The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse and Lauriston Studio, Barrington Road, Altrincham, Trafford, Greater Manchester

See also the Regal Theatre, Altrincham

Manchester Theatres Index

Above - A Google StreetView Image of the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse in December 2020 - Click to Interact.

The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse is situated on Barrington Road, Altrincham and was officially opened on Saturday the 1st of October 1932 with the play 'The Immortal Lady' by Clifford Bax. The Theatre was built by the Altrincham Garrick Society, an amateur theatre company which had first been set up in February 1914. The Society officially began life at its first meeting in rooms at Post Office Place on the 12th of February 1914 with the premise of the study of literature, music, and drama, its president being Edward Acton, who was also president of the Manchester Playgoer's Club. The Society's first production 'The Silver Box' by John Galsworthy was performed at the Altrincham Public Hall on Wednesday the 18th of March 1914 with scenery supplied by the Gaiety Theatre, Manchester.

The Society performed in many productions over the years, usually at the Altrincham Public Hall but had longed for a home of their own ever since George Bernard Shaw had first proposed it in 1921. The scheme was finally achieved with the opening of the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse in 1932. The Theatre plans were first put into action in 1930 after the close of their winter season. The Society campaigned vigorously during the following summer and a site was secured and plans prepared and passed, and by July 1931 the building was under construction. The Theatre was almost complete by June 1932 but it was decided not to open it until the Winter Season began in October 1932.

Right - An article on the history of the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse - From the Manchester Evening News, 26th of October 1945. Note the opening date in the article is wrongly stated as 1923 when it should have read 1932.

The Theatre cost £8,000 to construct and fit out with £3,000 being supplied by a building fund set up by the Society, a £3,000 Mortgage, and the rest being subscribed by local people and businesses. When the Theatre opened the Altrincham Garrick Society President was by then P. M. Oliver.

When it first opened the Altrincham Garrick Playhouse could seat 500 people in its single level raked auditorium, it had a stage 65 feet by 25 feet with a manual hemp flies, an Orchestra Pit which could be covered over to form an apron stage, dressing rooms beneath the stage, a Green Room and Canteen for staff, a Rehearsal Room above the Foyer, a workshop beneath the auditorium, a large car park, and Professional stage lighting installed by the Strand Electric & Engineering Company Ltd.

Having opened in 1932 the Theatre was later refurbished in 1999 at a cost of £900,000, partly funded by a National Lottery Grant. Today the Theatre seats 401 people in its main auditorium and 49 in its Lauriston Studio, and also includes the Garrick Picturehouse which has a large screen used to show cinema films and recordings of professionally-staged productions. The Theatre, which is usually open from September to the following June, presenting amateur productions of Drama, Comedy, Musicals and Pantomime, also has a spacious foyer and a bar for its patrons. The Theatre is a registered charity staffed mostly by volunteers.

You may like to visit the Theatre's own Website here.

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