The Friends of the Victoria Theatre want your memories of Halifax's historic venue

Were you there on one of those classic nights when Ken Dodd kept audiences in fits of laughter long after the lights should have been turned off?

Did you see the Jacksons in 1979 when arguments amongst the group almost prevented the second house from taking place?

Did you witness the ‘Diet Riot’ of 1967 when police had to be called to restore order after an overselling of tickets led to chaos at an evening of diet advice compered by Judith Chalmers?

Maybe you remember clambering up the stairs to the ‘gods’ to watch a favourite film in the days when the Victoria was largely a cinema?

Or perhaps you have more recent memories of singers, comedians and dancers who have entertained and entranced you.

As part of their work to tell the story of the historic building, the Friends of the Victoria Theatre are planning to produce a number of historical displays that hopefully will add a little extra to people's visits there.

They are searching for people who would like to share their memories with them and help make the audience story a key part of the project. They would also love to hear from you if you have any tickets, programmes, press cuttings or other memorabilia that could be included in the research. Any original documents will be copied so that all originals can be retained by the owner.

Whether you call Halifax’s historic theatre the ‘Victoria Theatre’ or the ‘Civic’, whether you strutted your stuff on the sprung dance floor, cheered on Big Daddy (or ‘Naughty’ Nancy Barton in the days of women’s wrestling), were moved by the music of the Halifax Choral Society or even threw leaflets at Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, in 1958, they’re looking forward to hearing from you.

If you have items, large or small, tales long or short, contact the Friends via the Theatre by emailing [email protected].