- published: 20 Mar 2012
- views: 283985
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. It involved a mixture of popular song, comedy, speciality acts and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. British music hall was similar to American vaudeville, featuring rousing songs and comic acts, while in the United Kingdom the term vaudeville referred to more working-class types of entertainment that would have been termed burlesque in America.
With its origins being found in saloon bars within public houses during the 1830s, Music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences, so much so, that during the 1850s, the public houses were demolished and Music hall theatres were developed in their place. These theatres were designed, chiefly so people could consume food and alcohol and smoke tobacco in the auditorium while the entertainment took place. This differed somewhat from the conventional type of theatre which, up until then, seated the audience in stalls with a separate bar-room. Early Music halls included Canterbury Music Hall in Lambeth and The Middlesex, in Drury Lane, otherwise known as the 'Old Mo'.