Music Hall Strike of 1907

The atmosphere within the venues appealed mainly to working class men[3] who ate, drank alcohol and initiated illicit business deals together.

The refurbishments, which included fixed seating in the stalls, lead to the early origins of variety theatre, but the improvements proved expensive and managers had to adhere to the strict safety regulations which had recently been introduced.

Together with the increase of the performers fee, music hall proprietors were forced to sell their shares and formed syndicates with wealthy investors.

Artists including Marie Lloyd were receiving frequent criticism from theatre reviewers and influential feminists, who disagreed with the bawdy performances.

The writer and feminist Laura Ormiston Chant, who was a member of the Social Purity Alliance, disliked the innuendo displayed in music hall performances, and opined that the humour was attractive to nobody other than prostitutes who were beginning to sell their business in auditoriums.

[11] By 1903 audience numbers had fallen which was attributed in part to the banning of alcohol in auditoriums and the introduction of the more popular variety show format, favoured by Stoll.

Profits for the music hall proprietors who had not sold to Moss Empires years earlier had fallen and so an expansion of their syndicate members was formed to control the outgoing expenditures.

[13] Tensions between employees and management had by then grown to such a level that the strike was advocated enthusiastically by the main spokesmen for the trade union and Labour movement – Ben Tillett and Keir Hardie.

The news reached provincial theatres and managers attempted to convince their artistes to sign a contract promising never to join a trade union.

[17][18] To raise spirits, Lloyd frequently performed on picket lines for free and took part in fundraising activities at among others the Scala Theatre in London, for which she donated her entire fee to the fund.