Tivoli theatre, Aberdeen, July 2008

[Alir147]

The Tivoli theatre in Aberdeen has been known as "Aberdeen's sleeping beauty" and has become derelict and in a state of disrepair over the last 11 years. Being scotland's second oldest theatre, it's definitely an important place.

Here's my photos... Absoloutely top class place and genuinely sad to see the state some of it is in. The guys who let us see it were fantastic and had good info about the various workings which I / we would have otherwise skimmed over. As I've said, it was hard to believe, but it trully is derelict and some parts we didn't venture in to due to the rot.

dressing rooms behind the stage. a wee time capsule.

the invasion of the bingo from 1965

bar

the old museum style AC/DC converter in the basements

it would be real nice to see this place get a new lease of life, as it seems all too possible at the moment it could suffer a lot more in the future.

 

[Earth Worm Jim]

Groovy.

 

[spikey]

wow love that ceiling , just wondered what was the idea of the seating on stage - was it used as a bingo hall.

 

[Alir147]

aye the theatre became a bingo hall in 1965 - before finally closing in 1998.

 

[Foxylady]

The old theatre decor is fabulous. Would be lovely to see it restored and in use again. Cracking explore, Alir.

 

[johno23]

What a fabulous old place and in excellent repair,love the shots of the auditorium especially.We have a very similar theatre here in Derby which is grade 2 listed and which was recently badly damaged by a so called developer in the name of repairs,there is a case ongoing over it.

I sincerely hope that your theatre is saved and put to good use whilst it is still so preserved,its reassuring to note that the electricity is still on,thats a good start

 

[spikey]

well at least they never damaged it when they installed the bingo hall and the chav havent got in yet.

Hopefully IF they did turn it back it to a theatre again, it shouldnt take to much work, reminds me of palace theatre @plymouth now the Dance academy, no money really been spent on it in the last 10 years, the condition is very bad, hopefully this theatre doesnt end up like it.

Have you any more photos of this place

 

[jock1966]

What a great find love the pics some nice detail, love the a/c d/c convertor.
shame to see sutch a nice place in a state and not used

 

[Alir147]

cheers guys for the comments.

Some have said about the good repair it's in....

that's true to an extent, but unfortunately the building does suffer some extreme "behind the scenes" damage and can't remember if I've mentioned here or not, but there was some rooms we didn't venture in to at all due to the ammount of collapse, wetness and rot (and we're seriously used to rot from other places). Also a lot of the electrics are dodgey and we were warned not to touch anything metal.

Hopefully it will get a new lease of life in time, but if something's not done quick, i can imagine a lot of it having to get taken out and restored or a replica made.

 

[nantyffin]

well at least they never damaged it when they installed the bingo hall and the chav havent got in yet.

Hopefully IF they did turn it back it to a theatre again, it shouldnt take to much work, reminds me of palace theatre @plymouth now the Dance academy, no money really been spent on it in the last 10 years, the condition is very bad, hopefully this theatre doesnt end up like it.

Have you any more photos of this place

What is a chav?

 

[The_Revolution]

What is a chav?

Probably what you'd call a Bogan

 

[smileysal]

What a beautiful interior, I love that ceiling, and the surround of the stage area. And the whole of the sides. What an amazing place. I love the whole place. Great to see how old the dressing rooms are, they are in excellent condition, and love seeing the pictures and cards from people who have played there.

Excellent pics, it really is a beautiful place.

Cheers,

Sal

PS. if a property developer named Mr Christopher Anthony tries to buy the building, Don't let him even get near the place, it's this guy who owns (and wrecked) the Derby Hippodrome, don't let him get his hands on this one.

 

[nantyffin]

Probably what you'd call a Bogan

G'day Revolution
Thanks for the heads up on that. I see lots of unusual terms on this site, I'll give you a shout when I come across the next strange unknown!

 

[Richard Davies]

That AC/DC converter is a mercury arc rectifier. (Cue heavy metal joke...)

It doesn't look like it's in use, but they can give of a lot of unshielded ultra violet when powered up.

 

[Alir147]

yeah this one certainly isn't in use! Think it's been out of service since 1965.

 

[Seahorse]

That AC/DC converter is a mercury arc rectifier. (Cue heavy metal joke...)

It doesn't look like it's in use, but they can give of a lot of unshielded ultra violet when powered up.

Sounds like a cue for Earth Worm Jim to come in and say "Groovy". Unshielded UV being TRES Groovy.

 

[mineme]

wow wow wow this place is ab fab its a sham that it is a bad way even though it dosent appear to be that bad this place needs to be reopened asap before all is lost

 

[Seahorse]

Some potentially good news about this place...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/scotland/north_east/8145759.stm

Historic theatre restoration plan

The historic Tivoli Theatre in Aberdeen has a new owner who has ambitious plans to reopen it as a theatre, BBC Scotland has learned.

The building, built in 1872, has been deteriorating since it closed its doors for the last time in 1997.

The last live show was in 1966 and it limped on as a bingo hall for a while.

Businessman Brian Hendry has bought the venue and hopes to spend about £5m over the next three years to restore it to its former glory.

Mr Hendry said: "We are going to bring it back to a theatre that's not going to rival His Majesty's Theatre, which is a wonderful theatre.

"We think there is a niche in the market for a mid-size theatre, and we hope local people all get involved."

He bought the theatre from builder Tony Donald, who had owned it since 2000.

Mr Hendry added: "More variety, one-man shows, local artists. We think it will be an excellent mid-sized venue."

Work could start in September and it is expected to be two to three years before the Tivoli is re-opened.

The Tivoli Theatre Trust has been working to see new life breathed into the venue for some time, and the news of its sale has been welcomed.

The trust's Celia Walker said: "I think it's great news for the Tivoli because it means work will be able to start much earlier we than we would have been able to start."

She added the "wonderful" building has been deteriorating recently, but that it "does have a tremendous number of supporters in the city".

 

[cotter]

This is generally open to the public one day a year as part of Aberdeen's 'Open Doors' tours, where places which wouldn't normally be open to the public have tours. Visited a few years back, and it is truly stunning inside, but as OP has said, lot of dangerous parts especially behind the stage.

There is a group of fans very active in trying to get the place restored, and IIRC the day that I was there, they said that the area rear of the stage was so severely gone that it would need to be knocked down, but the rest of the building was salvagable. Hopefully now that it's been sold, it's future will be brighter.

 

[Alir147]

yeah definitely. now with the union square shopping centre just across the road, might be an even more attractive development opportunity. For a theatre obviously.

I've never been to one of the doors open days unfortunately, as i've missed it both times i was aware of it, but luckily Gorecki managed to get permission for a couple of hours of wondering about! the guy had to leave, so locked us in for 2 hours by ourselves! On the condition that everything was done at our own risk!