Tag: heritage

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It’s nearly time for London Open House and Heritage Open Days

As September approaches, we look forward to the time when some of the UK’s hardest to see buildings throw open their doors to eager visitors for this once-a year opportunity. The two largest festivals, London Open House and Heritage Open Days, are running at the same time!

To give more opportunities to see, this year’s London Open House extends across two weekends and the week in between, from 8th to 21st September.

er, with a wide range of events that can be selected both in-person and online, which will certainly help broaden access to the many interesting events in the programme as well as allowing audiences to take part in more visits.

There are usually a handful of performance buildings included in the programme, and when the details are released on August 24th you can search on “Theatre” to locate them..

You can find full details when they are unveiled on 24th August at the Open House website which you can find by clicking here

Almost concurrently, Heritage Open Days runs from September 9th to 18th, which will allow two weekends’ worth of exploring for those able to get out and about.

England’s biggest festival of history and culture returns, with more than 800 free events.

Current highlights from a search on theatres brings up these in-person events

The Old Savoy, Northampton

Alnwick Playhouse, Northumberland

Bristol Old Vic

The Stables, Wavendon

Mercury Theatre, Colchester

East Riding Theatre, Beverley

Hull Truck Theatre

Hull New Theatre

Chesil Theatre, Winchester

Gorleston Pavilion, East Anglia

Norwich Puppet Theatre

Newark Place Theatre, Nottinghamshire

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford

See the full programme here. Book early to secure your place, as these events do sell quickly!

EXTRA FOR THOSE IN SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND WALES

In Northern Ireland, European Heritage Open Days is on for a week digitally from Monday 5 to Sunday 11 September, with in-person events on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September. It includes 200+ sites and properties.

In Scotland, Doors Open Days runs throughout the whole month of September with hundreds of sites opening, as does Wales‘ Open Doors.

Remember to book ahead where you can and check to ensure details don’t change near the event.

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Time Travel Theatre – watch WANDERING STARS – a 1987 documentary on Yiddish Theatre

Yiddish theatre is a fascinating and under-celebrated cultural tradition. Dating from the late 19th century, Yiddish theatre spread around the world as a by-product of mass global migration from Europe, helping displaced groups continue to feel connections with the homelands they had fled.

Into the twentieth century, Yiddish theatre could be found in many of the world’s capital cities, providing traditionally-based fare for their audiences.

Yiddish theatre productions often revolved around the central themes of identity, immigration, poverty, integration and deep cultural ties to tradition. Yiddish theatre was embracing of other works, often performing Yiddish versions of plays from Shakespeare and other notable important playwrights. It also embraced a wide range of styles – musical comedy, revue, operetta, drama and melodrama, also embracing new and traditional playwrights’ works.

Yiddish theatre, its exponents and expressions, were devastated by the impact of World War Two and the Holocaust , after which its influence waned, although still practiced by a few loyal defenders of the tradition.

I recently came across this engaging 35 minute documentary which was produced in 1987 and tells the story of the movement in London through some of its exponents.

Interestingly, actress Anna Tzelniker who features in this film is the daughter of well-known actor Meier Tzelniker who had a long and successful career in the UK in Yiddish theatre as well as films and non-Yiddish theatre. He was the co-founder of the UK’s Jewish National Theatre with Fanny Waxman, a well-known Yiddish actress, in 1936.

I am very grateful to the Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives for posting this video on their YouTube channel so that it can be more widely appreciated.

Documentary Copyright: The London Museum of Jewish Life, 1987. Reproduced with permission of Jewish Museum London.

EXTRA: Here’s an extract from a US PBS series on Jewish Americans which talks about Yiddish theatre in America Thanks to YouTube poster Leora Hatchwell for posting this:

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Securing the Future of London’s Theatres

On Thursday 3rd February the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) hosted an event at THE STAGE’s Building of the Year, the magnificently restored and reinvigorated Theatre Royal Drury Lane, to launch a new report commissioned by them to assess, analyse and identify ways of “Securing the Future of London’s Theatres”.

The report, written by urban design specialists Publica, explores practical ways in which theatres, the bids (Business Improvement Districts), developers, and the council can all work together.

Subtitled “A Call to Action”, the report raises awareness of the specific needs of London’s historic theatres and their role as a vital asset to the city’s night time economy, central to pandemic recovery. London’s theatres play a crucial role in the city’s ecosystem, supporting over 20,000 jobs and contributing £133 million in annual VAT to the Treasury. 

Setting out the unique operational and access requirements of the London theatre industry, the report calls for better collaboration between theatre operators and those responsible for London’s public realm, highways and land usage, to protect the invaluable cultural heritage that has been a key part of London’s identity for over 350 years.

The document was created in consultation with SOLT members and The Theatres Trust during workshops, surveys and site visits between 2019 and 2021, and is addressed to a wide range of stakeholders including MPs, Local Authorities, the GLA, TFL, London’s Business Improvement Districts, landowners and developers. It is well worth a read for its thoroughness, creativity and insights.

You can download the report here.

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Why Do Historic Places Matter? – a fascinating online exploration

Following on from the September publication of the report Why Do Historic Places Matter?, covered on this blog here, on Wednesday November 24th at 6.00pm UK time, SAVE Britain’s Heritage presents an online event exploring this report and its relevance to protecting heritage projects up and down the country.

The threats to so many historic buildings are intensifying in the rush to build new housing by soulless builders who are solely driven by money. Governed by unbridled greed that sees land irrespective of what stands upon it, encouraged by a government that sees the cost of everything and the value of nothing, their laser-vision is focused on knocking anything down, irrespective of the care, skill, craftsmanship, beauty or social relevance the building has, consuming all in its path and excreting bland, miserable Lego blocks in their wake.

They are focused purely on knocking things down and erecting impoverished replacements – in terms of design, space, planning, ambiance and social fabric. To make a musical analogy, its like slaughtering Luciano Pavarotti and replacing him with a Karaoke machine. These leeches do not only demolish buildings, they demolish something much more important – civic and community pride.

Historic urban places matter economically, environmentally and socially. But more than that, they matter emotionally. But why? Join SAVE Britain’s Heritage and Rebecca Madgin, Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow, to discuss her recently published report considering why people develop emotional attachments to the heritage of towns and cities, and why urban historic places matter. 

Tickets are complimentary for SAVE’s Saviours / £3 for Friends / £5 for Members of the Public.

Book your tickets here

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Music Hall entertainer Fred Barnes finally gets a blue plaque

On 18th October, a very special Blue Plaque unveiling ceremony occurred . Even rock star Chrissie Hynde turned up!

Organised by The British Music Hall Society, the event honoured Fred Barnes, an unjustly-forgotten star of Music Hall. In honour of the event, actor Christopher Green, who has played Fred Barnes in a recent tribute, sang a few songs connected with Barnes.

You can still listen to a lovely tribute to Barnes, HOW SUCCESS RUINED ME, with Christopher Green and the late Roy Hudd , here and read my earlier piece about it here .

The BHMS event information is listed below, needing no titivation from me. Enjoy!

L to R, Alison Young, Paul O’Grady, Christopher Green, Adam Borzone, John Orchard

“The British Music Hall Society is delighted to announce that today at 12 noon a blue plaque commemorating Fred Barnes, the music hall singer, was unveiled at 22 Clifton Villas, Maida Vale, London W9 2PH by President of the Society Mr Paul O’Grady.

This event was organised by Alison Young & John Orchard.

Fred Barnes was hugely popular on the Music Hall stage and was known as ‘the wavy haired, blue-eyed Adonis’, lauded for his looks, talent and charm. He is chiefly remembered for his signature song, ‘The Black Sheep of the Family’ which he first performed in 1907 and made him an overnight success. He composed the music and wrote the lyrics for this song, a rarity at the time as music hall performers usually employed songwriters to write for them.

The son of a butcher, Frederick Jester Barnes was born in 1885 in Saltley, a working class area of Birmingham. He became interested in performance when at the age of 10, he saw the male impersonator Vesta Tilley on stage and thereafter was determined not to join the family meat business. His phenomenal success with ‘The Black Sheep of the Family,’ led to top billing at all of the major music halls (including the London Palladium). He also played principal boy roles in pantomime every Christmas, an unusual step for the time as these roles were generally taken by popular female music hall stars. Barnes’ other hit songs included ‘Give Me the Moonlight’ and ‘On Mother Kelly’s Doorstep,’ later popularised by Frankie Vaughan and Danny La Rue.

Considerable wealth followed for Barnes and he became renowned for his lavish spending and lifestyle as much as for his songs. He was openly gay at a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence and his family found this difficult to digest. Barnes’ father committed suicide in 1913 possibly connected to the shame he felt about his son’s lifestyle choices.

Alcohol proved to be Barnes’ undoing and he became increasingly reliant on it. Having squandered his wealth, he died in Southend-on-Sea in 1938.

Barnes lived in the grand house at 22 Clifton Villas, where the Blue Plaque was unveiled, during the years 1926-1930 when success and money were flowing and his popularity was undimmed.”