Diary Sunday 11th September 2016 – Heritage Tour – Preston Playhouse

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The anniversary of 9/11 gave the day an air of poignancy though mostly it was a very pleasurable day for me as I attended three more of Preston’s free Heritage Open Day events. Later I would explore the city’s biggest cemetery and a leading church building but my day started with a visit to the theatre, Preston Playhouse, and a chance to see behind the scenes of one f the country’s most respected Amateur Dramatic Theatre properties. The building was opened in 1847 as a Friend’s (Quaker) Meeting House, for a society that then frowned on theatre and stage entertainment. During the war the centre was used as a war records office and it was opened as a theatre in 1949, with its first production being the 1924 bittersweet Irish comedy Juno And The Paycock, written by Sean O’Casey, and later turned into an early now forgotten movie by Alfred Hitchcock. The theatre was undergoing preparation for forthcoming shows during the tour, starting with Roland Pertwee’s Pink String And Ceiling Wax later this month. The tour took in the backstage areas, the lighting and sound booths high up above the stage, and the changing room facilities for the casts of varied productions. The building has changed over the years. We saw where the ladies’ balcony used to be. This was designed for women who wished to wear hats while attending shows. Women in the cheaper stall seats were expected to remove headgear so as not to obstruct the view of other audience members. Externally, the entrance is now what was once the back door to the theatre. The old front door is now the back, as development to land around the theatre has completely reversed. Some leading Prestonians have treaded the boards at The Playhouse including Roy Barraclough who went on to support Les Dawson in comedy and became a leading character in TV’s Coronation Street. It is a lovely, lively theatre, enthusiastically run by volunteers. I hope to see a show there soon. Arthur Chappell