Everyman Cinema, Hampstead
Encyclopedia
The Everyman, in Hampstead
, London
, England
opened as a cinema
on 26 December 1933.
The building was first opened as the Hampstead Drill Hall and Assembly Rooms in the 1880s. Later it was transformed into a theatre, the Everyman Theatre, which opened in 1920 under the direction of Norman MacDermott (1890–1977) with the first British production of Jacinto Benavente
's The Bonds of Interest (Los intereses creados, 1907). You Never Can Tell, opened two weeks later and was a success, leading to the performance of more revivals from George Bernard Shaw
. Some of the greatest of modern plays were performed on its stage and many actors now famous made their bow at the Everyman Theatre. Noel Coward
's The Vortex
was first performed there.
Sir Gerald du Maurier
presided at the opening of the Everyman and the first programme consisted of Le Million, Turbulent Timber, a Mack Sennett
comedy, a Disney cartoon and Paramount News.
The cinema was threatened with closure in 2000. It was rescued by a group of investors who have expanded their interests into a chain of cinemas, the Everyman Cinemas
group.
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
opened as a cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
on 26 December 1933.
The building was first opened as the Hampstead Drill Hall and Assembly Rooms in the 1880s. Later it was transformed into a theatre, the Everyman Theatre, which opened in 1920 under the direction of Norman MacDermott (1890–1977) with the first British production of Jacinto Benavente
Jacinto Benavente
Jacinto Benavente y Martínez was one of the foremost Spanish dramatists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1922....
's The Bonds of Interest (Los intereses creados, 1907). You Never Can Tell, opened two weeks later and was a success, leading to the performance of more revivals from George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. Some of the greatest of modern plays were performed on its stage and many actors now famous made their bow at the Everyman Theatre. Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's The Vortex
The Vortex
The Vortex is a play by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The story focuses on sexual vanity and drug abuse among the upper classes. The play was Coward's first great commercial success....
was first performed there.
Sir Gerald du Maurier
Gerald du Maurier
Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier was an English actor and manager. He was the son of the writer George du Maurier and brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1902, he married the actress Muriel Beaumont with whom he had three daughters: Angela du Maurier , Daphne du Maurier and Jeanne...
presided at the opening of the Everyman and the first programme consisted of Le Million, Turbulent Timber, a Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
comedy, a Disney cartoon and Paramount News.
The cinema was threatened with closure in 2000. It was rescued by a group of investors who have expanded their interests into a chain of cinemas, the Everyman Cinemas
Everyman Cinemas
Everyman Group is a cinema company in the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 2000 when a group of local investors saved the then under threat Everyman Cinema...
group.
Further reading
- Everymania: The History of the Everyman Theatre Hampstead, 1920-26 Norman MacDermott (Society for Theatre Research, April 1975) ISBN 0854300244
External links
- http://www.everymancinema.com