Music Hall Memory Box

Introduction to Music Halls

Music hall developed as a distinctly British form of entertainment in the 19th century and took its name from the venues which housed the entertainment, which were, essentially halls for music. Music hall entertainment encompassed a wide variety of performance styles and acts, including comic songs, comedy sketches, and specialist performers, such as illusionists and acrobats, and was the first example of a mass entertainment industry. For much of the second half of the 19th century, the average urban citizen, and especially those from relatively impoverished backgrounds, needed a space to escape from the pressures of working life and squalid living conditions, and at a time before radio and television, music halls became this designated space. The halls first emerged in London and the major cities but were soon replicated across Britain and a commercialised industry developed. Some of the first celebrities were music halls stars and the Victorian equivalent of ‘pop’ songs came from the halls.

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Delve into the Victorian pages to discover exactly how this industry evolved and operated. As you explore the world of the 19th century music hall, remember that not all halls were similar in nature. There were the superior West End establishments with grand decorations designed to evoke an atmosphere of splendour. There were also the suburban, bourgeois halls, which were ideal for family outings and frequented by the relatively comfortable middle classes. Lastly, there were the music halls of poorer districts, often known as the penny gaffs. The price of entry to one of these poorer establishments was usually about one penny, for which the punter was offered a tightly packed pit area from where they could watch songs and comedy sketches on make-shift stages. They were bawdy places, filled with smoke, and attended predominantly by the young.

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Also remember that although the music halls are still commonly associated with London, they thrived across Britain, and the provincial halls were just as popular with locals as their metropolitan counterparts.  

Enjoy reading!