of those raucous and lively places of entertainment where visual acts appealed to audiences. Speciality acts were particularly popular – the strong woman who bent iron bars with her teeth – plate throwing and other circus skills – animal acts such as the lion tamer and crocodile wrestler. People in the cheaper seats were penned in like livestock – hence the term ‘stalls’. Later theatre architect Frank Matcham created ‘places of wonderment’ filled with elegant balconies, painted ceilings and gilding, examples being The London Coliseum and The Palladium.
Chatham offered a choice of theatres and variety halls, including The Theatre Royal and The Empire Theatre, regularly gutted by fire and rebuilt! This attracted names at the top of the bill – such as Marie Lloyd and George Formby and his formidable wife Beryl, as well as many other well-known performers such as Wilson, Keppel and Betty, better known as The Sand Dancers. Wilf said that his school friends were particularly interested in coming home for tea when dancers from the chorus line were boarding! Life in some ‘digs’ was not always comfortable with strict rules such as only 5 inches of water in the weekly bath! His mother was happy to provide main meals after performances ended at 11.30 pm for their boarders.
With the coming of television a new way of attracting customers was needed ….sex. Due to strict decency rules this was not quite what was on offer at The Moulin Rouge in Paris. Paul Raymond introduced ‘tableaux’ (nude posing) which artfully required that no naughty bits were on view. Sadly by the late 1950’s two to three variety halls and theatres closed each week. Today only the façade and front of house of The Theatre Royal, Chatham remains. The Empire closed in1960.
Christina Tyler, Programme Organiser
to edit.