Whilst our building first opened in 1894 as the Wakefield Theatre Royal and Opera House, the Theatre has served a whole host of purposes since to respond to changes in audience demand. In 1954, the Theatre closed and reopened as ‘The Essoldo’ cinema and then in 1966, we became the Lucky 7 Bingo Hall.

In 1981, a meeting was called to begin discussions about the possibility of returning the Theatre to its original purpose. A steering committee called ‘Wakefield Theatre Trust’ was formed in April 1981, chaired by Sir Rodney Walker. The building was acquired from Ladbrokes in the Autumn of the same year and the project to restore the building back to being a Theatre began.

On this week in 1983, Curtain Up was performed, a production staged to raise money to support the Theatre’s restoration. Last week we were lucky enough to meet June Thorp, one of the Wakefield West Riding Operatic Society performers from the 1983 production. It was a great honour to meet June and speak about this performance, and the many other productions she has been in on our stage since the Theatre officially reopened in March 1986 after its successful restoration. We are thrilled that she now has a star on our Wall of Fame to mark her amazing performance achievements on our very own stage.

The campaign to restore our building back to being a Theatre was a huge one with many people to thank for. Individuals like June who gave up their time to perform in fundraising productions. Sir Rodney Walker, our beloved Life President and the Chair of the committee leading our restoration. Peter Spawforth, then Wakefield MD Council’s Chief Planning Officer, who appealed the demolition of our building in 1979 alongside Sir Rodney. George Littlewood and the 360 members in the Friends’ Association that helped to raise the funds needed to refurbish the Theatre. We are proud to have so many of the individuals who helped with our restoration still involved in the Theatre today as our valued Life Members.

Thank you all for believing in the importance of having a theatre in the heart of Wakefield for the local community.