Page 17 - CinemaRecord #81

7KH ¿UVW OHVVHH RI WKH Kings was the capable
William Anderson. With Bailey as his partner/
manager he introduced shows from the West
End and Broadway. Sara Allgood in Peg O ’
My Heart was a big hit in 1916, but his most
SUR¿WDEOH LPSRUW ZDV SRVVLEO\ The Land Of
Nod, described as a pantomime extravaganza sŝĞǁ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂŐĞ ʹ Ă ĨƵůů ŚŽƵƐĞ Đ͘ϭϵϮϬƐ͘
with 70 performers.

Pantos did well: J and N Tait (with Bailey)
introduced Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp in
1917. Many of these shows enjoyed seven to 10
week runs.
The 1920s brought in names and reputations
which still resonate. In 1924 Oscar Asche
starred in John Galsworthy’s The Skin Game, a
VWRU\ ODWHU ¿OPHG E\ $OIUHG +LWFKFRFN
>ĞŌ͗ tŝůůŝĂŵ ŶĚĞƌƐŽŶ͘
Management engineered some smart publicity ZŝŐŚƚ͗ ϭϵϮϰ ŶĞǁƐ͘
ĞůŽǁ͗ ϭϵϯϭ &ŝƌĞ͘
in January 1929 when, according to the papers,
some American girls appearing at the Kings
“caused something of a sensation by appearing
in the city with bare legs. They see no reason
why they should spend money on silk stocking
this warm weather.”

th
On 20 January 1931 the theatre closed for six
months after an electrical fault destroyed much
of the props storage area, scenery paint shop,
dressing rooms and part of the stage.

After the re-build the theatre was repainted in a
serviceable ivory/tan, with little attention given
to highlighting architectural features other than
the proscenium arch, refurbished in gold.

CINEMAREC ORD 2014 17