All the World's a Stage: the development of theatre buildings
Mike Higginbottom
- Region:
- Anywhere
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Architectural and social history
- Fee:
- Paid: Dependent on size of audience and distance travelled from South Yorkshire
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 23rd November 2017
- Tagged:
- Victorian Architecture | Theatres
This lecture surveys the evolution of theatre buildings from classical times, through the Elizabethan and Restoration periods to the heyday of the Victorian theatre and music hall, leading to the varied approaches of post-war architects to provide performance spaces that suit modern actors and audiences.
Every generation of theatre designers and performers has made the best possible use of up-to-date technology and materials to provide the public with memorable experiences of drama and entertainment. The amount of physical comfort provided would often be less than a modern audience would tolerate, yet surviving theatre buildings prove remarkably adaptable to current uses and expectations.
The presentation includes Roman and Renaissance classical theatres, the reproduction Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on London’s South Bank, a range of nineteenth- and twentieth-century theatres, up to such post-war examples as the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield (1971) and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester (1976/1998).
Views: 1340 | Enquiries: 2About Mike Higginbottom
I am a freelance history lecturer specialising in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with a background in university extramural education.
I offer distinctive, life-enhancing insights into the past, particularly the recent past, for people who enjoy visiting places and recognising the human stories behind this historical heritage.
I lecture for the Arts Society (formerly the National Association of Decorative & Fine Arts Societies [NADFAS]) in the UK, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.
Whether lecturing, writing or guiding tours, I provide detailed information in a lucid and entertaining way. My publications and lectures are copiously illustrated, as much as possible using my own photography.
Mike Higginbottom Interesting Times is the brand for my history education work – tours, lectures and publications. My blog is a fund of interesting, sometimes quirky insights into places, people and historical events.
I'm based in Sheffield and willing to travel anywhere in the UK or further afield.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Mike Higginbottom
- The Big Apple: the architecture of New York City
- Windy City: the architecture of Chicago
- St Pancras Station & Hotel
- Liverpool's Heritage
- Manchester's Heritage
- Fun Palaces: the history and architecture of the entertainment industry
- Dream Palaces: an introduction to cinema architecture
- Away from it all: the heritage of holiday resorts
- Beside the Seaside: the architecture of British coastal resorts
- Blackpool's Seaside Heritage
- Yorkshire's Seaside Heritage
- Victorian Cemeteries
- Victorian Sewerage
- Temples of Sanitation
- English Country Houses – not quite what they seem
- Sheffield's Cinema Heritage
- Demolished Sheffield
- A Look Round Attercliffe
- Waterways and Railways across the Derbyshire Peak
- Waterways and Railways across the Northern Pennines
- Waterways and Railways between Thames and Severn
- The Derbyshire Derwent Valley
Send a message to the speaker
If you are interested in this talk and wish to contact the speaker, please complete the following form: