The Alhambra Theatre - a jewel in Bradford and Yorkshire's crown

I assumed that I’d be wrapping up my lockdown theatre profiles either this week or next and thereon resume writing about shows that are actually happening in our venues.

The Alhambra Theatre - a jewel in Bradford and Yorkshire's crown

The hokey-cokey approach to locking down our nation is causing some logistical issues.

The idea behind these features was to profile venues while no performances were happening, but when performances return, so do the usual features.

Whether or not this will be my last profile piece for Culture is almost anybody’s guess. If this is the last one, however, I’m going out with a big one.

The Bradford Alhambra theatre holds a personal significance for me. It was the place I first experienced the thrill of theatre: it was chucking a foam brick at panto star Russ Abbott on that famous stage that first piqued my sense of thrill at the theatrical.

Then in 1986, as a nine-year-old in short trousers, I saw a touring production of Voyage of the Dawn Treader and it did for me. I have the Alhambra theatre, where I witnessed that magical production, to thank for the fact that I sit here now writing for and about theatre. My lifelong obsession began at a matinee performance of that show.

I know I’m not alone in loving the theatre the way I do. Many of you will have special connections to the Alhambra because it is, for one side of West Yorkshire, the place where we go to experience those epic theatrical productions from Cats to The Lion King to the annual panto where Billy Pearce reigns supreme.

In fact, given that the doors to the theatre opened officially at 2pm on March 18, 1914, there will be thousands who understand why I feel that special connection to this theatre.

The grand theatre was the brainchild of Bradford impresario Francis Laidler (you can find a full history I wrote of the theatre for The Yorkshire Post, commemorating the centenary of the venue on the Alhambra’s website). It remains today a jewel in the crown of Bradford, although I must confess it has been a little heartbreaking to see the building in darkness on my rare trips into the city of late.

Adam Renton is the theatre’s general manager and has a huge passion for the place. Unlike some of the venues to have appeared in the lockdown profiles, the Alhambra doesn’t produce its own work (pantomime excepting, which I will, obviously, come to).

It means he has the job of programming the theatre’s offer by cherry picking what is available on the theatrical market.

“We’re defined by the variety and quality of our shows. We have a huge variety, often with shows changing nightly or weekly,” he says. “We employ nearly 300 people and attract 400,000 people to the venue each year.”

Renton had a career in hospitality before joining the Alhambra, which means he brings the eye of a populist to the running of the building. He also has shown a commitment to bringing world class contemporary dance to the venue. “My love of the Alhambra started at a very early age attending panto and I can remember in particular being very embarrassed when the pantomime cow came and sat on my mother’s knee,” he says, proving that old point about shouting ‘he’s behind you’ being the gateway drug.

He ended up working in the hospitality and corporate side of the organisation, but wanted more. “I’d returned from running a hotel in the French Alps and applied for a job running the hospitality and corporate side of the theatres, that was the point of no return. I’d soaked up all the different elements that make the organisation work and when the chance came to apply as general manager I immediately took it. The chance to run a number one touring theatre was incredibly exciting.”

With his eye for the theatrical, Renton has succeeded in bringing some impressive shows to the Alhambra over the past two decades, landing the Lion King’s first national tour and building, along with Qdos, the annual panto to ever more spectacular heights.

His commitment to dance is something that stands out. “I think Alvin Ailey was a defining moment and the pantomimes, in particular when we did Aladdin and were the first venue ever to use a 3D genie,” he says.

Alvin Ailey, the world-famous New York dance company, is a massive coup. To see such a world class dance company performing in Bradford its signature piece Revelations, a piece of artistic expression that will last as long as we have souls that need to move, is a wonderful thing.

Unlike some of the people who have appeared in these lockdown profiles, Renton is a businessman first. He needs to run the Alhambra as an ongoing concern and so has his eyes on the spreadsheets as much as the artistic output. “We offer the best in touring theatre, appealing to huge numbers of people from all backgrounds. We are a major employer of people and they create a great deal of secondary spend within the district,” he says.

It’s refreshing. I often bang on about the moral argument for throwing our arms around our cultural jewels in these terrifying times, but Renton reminds that there’s perfectly good financial reasons for doing the right thing.

“I wish I had a crystal ball. I believe audiences will be eager to return, if not in pre-covid numbers,” he says. “I think there will be a demand for more upbeat, light entertainment.”

We’re going to need a laugh, something to put a smile on our faces – and the Alhambra is where you’ll find it.

Dance, musicals and pantomime

This year was set to be another big one for the Alhambra, with the return of the epic The Lion King, now postponed until next year.

Renowned dance companies such as Netherlands Dans Theater, Rambert and Ballet British have all performed at the venue in recent years.

The loss of the panto will hit Bradford particularly hard, the annual extravaganza is a vital part of the year with Billy Pearce having led the cast for two decades at the venue.

The Addams Family, Blood Brothers, Grease and 9 to 5 The Musical are all scheduled for Spring 2021.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson