Grand Theatre, Islington

It became a regular first stop for companies from the West End going on provincial tours, and many stars appeared there including Henry Irving, George Alexander, Arthur Bourchier, Lottie Collins, Tom Costello, Harry Randall and Lewis Waller.

[1] The site had been a notorious slum in the early 19th century, described by The Era as "miserably dilapidated and filthy tenements, inhabited by the very lowest and most dangerous classes".

[5] It was advertised as "by far the most Elegant Music Hall in the Metropolis, with its Italian Corridor and Richly Decorated Pompeian Courts for Billiards and American Bowls".

[5] Initially the hall staged upmarket musical entertainments, including potted versions of operas such as Norma, I Puritani and other works by Bellini, but its standards declined.

Ten years after its inauguration it was, in the words of one theatre historian, "a rather grubby Hall ... often referred to by its habitués as 'The Spittoon' from its lack of the virtue which ranks next to godliness".

[1] From 1871 Morton engaged Emily Soldene as his leading lady, and instituted a programme of light French operas, some with can-can girls, attracting a fashionable male audience.

[8] The success of the show was assured when the Prince of Wales booked a box to see it; the production had a highly profitable run of more than a year and a half.

[8] The author of the English libretto, H. B. Farnie, took rooms nearby during the run but, as the historian Charles Harris puts it, "he found himself busy in West End light musicals" because the success of Offenbach in Islington stimulated the production of British shows in central London.

In his Modern Opera Houses and Theatres (1896) Edwin Sachs commended the "good sighting and acoustics of the auditorium, economy of space and cost, and rapidity of execution", but added that the building was "not exactly distinguished for worthy conception, or even careful architectural rendering".

His new design allowed the balcony to protrude into the auditorium without the use of supporting pillars which increased seating capacity and gave the audience better views of the stage.

Among the packed house were Robert Browning, George Meredith, Sir Percy and Lady Shelley, Andrew Lang and Bernard Shaw.

[20] Among those appearing at the Grand towards the end of the 19th Century were Lewis Waller's and George Alexander's companies in straight dramas, and in pantomimes, Harry Randall, Tom Costello and Lottie Collins.

The auditorium was reconstructed mainly on the old plan, with the exception that the upper part of the private boxes was removed to allow the expansion of the gallery, giving extra seating accommodation.

There was vociferous opposition to this from theatrical trade unions on the grounds that Gibbons already controlled numerous music halls and was seeking to establish a monopoly,[25] but he was granted the licence in November 1907.

[27] Gibbons had begun his theatre-owning career with the Islington Empire, on the west side of the nearby Upper Street, next to the Royal Agricultural Hall.

Its name was changed again to Empire Cinema to reflect the new arrangements, and in 1960 the centenary of the original theatre was celebrated with a dinner at the nearby Peacock Tavern.