What's New on ArthurLloyd.co.uk

Online continuously since January 2001 this website is visited by millions of people every year, from all over the world. There are over 1,550 pages of information on this site and nearly 16,000 images. All the latest additions and updates to the site are shown below. You may also click the year links below to see details of previous updates from as far back as February 2004 when the What's New page was first created.

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3rd of July 2020

I don't normally put news items on the site, this page is usually for alerting visitors to all the latest updates and additions, but having worked in the Theatre Industry for over 45 years, and running this site for nearly 20, I feel I am well placed to help in the efforts to alert people to the brutal effects the Coronavirus Pandemic is having on the Theatre Industry, Theatre Owners, and Theatre Employees like myself, all over the Country, so please excuse this change to the What's New page today.

With Theatres all over the Country closed since March 2020, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, and probably not opening again this year, the Stage Newspaper this week carries a Front Page Plea to the Government's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to 'ACT NOW' to let Theatres know when they will be able to reopen, and to support the many thousands of Theatre Workers facing redundancy once the job retention scheme begins to wind down in August this year.

Crucially the Stage asks the Government to Issue Guidance on Re-opening dates, Publish Clear Guidance from Health Advisors, to Commit to Investment in Theatre, and to provide extra support for the workforce unable to work.

The Stage says that the arts and culture industry added £10.8 billion to the UK economy in 2019, and is a 'Crucial driver for tourism and other parts of the service economy'.

Theatres in London's West End and Provincial Theatres all over the Country are publicly announcing wide spread redundancies, some are going into administration already, and many others will be forced into the same situation in the next few months if they can't reopen and are not supported.

The Pandemic is rapidly turning into a disaster for the Theatre industry and its workers. Whilst much of the rest of the UK economy is coming out of Lockdown on the 4th of July, tomorrow, Theatre owners have no opening date in sight, can't afford to keep on staff once the Furlough scheme begins to be wound down in August, and are haemorrhaging money just keeping their, often hundred year old or more, buildings standing.

When you visit a Theatre for a night out you are greeted by cheerful box office staff and ushers who check your tickets and direct you to your seats, there are people serving you drinks in often opulent bars before the show and at the intervals, there are often hundreds of people working backstage, including dressers, who help the actors with their costumes, wardrobe who maintain the elaborate costumes and wigs, stage staff who operate and maintain the often complicated and heavy scenery, lighting technicians who operate and maintain the often massive lighting rigs, sound operators and technicians who create and maintain the complicated sound systems, and stage management who run the show and keep everything operating smoothly and safely, not to mention the teams of cleaners, management, and maintenance people, who keep a Theatre running efficiently and healthily so that the public can enjoy a show safely and in comfort. And then of course there are the Actors, Musicians, Singers, Dancers, and other Performers who the audience have really come to see. All this adds up to hundreds of people working in every Theatre around the Country, most of which have been out of work since March 2020 and probably will be unemployed for the foreseeable future. Many have been able to survive on the Government's Furlough scheme so far, though this will change in August when many, if not all, are likely to be made redundant, but many others who are often self employed, have already fallen through the gaps and have had to survive on savings or unemployment benefit since March 2020.

The Stage Newspaper's Front Page is a rallying call to the Government to wake up and save the industry and its workers before it's too late.

Please visit the Stage Newspaper's website to read the full article, and other crucial information on the Pandemic's disastrous effect on Theatre, here.

Updates to the site in 2020

2nd July 2020

The Empire Theatre, Belfast - Some More Information and Two New Images Added

1st July 2020

The Empire Theatre, Belfast - New Image and Information Added on the Theatre's 50th BBC Radio Broadcast from the Empire in 1936

30th June 2020

The Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire - New Page Added

The Palace Theatre, Hull - New Photograph from 1932 Added

The Grand Theatre of Varieties, Bolton - New 1932 Variety Programme Added

The Finsbury Park Empire - New 1945 Programme Added

The Regal Theatre, Southend - New 1930s Poster Added

The London Palladium - New 1940 Variety Programme Cover Added

27th June 2020

The Free Trade Hall, Manchester - New Slideshow Added of photos taken after the Hall had been closed and before its conversion into an Hotel in 1997

The Theatre Royal, Peter Street, Manchester - New 1997 Photo Added

26th June 2020

Neil Sean Recalls Theatre Legend Binkie Beaumont

25th June 2020

The King's Theatre, Nottingham - Listing Rewritten by Ted Bottle and New Images Added

The Oxford Music Hall / Oxford Theatre - New Image for the 1920 Alterations Added Here. And Demolition Image Added Further Down the Page

23rd June 2020

Ann Montini Remembers her Good Friend the One and Only Sir Norman Wisdom

The Stoll Theatre, London - New Painting by George Richmond Added

18th June 2020

The Penge Empire - More Information and New Images Added

The Royalty / Peacock Theatre, Kingsway - New Image and More Information Added

17th June 2020

The Theatre Royal / Music Hall, Chester - New Listing Added

16th June 2020

The Granada Theatre, Shrewsbury - New Listing Added

The Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury - New Listing Added

15th June 2020

The Music Hall, Shrewsbury - New Page Added

The Oxford Music Hall / Theatre, London - New Programme and Images Added Here

The Finsbury Park Empire - New 1948 Programme Added

The Winter Garden Theatre, London - New 1948 Programme Cover Added

14th June 2020

Colins' Music Hall, London - New 1920s Programme Cover Added

The Euston Palace, London - New Early Programme Cover Added

13th June 2020

The Bedord Palace Of Varieties - Three New Programmes Added

12th June 2020

The Berwick Theatre, Berwick-Upon-Tweed - New Page Added

The Theatre Royal, Guildhall Street, Canterbury - More Information and New Images Added

10th June 2020

The Gillian Lynne Theatre, London - Page Updated with Information and Image Added for the Current Refurbishment of the Theatre Here

The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - Page Updated Here

8th June 2020

The Theatre Royal, Aston, Birmingham - More Information Added

Leotard Bosco - Obituary and New Images Added Here

5th June 2020

The Noel Coward Theatre, London - Page Restructured and More Information and Opening Programme Added

The New Theatre, Cambridge - More Images and Information Added

The Princes Theatre, Bradford - More Information and New Image Added

The Palace Theatre, Bradford - New Image Added

The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford - New Image Added

The New Victoria Theatre, Bradford - More Information and New Image Added

4th June 2020

The Theatres Trust Director Jon Morgan here outlines the work the Theatres Trust has been doing to support and protect theatres in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Margate Hippodrome - More Information and New Images Added

3rd June 2020

Her Majesty's Theatre, Carlisle - New Page Added

The Theatre Royal, Manningham Lane, Bradford - Demolition details Updated

2nd June 2020

The Capitol Theatre, Forest Hill, London - More Information and New Images Added

The Duke of York's Theatre, London - Wartime opening Information Updated

1st June 2020

The Capitol Theatre, Haymarket, London - New Painting by George Richmond Added

The Newcastle Empire - New 1959 Programme Added

27th May 2020

Chester Theatres - New Page Added with Details of the Royalty Theatre