The Theatre Royal, Winchester, believed to be England's last surviving cine-variety theatre.

Cine-variety is a form of entertainment with a mix of variety acts performing in between the showing of films all for the price of one admission fee.[1] It was popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland between 1900 and the 1930s.[1] Cine-variety was used to keep stage comedians in work during the early days of silent films and talking films.[2]

History

From 1900 many of the first purpose-built cinemas had pianos, organs, and occasionally a small orchestra to accompany films.[3] They also employed live acts on stage, along with the silent film.[3] The types of acts that would be employed included comedy routines, acrobats, singers, entertainers and magicians.[4] By the 1930s the cinema showing would usually include a feature film, a B movie, a trailer for the following week's show, a newsreel, a cartoon plus a full live stage show.[3] Those in the show were often stars of film, radio, or variety theatre.[3] Most of the cinema chains in the UK and Ireland employed stars for their cine-variety as part of the show.[3] This included stars such as Cicely Courtneidge, Teddy Brown and Tommy Handley from the film Elstree Calling and Clapham and Dwyer, Claude Dampier, Ronald Frankau and Stanelli from the film Radio Parade of 1935.[3][5]

Legacy

Although cine-variety's heyday was in the 1930s, it continued through the 1950s with the shows at The Empire, Leicester Square, London.[6] The Theatre Royal in Winchester is believed to be England's last surviving cine-variety theatre,[7] and it also describes itself as "the only surviving cine-variety theatre in the country",[8] it opened as a cine-variety theatre in 1914.[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Theatre Royal— a palace of cine-variety". History Publications Ltd. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "Cine-Variety". Dictionary Central. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Cine-Variety: Memories of a Forgotten Era". Mike Lang. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "The History of Irish Cinemas – Part 2: Cine-Variety in Dublin" (PDF). Film Ireland. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "Radio Parade of 1935 (1935)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "A Cine-Variety Programme for the Empire Theatre, Leicester Square, March 1950". www.arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  7. ↑ David Kemp (1992-01-12). The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain: A Discerning Traveller's Companion. Dundurn. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-77070-070-3.
  8. ↑ "About us". Theatre Royal Winchester. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "History". Theatre Royal Winchester. Retrieved 29 January 2018.

Further reading

  • Inkster, Donald (1999). Union Cinemas Ritz: A Story of Theatre Organs and Cine-Variety. Wick Book Publishers. ISBN 978-09-53-39939-0.
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