The Palace Theatre is a disused theatre in Union Street, Plymouth, Devon in south west England. It opened in 1898 as a music hall but was damaged by fire only three months after opening, and was re-opened in 1899 as the New Palace Theatre of Varieties. In 1961 it was converted to a bingo hall, but later reverted to being a theatre as the Palace Theatre until 1983, when it became The Academy disco and finally operated as the Dance Academy, before being closed after Class A drugs were found on the premises.
The theatre was built in the Flemish Renaissance style, with the interior in an Art Nouveau style, with nautical features. It is now deteriorating while an agreement is reached about its future and it is listed as an "at risk" building. It is a grade II* listed building.
Opening The theatre was built in 1898 on the corner of Union Street and Phoenix Street, for the joint owners, United Counties Theatres Limited and Horace and Lechmere Livermore (the "Livermore Brothers"), to replace the original Palace of Varieties which had operated at the nearby St. James's Hall since 1866. The site was originally occupied by Frederick Burner, tobacconist, Jonathan Crowl, butcher, Mark Durbin, provision dealer, and John Shepheard, bootmaker.
The theatre was designed by William Arber of Wimperis & Arber from Sackville Street, London, and cost £95,000 to erect. The development included the adjacent Grand Western Hotel which cost a further £87,000.
The theatre was opened for a private viewing on Friday 2 September 1898 by a large number of invited guests who were entertained by the Royal Naval Band, directed by Mr. E. Binding with the first public show at 7.30 p.m. on the following Monday 5 September. Tickets for the opening show were priced at 2s 6d for the stalls, 1s 6d for the grand circle and 1s for the gallery.
The first show ran for three hours and featured a variety of acts. After a rendition of the National Anthem by the Princess Ladies' Orchestra from the Promenade Pier, the show was opened by Leopoldine, described as "a lady who is very clever on the parallel bars and flying rings and kindred implements". She was followed in turn by comedian Harry Comlin, Arthur Vining and Nellie Coleman (vocalists) and singer Emmie Ames. Adele and May Lilian, the Levey Sisters, were "very chic", and "one of the features of the evening" while the Marvellous Craggs "were encored again and again for their wonderful acrobatic work". Walter and Edie Cassons performed "their highly amusing musical vaudeville" Honours are Easy. Other acts included Walter Stockwell, a "character vocalist", Emmie Ames, a vocalist, and Fred Darby, roller skater, who closed the show.
During the interval, a formal opening speech was made by Mr. L.C.J. Livermore for the owners who welcomed the audience and apologised for the delay in opening the theatre, "the long looked for come at last", and promised "better class" acts in future. William Arber, the architect thanked the audience for their warm applause and said that he was pleased to have given "the three towns ... a hall that they would be proud of". Livermore went on to say that if the audience "patronised the new hall as they should there was nothing the directors would not do to give them satisfaction". Mr. E.J. Dexter, the manager of the theatre, also thanked the audience for their warm reception assuring them that it would be "my pleasure to do everything I can for you during the coming season". He said that he had travelled widely throughout Europe and in his opinion the only two theatres that were more beautiful were the Opera Houses in Berlin and Paris.
Original interior
In its original form, the theatre could accommodate 2,500 spectators. The auditorium was laid out with stalls on the ground floor behind which were the "ordinary pit seats". Entrance to the pits was gained by a tunnel described as "an electrically lighted subterranean passage, fitted with mirror panels". Above the ground floor were the cantilevered grand circle with the gallery on the top floor, with no pillars to obstruct the view of the stage. On each side of the proscenium were four boxes, eight in all.
The interior was decorated with a naval theme reflecting the history of Plymouth. Over the upper stage boxes were "poop-lanterns" resembling the sterns of three-deck warships; below these were crossed anchors with the centres containing ships' figureheads. Above the auditorium was a domed ceiling, which was decorated with "historical paintings" as was the proscenium. The scenes illustrated included the knighting of Sir Francis Drake by Queen Elizabeth I, and the Spanish Armada. Medallions bearing portraits of naval and military heroes decorated the front of the gallery and grand circle.
On each side of the proscenium there was a clock face on which the number of the turn was illuminated.
In the main entrance there was a marble staircase, adorned with marble pillars, leading to the grand circle. In the foyer, described as "beyond question one of the handsomest out of London", was a painting of "the meeting of Blücher and Wellington" after the Battle of Waterloo.
The fire of 1898 In the early morning of 23 December 1898, a passing police officer spotted that there was a fire in the building. Although the fire brigade were called immediately, the rear of the building was well alight. By the time that the fire had been brought under control, the stage area, dressing rooms and the entire rear section of the building had been destroyed. As the safety curtain had not been lowered, the fire had spread into the auditorium and as a result most of the decorative features were also destroyed including the domed ceiling and the panels illustrating naval scenes.
The previous evening, the entertainment had included a sketch based on the Battle of Trafalgar, which included a "spectacular naval scene" involving the firing of stage cannon. Although firemen had been in attendance during the performance, heat from a cannon had ignited a curtain which later flared into flame.
Rebuilding The theatre was rebuilt after the fire and was re-opened on 22 May 1899, although the interior was now much plainer than it had been originally. The paintings on the ceiling which had been destroyed in the fire were replaced by "an allegorical group".
Present interior According to the 1989 edition of Nikolaus Pevsner's Buildings of England: Devon, the building "represents the theatre as a place for lavish entertainment as reflected in the rich and exciting decoration and architectural detail, with particular attention to nautical themes".
The stage is 28 ft. deep by 60 ft. wide with a proscenium opening of 29 ft. 6 in. and the grid height is 58 ft.
The rectangular proscenium arch is flanked by large boxes in the form of a ship's transom, decorated with plaster-work representing clinker planks each surmounted by a canopy bearing a pair of ship's lanterns. The two-tiered auditorium has panelled walls under a domed ceiling. The curved balcony is partly supported on slender cast-iron columns and decorated with military motifs in plaster-work.
The foyer opens onto a Sicilian marble balustraded staircase leading to a large first-floor saloon. Both the foyer and saloon are decorated with friezes with illustrations of nereids, dolphins, cherubs etc. The saloon is decorated in the Cinquecento style with a coffered ceiling and enriched spandrels above the arcades and Ionic capitals at the top of marble pilasters and columns. The saloon is lit by three large round-arched windows.
The manager's accommodation is situated on the third floor and can be accessed by a separate entrance on Phoenix Street.
Exterior
The building is described by English Heritage as being in the "Northern Renaissance style with Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) details".
The building comprises two main sections: the former Grand Western Hotel occupied three bays at the eastern end of the building, with the New Palace Theatre occupying the seven bays to the west. The whole building is constructed of brick and yellow terracotta with the ground floor decorated with glazed tiles. The roof is of plain tiles with four banded brick and terracotta chimney stacks.
The Grand Western Hotel section is four stories high with dormer windows; at the corner there is now a small turret with a bell-shaped roof. Originally this was much higher with an arcaded section above which was a domed shaped roof surmounted by a weather vane, as seen in the 1905 illustration.
The ground floor has three arched bays, with the central bay being larger than those either side. In the arches are a variety of entrance doors (not original) above which are semi-circular spoked fan windows. Above the ground floor there is a tiled entablature bearing the legend "Grand Western Hotel". The first and second floors have central oriel windows set back, on top of which is a balcony with a turned balustrade, with smaller windows either side, slightly forward. The windows are decorated with Art Nouveau panels. On the top, third floor there are three pairs of arched windows with square columns.
The right-hand, Old Palace Theatre section has seven bays in the 2:3:2 formation with a colonnade of Tuscan columns between which are various entrance doors, some of which are original. Originally, the building had a wrought-iron canopy with seven arched sections, one above each entrance door, but this has been replaced by an unattractive modern canopy projecting from half-way up the height of the columns.
Above the ground floor, the entablature retains the original fine quality lettering and decorative detail, bearing the inscription "New Palace Theatre". The first floor facade is dominated by two semi-circular tiled panels on which are depicted scenes of the Spanish Armada; that on the left depicts the "Spanish Armada Leaving Ferrol" while that on the right depicts the "Defeat of the Spanish Armada". Above each panel is a pair of circular oculi windows. The central section has three round-arched transom windows flanked by Ionic half columns.
Above the central section is a tall "piano nobile" section with three pairs of arched windows, with each pair flanked by columns similar to those below. Above these is a large Flemish gable with a carved and shaped pediment with finial and a pair of statues of Spanish soldiers standing on brackets either side of the central window. In the centre of the pediment is a shield bearing the coat of arms of Plymouth, with the Cross of St. Andrew and the four turrets which overlooked the Barbican. Originally, a large two-sided clock was situated outside the present day window. Below this was a sign at right-angles to the building bearing the legend "New Palace Theatre", as shown in the 1905 illustration.
On the top, second floor above the left panel is a pair of arched windows similar to the central ones. Above the right panel the wall is blank although a balustrade stretches to the midpoint from the central section. The corner is surmounted by a turret which has a balcony and bell shaped dome with a ball finial. According to Pevsner, the turret is "rather reminiscent of Winstanley's ill-fated lighthouse".
The decorative style is briefly continued around the western edge of the building fronting Phoenix Street. On the ground floor, the first two bays have semi-circular spoked fan windows. Above these is a semi-circular window, the same size as the two panels at the front. Originally this window was glazed but is now blanked off; the decoration is completed by a pair of oculi windows as on the front with a single arched window on the top floor.See Google Streetview image
Set in the pavement outside the theatre entrances are four plaques featuring copies of programmes and playbills from the 1950s.
History
Music Hall and Variety Theatre