The London Palladium: Interior

If we were going to pick one word to sum up the history of The London Palladium, it would have to be ‘variety’. With a very festive opening on Boxing Day 1910, the theatre burst onto the scene with the first ‘grand variety bill’ of its kind featuring acts as diverse as musical hall star Nellie Wallace and classical actor Martin Harvey. And it went down an absolute storm with audiences –so much so that the biggest names from stage and screen clamoured to top the bill at ‘the world’s most famous theatre’. An all-star series of famous bill-toppers hit the stage in the 1920s, including daring illusionist Harry Houdini, the multi-talented Gracie Fields, and all-round entertainer Ivor Novello.