Crowds poured through the doors of the historical Grand Theatre on Sunday 9 September for its annual Heritage Open Day- and what a success it was! Enthusiasts of architecture, theatre and history were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the beautiful ‘hidden gem of the North and plenty of people turned up to make the most of the opportunity.

The public were able to browse through intriguing archive material not normally displayed in the Theatre, including images and plans of the restoration process and a stunning array of old photos, revealing forgotten stories of the historical building. Also on display were old posters from bi-gone shows, such as Mrs Dering’s Divorce starring Lily Langtree in 1904, Of Mice and Men from 1940 and a poster of King Lear from 1987.

Visitors were also treated to a unique behind the scenes tour of the Grade II* listed building, which took them on a magical journey through the theatre dress circle, upper circle, dress circle bar and  backstage. The visitors even had their own moment in the limelight, as the iron safety curtain was raised and the tour group was revealed on the Grand Theatre’s stage!