CityLife

Curtain up on the city

MEIN HOST: Ray Hoerty

I’VE lived in Manchester for eight years and until recently I’d never seen the delicate row of chimneys atop Prince’s building on Oxford Street.

It was Blue Badge Guide, Ray Hoerty who pointed them out when I joined his walking tour, Break A Leg: Manchester’s Theatre History.

Having noticed them, I now feel I’ve been wandering around with blinkers on.

Still, I figure I can’t be the only one – after all the rainy city doesn’t do much to encourage us to lift our heads as we rush along its busy pavements.

To ease my embarrassment Ray tells me: “It’s quite common to walk around a city without really seeing it. The first thing I always recommend on a tour is to lift your eyes.

“If you don’t, every city looks the same – it’s all shop fronts, restaurants and cafes.

"When you look up it’s above ground level of the buildings that really tell you the story.

"Over the past 25 years Manchester has transformed itself beyond recognition but by looking at the whole of a building you get a feel for this changing history – what a building is about now as well as what it used to be.”

Our tour begins outside the Central Library, one of the city’s most striking buildings and home to the council run Library Theatre.

For the next hour-and-a-half Ray takes us on a journey through the city’s theatrical history scattering his anecdotes with an appreciation of the city’s architecture and the changing face of entertainment within it.

He begins his story way back in the 16th century, so there is some ground to cover, which is why the walking side is limited to Peter Street and Oxford Street.

Of course, Ray’s commentary doesn’t go without mention of the Royal Exchange in St Ann’s Square and other renowned theatres in the area.

But with the hundreds of years to cover there are several venues on this short stretch alone which, although not theatres today, have a rich theatrical past.

One such stop is the former site of the Manchester Hippodrome, which closed in 1935 and is now home to a Chinese restaurant.

In its heyday the productions staged here could compete in ambition with anything held at today’s modern M.E.N. Arena.

Miracle

“In 1913 it put on a production of Miracle, a retelling of the Bible with a cast of 300,” says Ray.

“As well as all the actors there were also 24 goats, mules and horses.

"The theatre also had a circular arena that could be flooded with thousands of gallons of water.

"They flooded it with water to part the river Jordandan – it must’ve been an incredible production.”

Another popular venue was the Prince’s Theatre, now Northern Counties Housing Association, where WC Fields appeared in White Christmas in 1904.

And if you thought stars get paid a lot today, it’s nothing new. In 1900, French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt was paid £560 a week for a run at the same venue.

“If you look at the retail prices index and carry that forward It means if she performed today she would be getting £45,000 a week,” Ray calculates.

“She was being paid an absolute fortune but she was a great draw and a great star.

He adds: “People always reckoned that theatre would be destroyed by the talking pictures in the 1920sand to some extent that was true for a short time. Most of the theatres became cinemas because that was where there was more money to be made but this has remained a great city for theatre.”

Next we get a bit of the history of both the Palace Theatre and the Opera House, with stories of appearances from legends such as Laurel and Hardy, Danny Kaye, Howard Keel and an up and coming Sean Connery.

“In 1952, Manchester United’s then manager, Matt Busby, came to see a young Sean Connery who was in the chorus of a musical at the Opera House.

"United wanted him to sign up as a goalkeeper, but he turned them down because his acting career was just beginning to start and he thought he could make something of it.”

Of course we all know what happened to the famous 007 although far fewer will be familiar with his breakthrough days.

Such tales encourage friendly chatter between the 20 or so walkers, many of whom have come along on their own.

And the conversation continues when the tour winds up at the Midland hotel, where Annie Horniman launched the first full-scale modern repertory theatre and where they still do the perfect ending … a great coffee and cake.

Ray’s next theatre tours are on Thursday, May 28 and Thursday, June 18. Call Touch Events on 07772 512756 or visit thetouchevents.co.uk.