The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Iconic Alhambra stages 100th birthday
The curtain rose at the Alhambra Theatre in Dunfermline for the first time in 1922. After two years of construction, it became the town’s second theatre alongside the Opera House.
Situated at the junction of Canmore Street and New Row, it was to be the new hub of theatrical shows and picture entertainment.
The Alhambra stood firm in the town until the 1960s, when it was remodified and spent a short time as a bingo hall.
But it came back for its encore in 2008, and has remained there ever since.
As the theatre celebrates its 100th birthday this weekend, we let some of these old images take centre stage to tell the theatre’s amazing story.
The venue opened after two years of delays and difficulties.
Construction began in 1920 but was quickly delayed due to the housing shortage.
Local authorities began to speed up the construction of their housing schemes to accommodate, and so the supplies for the theatre build were in short demand.
However, after several months of stop and start, it was finally announced in July 1922 that the theatre would open in August.
When the theatre opened in August 1922, the Alhambra’s defining feature was its large stage.
The stage was thought to have been the biggest in Scotland at the time.
Its grandeur was partly owed to its plans for the intended entertainment – the space would be required for pantomimes, operas, and plays.
The theatre had a capacity for 1,700 patrons, who could enjoy the evening’s entertainment on the most comfortable tip-up seats.
The Alhambra housed its first performance on August 13 1922.
Its debut concert was in aid of the maintenance fund for Dunfermline and West Fife hospital.
The initial live performance was the beginning of the Alhambra’s time as a live entertainment venue.
The theatre continued its streak on September 29 with a play titled A Little Bit of Fluff.
However, from 1924, the Alhambra changed gears.
After its initial showing of silent film Over The Hill, the Alhambra became a silent cinema.
Due to the depth of the stage, its projection box was installed at the rear of the screen.
This system was known as back projection, and ensured no beam of light could be seen from the auditorium.
On August 11 1928 the Alhambra held the Freedom of the Borough ceremony for the Duke and Duchess of York.
The duke and duchess, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, arrived at the Dunfermline theatre at 11.45am.
The ceremony had concluded by 12.30pm and the royal party continued their tour around the town.
In 1951 the Alhambra’s projection box was reinstated at the rear of the circle with a new Cinema Scope lens.
The new widescreen film format had just come in at the time.
The new lenses were able to compress a wide image into a standard frame, and then expand it again during projection. It would result in an image that is almost two and a half times as wide as it is high.
But despite its shiny new equipment, the Alhambra Theatre ceased to operate as a movie theatre in the 1960s.
It continued to host the occasional stage shows, but was predominantly used as a bingo hall by Carlton Bingo from 1965.
However, in 2006, Carlton Bingo moved into a new, purpose-built premises at the Fife Leisure Park in Halbeath.
The Alhambra was now empty, and calls for its encore as a beloved theatre space began to surface.
A public campaign was soon launched.
The building would need refurbished, and passed back into the right hands to ensure its maintenance. The Alhambra Theatre Trust took to the stage and restored the building.
It was reopened as a theatre on June 7 2008. The modifications increased its seating capacity to 2,100.
The very first touring West End musical production arrived at the Alhambra in 2009.
Bill Kenwright’s Blood Brothers returned to Dunfermline for the first time in 77 years and played to capacity audiences nightly.
Since then, West End touring musicals such as Grease, Chicago, The Rocky Horror Show and Joseph have all performed on the Alhambra stage.
The Alhambra pantomime has attracted audiences totalling more than 25,000 since its first production in 2010.
Cinderella ran for eight performances and starred Jim Leishman as one of the ugly stepsisters. The current Provost of Fife is well associated with theatre, having starred in productions with Kelty Musical Society in his youth.
Alongside Leishman, countless other Scottish stars have appeared in the Christmas show.
Jane McCarry starred as Fairy Nuff in the Alhambra’s 2014 Christmas panto, Jack And The Beanstalk.
When it is not entertaining youngsters with its famous panto, the Alhambra is training them to take to the stage themselves.
The Alhambra held its first summer school in 2011. Run by the Alhambra Theatre Trust, the youth theatre experience has given scores of youngsters between the ages of eight and 18 the opportunity to tread the boards.
The two-week course in acting, singing, and dancing culminates in a stage production at the end of the summer. In 2019 rock band Snow Patrol – formed across the water at Dundee University – performed an acoustic set at the Alhambra to raise
Itisa magnificent theatre and a landmark building
funds for Fife charity The Craws Nest Trust.
Snow Patrol fans queued from 3.30am for tickets. Unsurprisingly, the gig sold out in a matter of hours.
Just one of the shows from their ongoing Scottish tour, the band were also using the acoustic sets to promote their new album, Reworked.
During the pandemic, the trust has been renovating the theatre once again – upgrading seating and putting in better ventilation.
It has earned its place in history. Mhora Samuel, director of The Theatres Trust, said: “The Alhambra is a magnificent theatre and a landmark building for Dunfermline.”
It is now also a Grade B-listed building. After 100 years of entertainment, it deserves to be looked after.