Theatre in Britain World War 2 :
In the World War 2 theatre people loved theatre when the war started, however the government wanted to close down the theatres during the bombings for peoples safety. The Globe theatre was a very famous theatre for London in the World War 2 and people can go there to feel calm and have fun, and another theatre in the World War 2 was called Playhouse Theatre. If people went to the theatre they would at the begging of the play say what to do in case of a raid -air bombing.
Here is a list of theatres that were in Britain in World War 2:
- Duchess Theatre
- Savile Theatre
- The Savoy Theatre
- London Hippodrome
- Apollo Theatre
- St Martins Theatre
DiGeorge,P. (2015) London Theatre during WWII | Liberty Lady
- Duchess Theatre :
The Duchess Theatre opened on the 25th November 1929 and there first play was called “Tunnel Trench”. They liked to put on mainly classic and contemporary plays at the time, the person who built the theatre was Ewen Barr . When the theatre was built they seated 500 people and it closed during World War 2 but opened back up on 29th March 1930 and there first play was a musical called “Love in Idleness”.
The Duchess Theatre (no date) The Duchess Theatre, Catherine Street, London, WC2
2. Savile Theatre :
The Savile Theatre was built by Gee Walker. The Savile theatre was built on the 8th October 1931 with there first play “For the love of Mike”. The Savile theatre was damaged in the Blitz of 1941 during the production of “up and doing” this play started in the theatre 1940 . The theatre seated 1,299 including 642 stalls.
The Savile Theatre (no date) The Saville Theatre, 135 – 149 Shaftesbury Avenue, Holborn, London
3. The Savoy Theatre
The Savoy Theatre was designed by C.J Phipps. The theatre opened on the 10th October 1881, then the theatre closed on 3rd June 1929 and it was completely rebuilt to be designed by Frank A. Tugwell, after a while the theatre opened again on the 21st October 1929. Monday 12th February 1990 there was a fire happened in the auditorium.
Savoy Theatre (no date)Savoy Theatre History
4. London Hippodrome
The London Hippodrome this theatre was opened on the 15th January in 1900, it was designed by Frank Macham. In 1909 Frank Macham was encouraged to re- build the auditorium, the theatre then re-opened on August 2nd 1909. In 1910 the theatre hosted the most famous ballet show “Swan Lake”. In 1958 the theatre was taken over by Bernard Delfant and Charles Forte, which got made into a theatre restaurant.
London Hippodrome (no date) London Hippodrome Theatre in London, GB – Cinema Treasures
5. Aldywch Theatre
The theatre opened on the 23rd December 1905. When the theatre was designed the person who designed it was William George Robert Sprague, the theatres first musical was a Christmas musical and it was called “Musical dream Play”, who was written by Seymour Hicks and Walter Slaughter. A quote from people who went to the theatre said “both handsome and cozy-looking”. In the 1960 the Royal Shakespeare Company in December, the first play they did was Twelfth Night and they was only supposed to stay there for three years and did not leave until 1982.
Aldywch Theatre (no date) History of the Aldwych Theatre
6. St Martins Theatre
On the 23rd November 1916, there first production they put on was a musical comedy called “Holup La!”. In 1974 a production called the “Mousetrap” was running at the Ambassador’s theatre since 1952 and it then went to St Martins theatre. St Martins Theatre is celebrating there 60 year anniversary in the West End 2012.
St Martins Theatre (2024) St Martin’s Theatre – British Theatre
In the World War 2 alongside going to the theatre to see musicals and productions people also liked going to see Ballet productions, this was a good thing for people to be distracted from the war and to be entertained only for a few hours. Ballet before the war was only found for a few decades. In 1944 they did a lot of dramatic pieces, one piece they did was “lost” by the Royal Ballet Company and the production stopped in 1958.
Admin (2018) British ballet during World War II | Bibliolore
Four Famous actors who was in the world war 2 :
- Richard Burton
Richard Burton was in the Royal Air force in the world war 2. Richard went to Exeter College in Oxford on a six month scholarship with the Royal Air Force. He then finished his service in the war of the year in 1947 and then went into theatre and got into his first film called “The Last Days of Dolwyn”.
2. Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee, wanted to fight the Nazis before Winston Churchill wanted to go into war with Germany. Lee turned to acting in 1946 and he went into his first film in 1947. His first movie was called “Corridor of Mirrors” this was directed by Terrence Young.
3. Michael Cane
Michael Cane went to the Army in 1952, he then got into acting in 1954 after his service in the army. He wanted to find a manger so what he did was he saw a ad on Stage Magazine and then saw a manger who would be great for him. He then went into his first film called “Zulu” and then his second film called “The man who wanted to be king” and finally “The Eagle has Landed”.
4. Sean Connery
Sean Connery was a member of the Royal Navy and joined the army in 194, at the age of 16. In the army he got tattoos to honor his parents whilst he was in the war. Three years later he left the army because of medical reasons. Sean then got into acting in 1953 and because of his medical reason he started slowly working backstage in Kings Theatre in Edinburgh and slowly went into stage acting.
Robon,J. (2017) The Fiver – Five British Actors Who Served in the Armed Force
Here are two films that was going on in world war 2 Britain at the time:
- The Next of Kin
This film was made in 1942 when this film was created it happened at the same time of Charles The Foreman went to France. In this film their was a British security officer who was asked to go shadowing Army personnel from the 95th infantry. When all this was happening a German office sends a agents to England to know more information on what they are doing, one of the agents got caught by the English but the other agent did not. Then the German officer again forces agents to discover what the activities of 95th was. Then one of the agents realized how dangerous this was and then it came to a confrontation which ended into a death. In the end it finish of with a group of friends with a talk on a train
The of Kin 1942. full movie summary & plot explained (2025) The Next of Kin (1942) Full Movie Summary & Plot Explained
2. Fires were started
This film was made in 1943. When they was making this film they wanted it to be about heroism and they used real firemen in this film, and it wanted to show that lives where lost during the war.
D. Sharp (2003) BFI Screenonline: Fires Were Started (1943)
Here is the website were i got the name of the films for :
Bfi (2017) 10 great films set in Britain during the Second World War | BFI
The most famous theatre in Bradford World War 2 :
Alhambra Theatre :
The Alhambra theatre walls was painted white and the roofs was painted chocolate brown, so they were not targeted. In Bradford the theatre was very important because it kept the locals calm and happy. Alhambra was most famous for their pantos at Christmas. If a air raid happened during a performance any person can leave the theatre however the performance will still go on.
The website I used for this :
History of Alhambra (2025) History of the Alhambra Theatre | Bradford Theatres
Most famous theatre in Leeds :
Leeds Grand Theatre is the most famous theatre in Leeds. On September 3rd 1939 theatres closed down the theatres. The first show in 1940 was a comedy called “quiet wedding” which starred Winston Churchills daughter Sarah as the main role. A show called “Bobby get your own gun” before it started the Lord Mayor, J. Tait and said a note to the audience asking people to volunteer to be soldiers in the war. September 1940 there was a curfew for, theatres in Leeds and also Bradford the shows had to start early, so people can get home safely. In winter 1940 Leeds Grand Theatre had special permission to put on a pantomime to put on Christmas day for people to relax and be happy, in the rest of the war it would be small theatres. In June 1944 a performance called “Salute the Solider” was performed, which had 250 soldiers in the audience. In August 1945 artists in Leeds would help to entertain the soldiers in the hospital from France at Meanwood Emergency Hospital. Finally in January 1945 one of the dancers family had all been killed when she was doing the performance “Jack in the Beanstalk” during the Blitz, even though she fainted because of the news but she still performed.
Leeds Heritage Theatre (2022) Business as Usual? Leeds Grand Theatre during World War II: Leeds Grand Theatre: News, Views and Stories: Leeds Heritage Theatres
Here is a break down of what happened to Britain in world war 2:
This all happened in the beginning of September 1940, when Britain got involved. The Blitz lasted for at least 8 months; during this time, women got to do just as important jobs in the war, just like men. For example, they made plots on where the Germans would come bomb England. Over the war 400,000 children got taken away out of London for safety reasons and loads more was taken over the days of the war. Here is a quote from Hitler about what Winston Churchills next moves was “If the British Air – Force, drops two, three or four thousands kilos of bombs, then we will drop 150,00 180,000 230,000 300,000 kilos of bombs or more in one night. We will erase their cities!”.
On the 7th September it was the first official day of the Blitz, 60 fireman stations was stood by incase of any fires due to the bombs. When everyone heard of the Blitz all the citizens of London went to a shelter. Everyone was silent because they was scared of what was going to happen next, the blitz started mid day, the dive bombing attacks damaged loads of buildings and with this they used 12 to 15 crates of bombs. They then went to East London to attack and they started at around 5pm, the Germans send out the first round of bombs into East London and was released over oil storage tanks.
The 8th of September was the second day of the Blitz. Most of the bombings carried on in the night of September 7th 1940. Here is a quote from Winston Churchill on 8th September 1940 “These cruel, wanton , indiscriminate bombings of London. Are of course, apart of Hitlers plan. Little does he know the spirit of the British nation, or the tough fighters of the Londoners, bred to value freedom for above their lives. This is a time for everyone to stand together and hold firm. The citizens of London are facing a great ordeal, the end of which are severity of which, cannot yet be foreseen.”, after Winston Churchill said on what happened on September 7th, Princess Elizabeth said “Thousands of you in this country have had to leave your homes, and be separated from your fathers and mothers. To you living in new surroundings, we send a message of true sympathy. And at the same time, we would like to thank the people, who have welcomed you to their homes in the country.” This was also a quote from a German Luftwaffe pilot “We wanted to force London into an air – valid shelter, and so we flew nothing but London ,London ,London. Every 20 minutes in the waves we believe that this would bring England to its knees”.
The recourse I got my research from :
Anon, (1940) The battle of Briton History. Accessed, 20th September 2025. Avilable on the website Saturday 7 September 1940 | The Battle of Britain Historical Timeline
Britain And The BLITZ. Directed by Ella Wright. 72 films, 2025. Netflix Britain and The Blitz – Netflix
The Nazi bombers hit for London, and after that Britain was down 200 fighters after this. The RAF scramble every available fighter is to defended the capital city. If the Nazis defeat the RAF, a seaborne invasion of the British isles can begin. The battle of Britain is one of the most heroic clashes of world war 2. The British troops was sent to France to protect any last remaining ally’s in Europe. Some members of Churchills war cabinet complained to push a deal with Hitler so that they do not have to be in war anymore with Germany, but Winston Churchill does not want to talk to him at all. This is a quote from Winston Churchill “The battle of France is over, I except the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or loose the war”. Winston Churchill main thing he wanted to do was to stop an invasion because of France being under Germans control. Winston Churchills plan was to have the Royal Navy sink as many of the main French troops and this was encored on the coast of Algeria, when they did this one thousand three hundred, French serviceman was killed. On the 10th of July the battle of Britain has started and on the 19th July Hitler warns Britain to talk to him or meet their consequences once Winston Churchill heard about Hitler offer he rejected the offer and counited fighting.
The Documentary I watched for this research :
Greatest Events of World War 2. Directed by Nicky Bolster. World Media Rights,2019. Netflix Greatest Events of WWII in Colour – Netflix
In the war Winston Churchill was one of the dominated figures of the 20th century and believed in freedom, free speech and democracy. This is a quote from Winston Churchill at the time “We are guardians from our country, on an age where her life is at stake”. Winston Churchill was dangerous, opportunist and brilliant. Then in 1940 it came to the Blitz and in the Blitz there was 57 bombings every night, people could not sleep becuase of how scared they were. People could not sleep because of how scared they were, however Winston Churchill wanted to fight back. When Churchill wanted to be prime minster he wanted people to love him and make all the attention go to him. Here was a quote from Winston Churchill “I was deeply anxious about the life of the people of London. The greater part of whom stayed, slept and took a chance they were. How long would it go on? How much more would they have to bear?. Before Churchill became prime minster he was a solider in the army and also a journalist after he served in the army he escaped and then he came back a hero for people and when he came back Winston Churchill became a member of parliament in the conservative party at the age of 25.
Churchill at war. Directed by Malcom Venville. Dolby Vision (2024) Home – Netflix