By Derbyshire Record Office
Buxton Opera House, The University of Derby & Buxton Museum and Art Gallery
The main entrance at Buxton Opera House (2023) by David J. King and Buxton Opera HouseDerbyshire Record Office
Buxton Opera House has been welcoming people through its doors since 1903. Thousands of local people have laughed, cried, worked and volunteered in the theatre.
Here are some of their stories.
The three marvels
"Anyone alive and living in Buxton in 1979 must be forgiven for boring later generations with ever more exaggerated accounts of that year's three marvels; the snow (January to May), the restoration of the Opera House and the first International Arts Festival".
Ros McCoola, author of Theatre in the Hills
"I remember coming in after the restoration, I felt like Howard Carter going into Tutankhamun's Tomb - it evoked the same sense of awe. It was really magical, on a spiritual level."
Anonymous, Heritage Open Day, 2024
Seats in the Gallery at Buxton Opera House (2024) by Buxton Opera HouseDerbyshire Record Office
Mr Men and Margaret Thatcher
Betty remembers working at the Opera House in 1988 during a 'Mr Men' show. It was the same day that Margaret Thatcher was visiting the town.
Betty was interviewed in 2017 by John Coulter as part of Buxton's Present from the Past oral history project.
"Ken Dodd was exactly the same, still as sharp as a razor. It went on way beyond the scheduled timings. He even joked he'd lock the doors - he'd brought his sandwiches!"
Anonymous, Heritage Open Day, 2024
"I am a naturally sceptical person but I can't explain what happened. The auditorium was full and I was making a coffee in the Stalls Bar when in my peripheral vision I saw a guy walking down the stairs, from the auditorium to the toilet. He looked kind of old fashioned, in a shirt, braces and flat cap. After I made the coffee I went to the toilet but the man wasn't there, the cubicle was open. There is only a toilet and store cupboard down there, so where did he go?"
"I heard some of our volunteers talking about whether they'd seen the man. I asked them to describe him, and they described the same outfit. When I heard that, the hairs went up on the back of my neck".
Simon, Buxton Opera House employee
It's behind you....
For many Buxton residents, the Opera House's pantomime is their first experience of the Opera House. Its magic and spectacle has left lasting impression on generations of locals.
"My grandson had to have his tonsils out one December and he had to be in isolation beforehand.
So that year we had to get a box so he didn't mix with other people. From the boxes you can see the wings and I was worried it would ruin it for him. Well, he was fascinated seeing behind the scenes, more so than the pantomime itself. And the cast were all waving at him in the wings".
Anonymous, Heritage Open Day, 2024
"He now goes to the Opera House's young theatre group as he was so interested in the workings of the theatre".
Anonymous, Heritage Open Day, 2024
The Opera House, Buxton (1907) by UnknownDerbyshire Record Office
Before the glitter
Many people remember going to the Opera House when it was a cinema.
Film poster for The Sound of Music (1965) by Buxton Opera HouseDerbyshire Record Office
The Opera House was primarily a cinema from 1927 to 1976, when it closed for rennovation. John remembers his first impressions of the place.
Interview recorded as part of the Buxton's Present from the Past oral history project.
Buxton Opera House
The University of Derby
Betty Allen
John Colter
'Buxton's Present from the Past' oral history project
Kerry Allsop
Simon George Challoner
Buxton Museum and Art Gallery
'The Theatre in the Hills, two centuries of theatre in Buxton' by Ros McCoola (1984)
Funded by Arts Council England
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