Victorian Music Halls
The British Music Hall was a cultural phenomenon. A blend of social changes made it possible, including the emergence of a new working class after the Industrial Revolution and their desire for affordable entertainment.
By the 1830s, many taverns had rooms devoted to ‘free and easies’ or nights where both amateur and professional entertainers put on performances. They started as a weekend entertainment, but grew so popular that many pubs added musical nights two or three times a week. Also during this time, song and supper rooms emerged, where hot food and entertainment through the evening and into the late night served a more middle class clientele.
By the 1850s, the music hall theatres began to appear. These were larger, grander places dedicated to providing a larger variety of acts to be enjoyed while the audience enjoyed food, drink, and smoking, at tables and in galleries.
It was a very different experience from the formal theatre evenings that had come before. It was more affordable entertainment in a more relaxed atmosphere. The acts included singing, dancing, comedy singers, mentalists and acrobats. The experience was rowdy, often fun, but could also be chaotic. If the audience didn’t like the act, they could get unruly. There was heckling, booing and sometimes throwing objects at the stage.
By the 1850s, the music hall theatres began to appear. These were larger, grander places dedicated to providing a larger variety of acts to be enjoyed while the audience enjoyed food, drink, and smoking, at tables and in galleries.
It was a very different experience from the formal theatre evenings that had come before. It was more affordable entertainment in a more relaxed atmosphere. The acts included singing, dancing, comedy singers, mentalists and acrobats. The experience was rowdy, often fun, but could also be chaotic. If the audience didn’t like the act, they could get unruly. There was heckling, booing and sometimes throwing objects at the stage.
Ruby Digital Flair's art inspired by Revenge in the Rogue's Hideaway
Unlike in the older coffee houses and supper clubs, women were allowed to attend. They sometimes brought their babies with them, for lack of childcare, or sometimes just because it was warm inside the theatre, as a ticket to the music hall could be cheaper than an evening’s scuttle of coal. Some owners encouraged women to attend because they felt they had a calming influence on the men.
Stars were indeed born on those stages. The audiences had favorites and they would learn a singer’s repertoire of songs and sing along. In the early days of the halls, popular performers could book three or four theatres a night, performing at one spot, then racing across back and forth across the city all night to reach the others.
I based my Rogue’s Hideaway on descriptions of a combination of several of the most popular music halls, including The Eagle in the East End and The Canterbury Hall in Lambeth. I had a grand time researching some of the famous acts of the time to inspire the entertainments at Frederick Cole’s memorial.
Stars were indeed born on those stages. The audiences had favorites and they would learn a singer’s repertoire of songs and sing along. In the early days of the halls, popular performers could book three or four theatres a night, performing at one spot, then racing across back and forth across the city all night to reach the others.
I based my Rogue’s Hideaway on descriptions of a combination of several of the most popular music halls, including The Eagle in the East End and The Canterbury Hall in Lambeth. I had a grand time researching some of the famous acts of the time to inspire the entertainments at Frederick Cole’s memorial.