Collins Music Hall

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The Collins Music Hall first began in 1863 at the back of a pub. Located at 10 Islington Green, London, N1 2XH. Throughout the analysis of a chosen source, the following can be stated “The site backed on to a former burial ground (New Bunhill Fields) which restricted development so that no major improvement was possible after the 1897 reconstruction. Following a destructive fire in 1958, the hall itself was demolished. The pub façade in its late nineteenth century form survives, somewhat modified, but the rooms behind have been radically altered to form a bookshop and the space formerly occupied by the theatre itself is now a timber store, open at the rear. The side walls and some traces of escape staircases serve to identify it but (contrary to popular belief) there is nothing else left to be seen of the music hall.” This shows how the Music Hall had a bit of a rocky start when compares to other music halls in the area at that specific point in time. This is important to note because this adds an aspect of ‘home town’ success to the Hall, it started very small and then grew from there. While other music halls were built massive with the intentions of being huge successes, Collins Music Hall was quite the opposite, it started off very small and then let its success speak for itself. Something interesting about this Music Hall is the fact that it appeared in a film by a powerhouse production company, MGM. The film in question which depicted the Collins Music Hall, is the movie titled ‘Davy’. This movie is said to be “ […] a touching story about a family comedy act who have long been touring Britain’s Music Halls, when its leader, Davy, who aspires to become an opera singer, gets an audition at the Royal Opera House whilst the act are working Collins’ Music Hall […] “. It can be seen in the film that Collins Music Hall is depicted very heavily. A multitude of scenes show the outside of the building as well as the entrance to the theatre, dressing rooms, and various corridors. To some this may prove to be useless information, however this is significant to this assignment because this film captured the inside of a now non-existent theatre on video. This film was shot shortly before it burned down so it is some of the final evidence historian have of Collins Music Hall. Seeing as the film was released after Collins Music Hall had burned down, the hall is not credited at the end of the film. However historians have been able to determine through comparing images that the hall in question is in fact Collins Music Hall. Not only was this music hall a very small one in its preliminary stages, but it evolved into a very significant music hall in London at the time. Although it is not standing today in its entirety, its history will continue to live on.

Bailey, Peter. "Conspiracies of Meaning: Music-Hall and the Knowingness of Popular Culture." Past & Present, no. 144 (1994): 138-70. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stable/651146.

"Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London." Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Collins.htm#today.

"Collins Music Hall | Blue Plaques." English Heritage. Accessed March 29, 2019. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/collins-music-hall/.

"Collins' Music Hall." Cinema Treasures. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/30321.

"Collins Music Hall." Collins Music Hall. 2004. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://knowledgeoflondon.com/musichalls.html.

"Collins' Music Hall." Collins' Music Hall | Theatres Trust. Accessed March 29, 2019. https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/557-collins-music-hall.

Gelder, Sam. "Incredible 400-seater UNDERGROUND Theatre beneath Islington Green Could Finally Open Sally Greene." Islington Gazette. Accessed March 29, 2019. https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/collins-theatre-400-seater-underground-venue- islington-green-finally-open-1-5657302.

"Islington: Social and Cultural Activities." British History Online. Accessed March 29, 2019. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol8/pp45-51.

Kathleen M. D. Barker. "Dance and the Emerging Music Hall in the Provinces." Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research 5, no. 2 (1987): 33-42. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stable/1290622.

"London Concerts." The Musical Times 63, no. 951 (1922): 342-46. http://www.jstor.org/stable/910177.

"The Oxford Music Hall, 6 Oxford Street, London." The Oxford Music Hall, 6 Oxford Street, London. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/TheOxfordMusicHall.htm.

Roe, Ken. "Shoreditch Empire Theatre." Cinema Treasures. Accessed March 28, 2019. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/40956.

Scott, Derek B. "The Music-Hall Cockney: Flesh and Blood, or Replicant?" Music & Letters 83, no. 2 (2002): 237-58. http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.brocku.ca/stable/3526497.

Sell, Michael. "Frank Matcham - Theatre Architect." Frank Matcham - Theatre Architect. Accessed March 28, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Matcham.htm.

"The Shoreditch Empire." The Shoreditch Empire | Christchurch Art Gavllery Te Puna O Waiwhetū. Accessed March 28, 2019. https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/collection/69- 366/walter-richard-sickert/the-shoreditch-empire.

"Shoreditch Theatres and Halls." Shoreditch Theatres and Halls. Accessed March 28, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Shoreditch.htm#empire.

Spain, Geoffrey, and Nicholas Dromgoole. "Theatre Architects in the British Isles." Architectural History 13 (1970): 77-89. doi:10.2307/1568315.

Summerfield, Penny. "Patriotism and Empire." Imperialism and Popular Culture. July 03, 2018. Accessed March 29, 2019. https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/9781526119568/9781526119568.00006.xml.

The Collins Music Hall first began in 1863 at the back of a pub. Located at 10 Islington Green, London, N1 2XH. Throughout the analysis of a chosen source, the following can be stated

"The site backed on to a former burial ground (New Bunhill Fields) which restricted development so that no major improvement was possible after the 1897 reconstruction. Following a destructive fire in 1958, the hall itself was demolished. The pub façade in its late nineteenth century form survives, somewhat modified, but the rooms behind have been radically altered to form a bookshop and the space formerly occupied by the theatre itself is now a timber store, open at the rear. The side walls and some traces of escape staircases serve to identify it but (contrary to popular belief) there is nothing else left to be seen of the music hall."[1]

This shows how the Music Hall had a bit of a rocky start when compares to other music halls in the area at that specific point in time. This is important to note because this adds an aspect of 'home town' success to the Hall, it started very small and then grew from there. While other music halls were built massive with the intentions of being huge successes, Collins Music Hall was quite the opposite, it started off very small and then let its success speak for itself.

Something interesting about this Music Hall is the fact that it appeared in a film by a powerhouse production company, MGM. The film in question which depicted the Collins Music Hall, is the movie titled 'Davy'.[2] This movie is said to be " […] a touching story about a family comedy act who have long been touring Britain's Music Halls, when its leader, Davy, who aspires to become an opera singer, gets an audition at the Royal Opera House whilst the act are working Collins' Music Hall […] ".[3] It can be seen in the film that Collins Music Hall is depicted very heavily. A multitude of scenes show the outside of the building as well as the entrance to the theatre, dressing rooms, and various corridors. To some this may prove to be useless information, however this is significant to this assignment because this film captured the inside of a now non-existent theatre on video. This film was shot shortly before it burned down so it is some of the final evidence historian have of Collins Music Hall.[4] Seeing as the film was released after Collins Music Hall had burned down, the hall is not credited at the end of the film. However historians have been able to determine through comparing images that the hall in question is in fact Collins Music Hall. Not only was this music hall a very small one in its preliminary stages, but it evolved into a very significant music hall in London at the time. Although it is not standing today in its entirety, its history will continue to live on

[1] "Collins' Music Hall," Collins' Music Hall | Theatres Trust, , accessed March 29, 2019, https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/557-collins-music-hall.

[2] "Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London." Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Collins.htm#today.

[3] "Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London." Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Collins.htm#today.

[4] Ibid

[1] "Collins' Music Hall," Collins' Music Hall | Theatres Trust, , accessed March 29, 2019, https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/557-collins-music-hall.

[2] "Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London." Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Collins.htm#today.

[3] "Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London." Collins' Music Hall, 10/11 Islington Green, London. Accessed March 29, 2019. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Collins.htm#today.

[4] Ibid

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