Cannon Bolton

HJHill on May 22, 2014 at 11:38 am

“ . . the Lido in Bradshawgate, as unprepossessing and unVenetian building as could be imagined despite its gondola-filled proscenium frieze… it was little more than a cheap shell. The foyer was bare and cramped, and the centre stalls were by crash doors which opened from the auditorium straight out into the side alleys, sometimes drenching the adjacent customers in rain or snow… . the Lido was . . the proud possessor of a Christie organ, and the interlude for this could stretch the gap between solid celluloid items to as much as thirty-five minutes. Though it had the advantage of a phantom piano attachment, the Lido organ did not rise from the orchestra pit, nor did it change colour as it came. From some of the side seats you could see it waiting in the wings throughout the performance, and since the main curtain hung slightly short, front stalls patrons could count the feet of the men who pushed it on stage at the appropriate moment.”

Seats In All Parts: by Leslie Halliwell