Grand Theatre - A Wolverhampton Gem!

The Grand Theatre is situated on Lichfield Street in Wolverhampton City Centre. Dates to 1894 by the architect Charles J. Phipps. It is now a Grade II* listed building.


Where is the Grand Theatre?

The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is on Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1DE.

 

In brief

The Grand is a theatre in the City of Wolverhampton, dating back to 1894, designed by the architect Charles J. Phipps. They produce in-house plays, as well as host to touring West End productions and Pantos.

Wolverhampton Grand TheatreWolverhampton Grand Theatre (March 2015). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - history

The Grand opened on Lichfield Street in Wolverhampton in 1894.

The architect was Charles J. Phipps.

It is now a Grade II* listed building.

The Grand Theatre opened on the 10th December 1894, it has outlasted it's rivals in the town.

The site chosen for the new building was to replace the decaying eyesore next to the Victoria Hotel (now Britannia Hotel) on Lichfield Street.

Wolverhampton Grand TheatreWolverhampton Grand Theatre (March 2015). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

A young Charlie Chaplin was recorded as being a company call boy here in 1902.

In 1909, Winston Churchill, when president of the Board of Trade, addressed the Budget League from the theatre's stage.

Nine years late Prime Minister, David Lloyd George played to a full house when he opened the Government's General Election campaign.

Until the early 1920s, The Grand was a touring theatre, this changed under the direction of Leon Salberg.

The Second World War hit the theatre badly.

There was some productions at the time, including a young Sean Connery in South Pacific during 1944.

In the 50's and 60's saw the return of variety shows and many famous stars appeared.

The theatre was refurbished in 1973, but despite successes with pantomime and various touring productions of musicals, ballet, opera and plays, but when audiences began to decline, the theatre closed in 1980.

Wolverhampton Grand TheatreWolverhampton Grand Theatre (December 2022). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

Seating in the Upper Circle was redesigned, and the Dress Circle was given a much more spacious area for patrons.

The Grand re-opened in 1982 with one of the best equipped theatres in the country.

The theatre celebrated it's 100th birthday on the 10th December 1994 with a gala performance from the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

The next renovation took place between 1997 and 1998.

Following that, the next major refurbishment took place after 2014, as part of the Black Country Growth Deal along with the Wolves Civic.

Wolverhampton Grand TheatreWolverhampton Grand Theatre (August 2023). Photography by Elliott Brown

 

Contact details

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre

Project dates

26 Feb 2022 - On-going

Passions

History & heritage, Civic pride, Art; Culture & creativity
Music & musicians, Classic Architecture

Contact

Your Place Your Space

Jonathan Bostock

0121 410 5520
jonathan.bostock@ yourplaceyourspace.com