Read articles and documents covering the history of performance in Northern Ireland from the 17th century to the present day.
19TH CENTURY
| J.F. Warden opens the Grand Opera House and Cirque. |
16th December 1895 |
On December 16 1895 the Grand Opera House and Cirque opened in Belfast. Designed by the theatre architect Frank Matcham… ... Read On
| The Empire Theatre of Varieties opens. |
3rd December 1894 |
On December 3 1894 Adam Findlater opened the Empire Theatre of Varieties at Victoria Square. ... Read On
| Belfast’s first music-hall, the Alhambra, opens. |
1st January 1873 |
The Alhambra, Belfast’s first music-hall, opened at North Street in 1873 under the management of Dan Lowrey. ... Read On
| J.F. Warden rebuilds the Theatre Royal. |
1st January 1871 |
J.F. Warden, who took over the Theatre Royal in 1864, demolished the 78 year old building in 1871 and built the New or Second Theatre Royal building on the same site. ... Read On
| Leading impresario Michael Atkins resigns from his role as Theatre Manager. |
1st January 1805 |
Extremely popular in the eighteenth century, theatre was shunned by the monied classes after the 1798 uprising and for the much of the nineteenth century. ... Read On
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