Mr Theatre: the marvellous playhouses of Frank Matcham – in pictures

Commemorating the centenary today of the theatre architect’s death – who is estimated to have built or rebuilt more than 150 theatres including the Blackpool Tower Ballroom and the London Palladium – all existing venues have been asked to post pictures and stories on social media using #Matcham100

Main image: The Buxton Opera House in Derbyshire. Photograph: Theatres Trust Brereton Collection

  • Opened in December 1895, the Grand Opera House Belfast, with its domes and elephant heads, has an extravagantly oriental style
    Grand Opera House Belfast

  • Following a construction period of seven months, the Blackpool Grand theatre opened in 1894 and represents Matcham at the height of his powers
    Blackpool Grand theatre

  • Originally designed as a purpose built indoor circus and variety theatre in 1905, the Liverpool Olympia had performing animals that would appear in the auditorium by being lifted from the basement where they lived
    Liverpool Olympia

  • The ornate interior of the Liverpool Olympia – now Eventim Olympia – reflects the building’s past with decorations featuring elephants and lions set into Indian wall panelling
    Liverpool Olympia

  • Widely considered Matcham’s masterpiece, the Grade II-listed London Coliseum, with its terracotta facade and Venetian windows, is a hymn to the Italian Renaissance
    London Coliseum

  • Built as a music hall in 1902, Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel and Julie Andrews are just some of the famous names to have performed at the Hackney Empire, London
    Hackney Empire, London

  • Opened in 1900, the Hippodrome, London, was designed by Matcham for circus performances. In 1909, he converted the building in to a variety theatre and music hall
    Hippodrome, London

  • Matcham’s original Lyric theatre in Hammersmith, London, was designed and built in 1895. Following a public inquiry in 1969, the theatre was demolished but key parts of the plasterwork were recorded, removed and stored. The auditorium was, after a long delay, reconstructed in 1979 within a modern building ...
    Lyric Hammersmith in London

  • It was then discovered that the Lyric Hammersmith boasted a magnificent Matcham auditorium. The rococo interior is essentially the 1895 Matcham original, but cleverly resized for a wider proscenium and installed within the new building in 1979
    London Lyric Hammersmith

  • Originally built by Walter Gibbons to rival the London Coliseum, the London Palladium was redesigned with the facade modified and lively sculpture added by Matcham in a French rococo style. It is considered one of the finest surviving examples of Matcham’s later work
    London Palladium

  • Opened in 1899, the Blackpool Tower Ballroom was one of the finest rooms of any description in late Victorian England. The ballroom floor is made up of more than 30,000 blocks of mahogany, oak and walnut
    Blackpool Tower Ballroom

  • The Buxton Opera House in Derbyshire opened in 1903 and has a baroque interior with a white marble foyer and an auditorium decorated by Matcham’s most trusted decorator, Felix De Jong
    Buxton Opera House

  • With the King’s theatre in Glasgow, Matcham was able to produce a landmark building with a Dumfriesshire red sandstone facade and a baroque auditorium
    Glasgow Kings

  • His Majesty’s theatre in Aberdeen, opened in 1906, is built in monumental style with granite. It is the largest theatre in north-east Scotland, seating more than 1,400
    Aberdeen His Majestys

  • Nottingham’s Theatre Royal was remodelled by Matcham in 1897. One of his core beliefs was that every seat should provide a good view and he put this to work here, allowing balconies to be built without the use of supporting pillars, meaning that sight lines were much improved
    Nottingham Theatre Royal

  • When Matcham was instructed to renovate the New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth in 1900, he enlarged the stage, rebuilt the dress circle, modified the upper circle and added a cast iron conservatory to the front of the building to allow more patrons into the dress and upper circle bars
    Portsmouth New Theatre Royal

  • The successful renovation of the New Theatre Royal led the owner to engage Matcham to build two more theatres in Portsmouth including the Kings theatre in Southsea. The Kings opened in 1907 and is still operating
    Portsmouth Southsea Kings

  • A magnificent 2,000 seater theatre, the Manchester Palace was altered and redecorated by Matcham. In addition to variety bills and musicals it staged spectacular spring and autumn revues
    Manchester Palace
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