Grand Theatre Blackpool
Welcome to the Grand Theatre information
The Grand Theatre is an 1100-seat theatre designed by Frank Matcham in 1894. This amazing space is a wonder of restoration and revival, presenting a full range of every performing artform, as Blackpool’s community theatre, Lancashire’s preferred opera house and Britain’s National Theatre of Variety.
OUR MISSSION
Our mission is to continue our historic success in conserving the integrity of the irreplaceable Grade II* Listed Victorian theatre, welcoming theatregoers by presenting a discerning programme of popular, thought-provoking and progressive theatre for Blackpool and the North West
Built 1894, Architect Frank Matcham
The Grand Theatre, Blackpool is one of Britain’s premier heritage theatres:
Listed Grade II*, the Grand is in the top 8 per cent of all listed buildings in England, and one of only thirty listed buildings in Blackpool. We are one of only nine large theatres listed Grade II* or above, north of London.
The Grand Theatre is a product and symbol of the late nineteenth-century boom in theatregoing and the expansion of live entertainment at Blackpool, Britain’s biggest show town after London’s West End. This monument to pleasure is a very special form of ‘public space’. More than most theatres of whatever age, the Grand’s post-Baroque neoclassical architecture creates an emotionally charged atmosphere in which over 200,000 theatregoers each year learn about life, culture, politics and romance, through what is shown and implied almost on stage. The popular entertainments, dramas, operas, circuses, ballets, dances, pantomimes and music presented at the Grand represent ideals, possibilities and pitfalls, whilst the opulent Grand Theatre housing them reflects a tangible expression of hope and dreams.
With Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens, the Grand Theatre is one the three crowning architectural achievements of Blackpool. The exterior is a visual landmark of the town centre; whilst inside, architect Frank Matcham’s decorations and four-tier 1,100-seat intimate auditorium creates an atmosphere of festive spirit for what is also a cultural landmark. Going to the Grand Theatre is almost as important as the shows people come to see: from the moment theatregoers arrive to collect their tickets, there is a sense of something special, a feeling that to step inside is to enter another time and place…
Today, the Grand is owned by a community organisation, Blackpool Grand Theatre Trust Limited, which reopened the theatre in 1981 following the gargantuan volunteer efforts of the Friends of the Grand who saved the theatre from the brink of demolition. They refused to believe that life in Blackpool would be better without this wonderful theatre.
For information TELEPHONE
Box Office 01253 290190
Group Bookings 01253 743232
Administration 01253 290111