Page 18 - Palace Memories Gerald Jervis

Redditch Heritage Palace Theatre Memories

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After Christmas, the theatre went back to films, and eventually the lease was handed
over to another entrepreneur, whose policy was one of films with occasional weeks of
variety. After an unfortunate collision with the committee of the third Redditch Drama
Festival, in November 1953, which led to court action, he withdrew, and it was left to
the Redditch Palace Ltd., the owners of the building, to honour the rest of the bookings
he had made. (This refers to Syd Williams who had been manager for Leuty at Studley
Cosy Cinema. The trouble was that he had put the Drama Festival takings into the
bank, but his overdraft was of so cavernous a nature, this made no difference to the
bank`s disinclination to honour cheques. The Festival Committee felt they must
prosecute in their own interests, though Teddy Wilkinson, the owner of the theatre,
took his pipe from his mouth and said “Well, that wont get the money back!” Williams
got off at Quarter Sessions, I thought he was lucky.

Without a strong guiding hand to direct policy, some very odd things happened. The
most notorious one was when the Frank Fortescue Company from the old Worcester
Theatre Royal came in a “A Christmas Carol”. The late “Fortie” ran many companies
like this, and was an unswerving believer in twice-nightly performances. The company
played twice-nightly in Redditch, and the result was that they played several perform-
ances to as few as four people. I attended one such performance myself, sitting in the
front row of the circle with a lady and gentleman on the other side of the gangway and
one solitary lady down in the stalls. The company, with genuine professionalism,
performed as if the theatre was crammed. In fact, I count it as one of my theatrical
experiences, like seeing a Czech company perform “Pygmalion” in Esperanto in the
Palace of Culture and Enlightenment in Warsaw, or seeing the wicked witch shot up
from the star trap in a pantomime at the old Birmingham Royal.

The Managing Director was Teddy Wilkinson who was fast going blind. Mrs. Gee (late
of Redditch Building Supplies) who was the other Director called on me one night to
ask me to help as the worry was making her ill. The trouble was that Syd Williams was
still about, helping, but young Charlie Whitehouse was responsible for the Saturday
night share-out; paying the printing firm for the posters and the 55% / 45% between
the company and the theatre, all in cash. The printer came in person, wise man; the
first week we did it, the Scotch Comic who headed the company argued and argued to
get him to take a cheque and we had to pay him while Kiltic was on stage. My presence
puzzled the artistes each week, but most thought I was the accountant.

I learned a lot about the seamier side of the stage during those weeks. One of the acts
was a yogi, or fakir, who was able to lie on a bed of nails and so on without injury. He
was, however, unable to appear at the Monday Night`s performance, as, coming to
Redditch, he had fallen off his motor-cycle and hurt himself, but I suppose one
shouldn't`t laugh even at that anomaly.

The variety turns were supplied by an agent who believed strongly in the drawing value
of nudes, although he was shaken in this by the reception his raw young ladies got
from the middle- aged patrons who predominated in what was left of the Palace`s
audience. Eventually he withdrew, and after a few weeks of films I called in one
Saturday night to say farewell to Charlie, Billy Brough, the massive flyman, the friendly
young lady in the box- office, and now sadly “tatty theatre”.

Page: 18 © Redditch Heritage 2019