The Georgian Theatre was built in 1766. It was a dark place lit by torches and candles. Usually there was a fruit seller in the audience for people to buy fruit and throw it at the people on the stage if they didn't like the play. People in the audience used to join in with the performances by shouting things to the actors if they got bored with what they were watching. After being a theatre the Georgian changed into a music hall where people went to watch variety acts, then a salvation army hall, then back to a music venue, which it still is now.
The Theatre Royal opened in 1866 and it was famous for having animals on stage. Once during a performance an elephant fell through the floor and people from the audience got on stage and told jokes to keep everyone else in the audience happy. There was a fire in 1906 and when it re-opened it changed into The Maison de Danse.
The Castle Theatre got its name from being built on the site of Stockton castle. The Castle Theatre was opened in 1908. When it re-opened in 1912 it changed into the Empire Theatre picture house
The Theatre building also had a billiards hall and it was famous for rats. When people were watching the picture they often saw rats running in front of the cinema screen and running around their feet.
The Hippodrome was opened in December 1905, built by Nicholsons. It seated 2400 people. Julie Andrews made her first ever appearance there at only 3 years old. The Hippodrome burnt down in the early morning of November the 8th 1932. Later on it was reconstructed and re-opened as another theatre until 1946 when it changed into a cinema.
The Globe was the first purpose built cinema on Teesside. It seated 2500 people. It was owned by local butchers, the Lewis brothers. It was rebuilt in 1927 and then again on the 16th December 1935. The Beatles played there on November 22nd 1963, which sticks in peoples minds as it was the night President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in America. Around 1975 it was changed into the Mecca bingo hall.
The Globe Theatre
The original Globe Theatre opened in 1917 and was known locally as the 'pig and chicken'. In 1926 or 27, the first 'talkies' on Teesside were shown at the Globe. Apparently, many people found them shocking and first aiders had to be on hand to deal with all the people who fainted!
In 1935, the theatre was rebuilt by the Lewis brothers as a variety theatre. In order to seat 2372 people, the stage and much of the auditorium had to be underground. 1700 tons of clay were dug out to accommodate the building, and a street and several other buildings had to be incorporated into the theatre site. The Globe re-opened in December 1935.
Despite this grand new building, the theatre lost money and in 1938 it had to be sold to ABC cinemas. Despite this, it continued to hold live performances, including an annual pantomime. In 1950, there was a ballet performance with international stars Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin. There were several performances of shows which had transferred to Stockton direct from the West End in London, including an operetta called 'The Chocolate Soldier' and the musical 'Carousel'.
In 1951 the pantomime was a 'skating extravaganza on real ice'- Dick Whittington was performed on an ice pad laid on the stage. This needed the equivalent of 400 refrigerators and 2 miles of copper pipe!
As well as shows, The Globe/ABC hosted famous singing stars. Over the years, these included Petula Clark, Conway Twitty, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
In 1969, plans were drawn up to redesign the site again, with a smaller cinema and shopping space. The recently opened Forum in Billingham was to take over live performances. A different plan, this time for a department store and small cinema, was submitted in 1971, and in 1974 plans were laid to demolish the building and extend Debenhams. The cinema showed it's last film, The Sting, on the 15th June 1974- but the building survived.
In 1977 The Globe opened as a Mecca bingo hall, despite local opposition, and it continued in use until 1993, when Mecca moved to new premises at Chandler's Wharf.
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