Bradford Playhouse

Bradford Playhouse is a theatre venue in Little Germany, Bradford, West Yorkshire. The building contains a 266-seat proscenium-arch auditorium with stalls and circle seating, as well as a studio space designed to accommodate changing arrangements of lighting, sound and seating. Its identity has been closely associated with community theatre, amateur performance, repertory activity and Bradford’s cultural history. The organisation began in 1929, when the Bradford Playhouse Company, an amateur group associated with the Leeds Civic Playhouse Company, rented Jowett Hall. The hall had previously been a temperance venue and had also been used as a cinema. Bradford became independent of its Leeds parent organisation in 1932, when the writer J. B. Priestley became president. Priestley retained that position until his death in 1984, giving the theatre an unusually strong connection with one of Bradford’s best-known literary figures. His sister Winnie Priestley, who had served as secretary of the Bradford branch of the Leeds Civic Theatre, later held the equivalent role with the independent Bradford Civic Theatre. A plaque in the building commemorates her. Jowett Hall was destroyed by fire in April 1935. With support from Priestley, including royalties from several of his plays, the organisation acquired the site and rebuilt. The replacement premises opened in January 1937 under Sir Barry Jackson and combined theatrical performance with cinema exhibition. For many years the organisation operated as an amateur theatre while showing films between stage productions. Film screenings continued until 2001, although the venue had lost its regional film-theatre status several years earlier after that role was taken on by Bradford’s National Museum of Television, Film and Photography, later the National Media Museum. A second major fire occurred on the night of 19 July 1996 during a run of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. The main auditorium was closed for reconstruction, but the company maintained a programme in the studio during the 1996–97 season. The principal auditorium reopened on 31 October 1997 with a production of J. B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls. After the rebuilding, the organisation used the name Priestley Centre for the Arts before later reverting to Bradford Playhouse. Since the late 1990s, the venue has experienced repeated financial and organisational difficulties. Appeals, loans, donations, changes of management, administration and liquidation all affected its operation. The organisation narrowly avoided voluntary liquidation in 2001, survived another threatened closure in January 2003 through new governance and finance, and entered administration in 2008. A 2009 Arts Council of England grant helped it emerge from administration. In 2011 the Playhouse went into liquidation with reported debts of £300,000. Subsequent operators used the names Little Germany Theatre and The New Bradford Playhouse while efforts were made to preserve the building as a theatre. The building was purchased from the liquidators in 2014 by theatre enthusiast Colin Fine, with the stated intention of continuing its use and development as a theatre. Takeover Events & Theatre managed the venue until July 2016, after which Megan and Carl Murray took over its operation through Purple Stage Theatres. The Playhouse’s history therefore combines literary association, amateur and community performance, cinema exhibition, fire recovery and prolonged local efforts to keep an independent theatre building in use.

Bradford Playhouse was established in 1929 by the Bradford Playhouse Company, an amateur organisation that originated as an offshoot of the Leeds Civic Playhouse Company. It initially rented Jowett Hall in Bradford. The building had previously served as a temperance hall and had also been used as a cinema, establishing the mixed theatrical and film function that later became characteristic of the venue. The Bradford organisation became independent from Leeds in 1932. In the same year, J. B. Priestley became its president. He held the position until his death in 1984, and his association gave the theatre an important connection with Bradford’s literary and civic identity. Priestley’s sister Winnie had worked as secretary of the Bradford branch of the Leeds Civic Theatre and subsequently served as secretary of the independent Bradford Civic Theatre. A plaque at the venue commemorates her. Priestley discussed the theatre and the wider civic-theatre movement in his 1934 book English Journey, presenting such theatres as community institutions that encouraged participation, imagination and public life. Jowett Hall was destroyed by fire in April 1935. Priestley assisted the recovery by contributing royalties from several of his plays. The organisation acquired the site and rebuilt the premises. The replacement building opened in January 1937, with Sir Barry Jackson performing the opening. It was named the Priestley and combined a theatre with a cinema. The company continued to operate as an amateur theatre, presenting plays and showing films between productions. Film exhibition remained part of the programme until 2001, even though the venue had ceased to function as a regional film theatre several years earlier after that role passed to Bradford’s National Museum of Television, Film and Photography, later known as the National Media Museum. The building suffered another major fire on the night of 19 July 1996, during a production of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. The main auditorium closed while reconstruction took place. The organisation nevertheless presented a complete 1996–97 season in its studio space. The rebuilt auditorium reopened on 31 October 1997 with J. B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls. After reopening, the venue operated as the Priestley Centre for the Arts before later returning to the Bradford Playhouse name. The post-1997 period was marked by recurring financial crises. In October 2001, an appeal supported by the Bradford Telegraph & Argus sought £10,000 to prevent voluntary liquidation. More than £11,000 was raised, but the organisation again faced a liquidation threat a few months later. It continued operating through 2002. In January 2003, closure was announced, but a new board led by Thomas Sandford obtained a £40,000 bank loan and combined it with £18,000 in donations. The venue stayed open and was relaunched as The Priestley, with building management separated from the individual groups using the premises. Another crisis occurred in autumn 2008, when The Priestley entered administration. A new board led by Jenny Wilson relaunched it as Bradford Playhouse. A £51,000 Arts Council of England grant in July 2009 helped the organisation leave administration. In September 2011, however, the Playhouse entered liquidation with reported debts of £300,000. Rob Walters, a former chairman and creditor, arranged for Be Wonderful Ltd. to run the theatre under licence from the liquidators. The venue reopened as the Little Germany Theatre, and the studio was announced for reopening as the Isherwood Studio, commemorating former member Millicent Isherwood. Be Wonderful closed the theatre in October 2012. Clare and Jono Gadsby then formed Takeover Events & Theatre Ltd., which leased the building for six months and operated it as The New Bradford Playhouse. During this period, liquidators continued seeking a purchaser and made clear that a sale might not preserve the building’s theatrical use. In June 2014, an auction was announced for the following month. Megan Murray, representing the Friends of Bradford Playhouse, organised fundraising and sought support from Bradford Council for Asset of Community Value status. Colin Fine ultimately bought the building from the liquidators in July 2014 with the stated objective of continuing its development as a theatre. Takeover Events & Theatre continued to manage the venue until July 2016, when the company stepped back to focus on production. Megan and Carl Murray then took over operation through Purple Stage Theatres from 1 August 2016. The theatre’s documented history is consequently defined by amateur and community-led performance, a long association with Priestley, cinema and studio programming, two major fires, and repeated local campaigns to preserve an independent cultural venue.

• 2016

  Purple Stage Theatres assumes operation

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  Megan and Carl Murray took over operation from 1 August through Purple Stage Theatres.

• 2014

  Building acquired by Colin Fine

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  Colin Fine purchased the building from the liquidators after a local preservation campaign.

• 2012

  The New Bradford Playhouse operated by Takeover Events & Theatre

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  A new company leased the building for six months after the previous operator closed it.

• 2011

  Liquidation and temporary rebranding

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  The Playhouse entered liquidation with reported debts of £300,000 and reopened under licence as the Little Germany Theatre.

• 2009

  Arts Council support

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  A £51,000 Arts Council of England grant helped the organisation emerge from administration.

• 2008

  Administration and relaunch

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  The Priestley entered administration and was relaunched under a new board as Bradford Playhouse.

• 2003

  Theatre rescued from planned closure

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  A new board secured a bank loan and donations, allowing the venue to remain open and relaunch as The Priestley.

• 2001

  Film screenings end

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  The venue’s regular film-showing activity, which had continued alongside theatre, ended after its regional film-theatre role had already passed to the National Museum of Television, Film and Photography.

• 1997

  Main auditorium reopens

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  The auditorium reopened on 31 October with An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley.

• 1996

  Second major fire

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  A major fire occurred during a production of Lysistrata. The studio was used to maintain performances while the main auditorium was rebuilt.

• 1984

  End of J. B. Priestley’s presidency

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  Priestley remained president until his death, ending a five-decade association with the theatre.

• 1937

  New theatre and cinema opens

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  The rebuilt premises opened in January under Sir Barry Jackson as a combined theatre and cinema named the Priestley.

• 1935

  Jowett Hall destroyed by fire

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  A fire destroyed the original premises in April. With assistance from Priestley, the organisation acquired the site and rebuilt.

• 1932

  Bradford organisation becomes independent

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  The Bradford group separated from the Leeds Civic Playhouse Company, and J. B. Priestley became president.

• 1929

  Bradford Playhouse Company established

  [1]Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org

  An amateur Bradford Playhouse Company founded the organisation and began renting Jowett Hall, a former temperance hall and cinema.

A locally rooted, community-oriented theatre and cultural venue whose identity is shaped by amateur performance, repertory activity, the legacy of J. B. Priestley and the preservation of an independent Bradford arts building.

• Theatre venue · 1937

  Main auditorium

  The principal venue is a 266-seat proscenium-arch theatre with both stalls and circle seating. It is designed for conventional staged productions and has served as the Playhouse’s central performance space since the post-1935 rebuilding, with a major reconstruction following the 1996 fire.

• Flexible performance venue

  Studio theatre

  The studio provides a smaller and more adaptable performance environment, with flexible lighting, sound and seating configurations. It became especially important during the 1996–97 reconstruction, when the company presented a full season there while the main auditorium was closed.

• Film exhibition · 1937

  Cinema screenings

  Film exhibition was historically part of the venue’s programme because the original and rebuilt premises operated as combined theatre-and-cinema facilities. Screenings were shown between stage productions and continued until 2001.

• Live performance programming · 1929

  Amateur and community theatre

  The organisation’s core activity has been amateur, community and repertory-oriented theatre. Its programming model has relied on local participation by performers, production teams and audiences, reflecting the civic-theatre tradition associated with its foundation.

• 2014Friends of Bradford Playhouse preservation campaign

  Bradford · United Kingdom

  Megan Murray and the Friends of Bradford Playhouse campaigned to raise funds to buy the building and urged Bradford Council to recognise it as an Asset of Community Value.

  Outcome. Colin Fine purchased the building from the liquidators and stated that it would continue to be developed as a theatre.

  Source
• 2001Save the Bradford Playhouse appeal

  Bradford · United Kingdom

  The theatre and the Bradford Telegraph & Argus supported an appeal seeking £10,000 to prevent voluntary liquidation. More than £11,000 was raised, temporarily extending the organisation’s operating life.

  Outcome. The appeal provided a short-term reprieve, but another liquidation threat was reported by January 2002.

  Source

• 2011

  Operate under licence after liquidationStrategy

  Background

  The Playhouse entered liquidation with reported debts of £300,000.

  Action taken

  Be Wonderful Ltd., associated with former chairman and creditor Rob Walters, operated the building under licence from the liquidators.

  Aftermath

  The venue reopened as the Little Germany Theatre before later changes of operator and name.

  Reported debts. £300,000 (September 2011)

  Source

• 2008

  Relaunch after administrationStrategy

  Background

  The Priestley entered administration during a financial crisis.

  Action taken

  A new board led by Jenny Wilson relaunched the venue under the Bradford Playhouse name.

  Aftermath

  Arts Council support in 2009 helped the organisation leave administration.

  Source

• 2003

  Separate building management from user groupsStrategy

  Background

  The venue faced a planned closure and needed new finance and governance.

  Action taken

  A board led by Thomas Sandford secured a bank loan and donations, relaunched the venue as The Priestley and separated management of the building from the groups using it.

  Aftermath

  The theatre remained open during 2003.

  Bank loan and donations. £40,000 bank loan plus £18,000 in donations (2003)

  Source

• 1996

  Maintain programming during auditorium reconstructionGeneration change

  Background

  A fire during Lysistrata closed the main auditorium.

  Action taken

  The company shifted its 1996–97 season to the studio while reconstruction took place.

  Aftermath

  The main auditorium reopened in October 1997 with An Inspector Calls.

  Source

• 1935

  Rebuild after the Jowett Hall fireStrategy

  Background

  The original premises were destroyed by fire in April 1935.

  Action taken

  The organisation acquired the site and rebuilt with assistance from J. B. Priestley, including royalties from several of his plays.

  Aftermath

  A combined theatre and cinema opened in January 1937.

  Source

• 1932

  Separate from the Leeds Civic Playhouse CompanyStrategy

  Background

  The Bradford organisation had begun as an offshoot of the Leeds Civic Playhouse Company.

  Action taken

  It became an independent organisation and appointed J. B. Priestley as president.

  Aftermath

  The independent Bradford civic-theatre identity continued for decades and became closely associated with Priestley.

  Source

1. 1Bradford Playhouseen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Bradford Playhouse official websitebradfordplayhouse.org.uk