Qualla: Alhambra Theatre Glasgow

Alhambra Theatre Glasgow: Introduction

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0. Marlene Dietrich came to Glasgow in November 1966 to say goodbye. Her Farewell engagement at the Alhambra ran from 7 to 11 November, the German-American star in the twilight of a career that had spanned Weimar Berlin, wartime cabaret for Allied troops and Hollywood stardom - though she would continue touring until a fall on stage in Sydney in 1975 finally ended her performing life. She performed in a Wellington Street theatre with twin oriental domes and a colonnade of deep eaves, built in 1910 to evoke the Moorish palace it was named after. Two and a half years after Dietrich's farewell, the Alhambra hosted its own. Cilla Black closed the venue on 24 May 1969. The building came down in 1971.

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Alhambra Theatre Glasgow: Built for Variety

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Alhambra opened on 19 December 1910 at the corner of Waterloo Street and Wellington Street in Glasgow, under the direction of Sir Alfred Butt. It was acknowledged as one of the best-equipped theatres in Britain, planned to accommodate 2,800 people. The architect was Sir John ...

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Alhambra Theatre Glasgow: The A1 Theatre

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hwyndham, CC BY-SA 4.0. Throughout its history the Alhambra was classed as a No 1 theatre - also known as an A1 theatre - meaning it sat at the very top tier of British variety venues. By the 1960s only fourteen such theatres remained in Britain. Glasgow Alhambra Ltd owned the venue through most of its ...

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Alhambra Theatre Glasgow: Ballet, Plays and the Starlight Room

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1941 the Alhambra hosted the debut of the International Ballet, newly formed by Mona Inglesby. That same year the Wilson Barrett Company began its long summer residency at the theatre, going on to produce over 450 plays across fourteen years of twelve-week summer seasons - the...

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Alhambra Theatre Glasgow: The Bluebells and Dietrich

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1962 and 1963 the Bluebell Girls of Paris, the legendary precision dance troupe based at Le Lido, made their first British appearances at the Alhambra. They returned for two consecutive summers, drawing crowds who otherwise would have needed to travel to the Champs-Elysees to ...

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Alhambra Theatre Glasgow: The Final Curtain

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0. Cilla Black closed the Alhambra on 24 May 1969. Howard and Wyndham had been selling off its theatres for years, and audience attendance, though still healthy, could not compete with television and changing tastes. The building came down in 1971. The site is now occupied by an off...

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Image: Unknown author | CC BY-SA 4.0