Today’s speaker was Ian Stevenson who gave an enjoyable and well researched talk on Huddersfield’s old Theatres and cinemas. The title Greasepaint and Limelight refers to the makeup actors used on their faces and lime was used in the intense white light to light the stage, a cause of many fires which destroyed a lot of Theatres. Music hall started in the early 19th century as a way of keeping pub goers entertained. By the late 1800’s silent film came to the fore and took over then came the talkies in late 1920. Many cinemas opened in and around Huddersfield The Grand Cinema, Picturedrome, The Ritz/ABC , The Alhambra to name but a few, and no longer around. At the end of the war in 1945 there were 30 cinemas in Huddersfield until tv gradually took over. Two cinemas which are still going today are the Rex in Elland and the Paramount in Pennistone.
More information can be found on the Huddersfield exposed website.