Grand Theatre

The Grand Theatre is situated in Mostyn Broadway, a little out of the town centre, which runs parallel with the promenade. It is a large free-standing building and was opened on Bank Holiday Monday, August 5th 1901 under the direction of Mr Milton Bode, one of the best-known managers in the theatre world.

The architect was George A. Humphries of the Mostyn Estate with Edwin Sachs as consultant architect. Built with a red brick facade with stone dressings, topped by low semi-octagonal towers, the theatre seated 1,000, with two well curved balconies with eight rows of seats each and two boxes at either side of the first balcony and one box above. The boxes are divided by slim colonettes. A segmental arch with lattice decoration spans the auditorium above while the saucer dome ceiling has a plaster sunburst around a central rose. Plaster work on the proscenium, boxes and balcony fronts is of scrolls, festoons and musical instruments.

The Grand Theatre was first presenting variety shows and screened films as one of the acts on the variety programme. It became primarily a playhouse, but musical comedies were also part of the staple diet. In the late 1920’s, the theatre was fitted with a British Acoustic sound system and films were screened for several years, complementing the stage productions.

In April 1941 organist Reginald Foort brought his travelling Moller theatre organ to the Grand Theatre. From 1938 the organ had travelled around the country touring in many theatres and cinemas. The instrument had been designed by Reginald Foort and was a 5 manual, 27 ranks instrument which weighed 20 tons and was transported on five 30ft lorries. It took around 4 hours to assemble and de-assemble the instrument. The BBC began to use the Grand Theatre as a recording studio until 1943, as their own Compton organ installed in St. Georges Hall, London had been destroyed when that building, which was adjacent to Broadcasting House had been bombed. In 1943 the Moller travelling organ was moved to Bangor. (note:In 1946 the BBC purchased the Moller Travelling organ for £10,000).

In 1957 the Grand Theatre was taken over by John Creese Parsons, who had moved to Llandudno from the West Midlands in the 1940’s and took up farming. He later sold the farmland and bought the Grand Theatre. For the next twenty years he produced a series of musical comedies and plays. The Agatha Christie murder mysteries were very popular at the Grand with both the holiday makers and local theatregoers alike.

The theatre struggled on to the late-1970’s and when John Creese Parsons died in 1984, his brother-in-law Mr Jeff Duckenfield became the Managing Director. He tried very hard to get funding to reopen the Grand, either as a theatre or as an entertainment centre, but with the local council committed to the new North Wales Theatre scheme on the promenade (Venue Cymru), the money was not forthcoming and now the Grand Theatre is a night club named Broadway Boulevard Discotheque. It was closed in June 2015 and remained shuttered until new operators took over and following renovations it re-opened in May 2016.

This is a great shame as a refurbished Grand Theatre could still be run to compliment the new theatre, to present plays and the smaller touring companies, as the new theatre is too large for that kind of entertainment. For over 80 years an unusual sight was the stage tower of the Grand Theatre backing on to the stage tower of Will Catlins Arcadia Theatre, situated on the promenade. The Arcadia Theatre was demolished in the 1980’s to make way for the new North Wales Theatre.

The Grand Theatre must be the best surviving traditional theatre building left in North Wales and is a Grade II* Listed building.

Get Movie Tickets & Showtimes

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.