Memories of Doncaster Grand

Some social history of Theatre at Risk, Doncaster Grand

I have been going in there since I was 3 years old, when my parents took me to see Nellie Wallace in Mother Goose. I was terrified, until the curtain went up, then I wanted to be one of the little dancing girls on the stage, little knowing that when I was 15 I would be doing my first big show Rose Marie with Doncaster Thespian Operatic Society (me front stage left)

Margaret Herbert, Chair of Friends of Doncaster Grand

Opening night

Doncaster Grand opened on 27 March 1899 with the opening show being La Poupee which came straight down to Doncaster from London. Friends of Doncaster Grand Chair Margaret Hertbert’s grandparents were in the audience.

Surviving World War II

Doncaster Grand survived the bomb blast in the town during World War II, with the only damage being to the glass canopy above the entrance way, which was shattered by a statue falling through it. The theatre’s stability is thanks to its 4.5ft thick base walls – built to take the weight of elephants.

Famous faces

Many famous people have appeared on stage at the Doncaster Grand including George Formby, Morecombe and Wise, Arthur Askey, Wilfred Pickles, Winifred Atwell and Max Miller. Julia Andrews has appeared also performed in the theatre, as did both of her parents who were in the panto in 1938, with baby Julie in the dressing room as they performed.

Read more about the Doncaster Grand and why it is on our Theatres at Risk list.