The King’s Theatre opened on New Street, Oswestry in 1914 with 700 seats and a 27 feet wide proscenium (right): It continued to put on a varying programme of shows throughout the First World War. The Oswestry Advertiser offered their impressions of the shows:
10 October 1917: ‘We have seldom witnessed a more finely developed portrayal of oriental craft and cruelty than that which Mr George Butler displays in the title role of ‘Mr Wu’’.
14 December 1917: ‘Some Girls’ presented by Mr J Lever. The company includes Mabel Hirst who quite captures the audience with her rich soprano voice’.
In January 1917: ‘Cinderella’ as a pantomime entertained adults and children alike. ‘Glad Eye’, one of the ugly sisters, delighted the soldiers from visiting Scottish Regiment by adding an extra verse to the well-known song ‘Over there’:
‘Wait and see, wait and see
A change in camp football there’s likely to be,
When the Welshmen have found how more goals may be missed,
The ‘Kilties’ will climb to the top of the list,
If you only wait and see’
The King’s Theatre became the Century Cinema in 1956. The cinema closed in 1998 and was opened as Wilkinson’s store in 1999.
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