King’s Theatre

Located in the city’s Cowgate, and built in 1909, the Frank Thomson designed King’s was originally built as a theatre but its history as such only lasted for a few short years.

During it’s heyday, the King’s was one of the most popular entertainment venues in the city and attracted many of the big names of early 20th century music hall, including Vesta Tilley, George Formby, Harry Lauder, Marie Loftus, as well as the Dundee born Will Fyffe.

Future film stars such as Will Hay and George Formby also performed at the King’s.

On 27th December 1909, as part of Fred Karno’s Company, a 19-year old Stan Laurel (then known by his birthname Stan Jefferson) performed in two sketches at the King’s – ‘Early Birds’ and ‘Mumming Birds’.

The “Original Screaming Pantomimical Burlesque” ‘Early Birds’ was billed as “A Realistic Sketch of London Life”, whilst ‘Mumming Birds’, a “Screaming Travesty of a Modern Music Hall”, was a theatre-within-a-theatre sketch featuring a selection of colourful figures in a music hall audience; characters such as “The Saucy Serio, The Inebriated Swell, The Irate Father, and the Perky Schoolboy” mocking the performers on stage (‘Kings Theatre and Hippodrome’, The Evening Telegraph, 27 December 1909, p2).

The sketch has a significant role in the early career of another future movie star. Only a few weeks later, in January 1910, playing ‘Mumming Birds’ in Liverpool Laurel met and performed alongside Charles Chaplin who was then playing the Inebriated Swell in the Liverpool production. Shortly after, the two would travel to America together as part of Karno’s Company.

From 1913 the King’s supplemented its entertainment offer with regular film screenings and by 1928 the venue had been converted to a full-time cinema.