Nearly 100 years of theatre came to an end in Jarrow 64 years ago this week.

One final curtain call was held for Jarrow’s old Theatre Royal which was demolished in April 1962.

The last days of the Theatre Royal in Jarrow in 1962. | sg

placeholder image — The last days of the Theatre Royal in Jarrow in 1962. | sg

And with it, 97 years of South Tyneside stage history was over. In its heyday, actors and actresses famous in their generation had trodden the boards at the Market Square theatre.

Tear-jerking melodramas and variety shows were the usual offerings, and an amateur operatic society used to put on an annual production there, with Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance being a particular favourite.

The news which was reported by the Shields Gazette in 1962. | img

Over its nearly century-long history, it served as both a music hall and a cinema as it adapted to changing entertainment trends.

It has featured in books, including in Chris Wood’s Death In The Theatre in 2023 when reference was made to the 1911 tragedy of an actor who took his own life after being threatened with an insane asylum due to a pain in his head.

Here’s a reminder of the news which was making Shields Gazette headlines on the day the theatre came down.

The latest in Densons shoes were available at Riddicks in King Street. | img

Riddicks, the well known shoe shop in King Street, was selling the latest Denson Slim-Almonds which were described as being ‘for the man who leads the way in fashion’. Tell us if you had a pair.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of monkeying around at the Market Place in South Shields. British TV’s favourite chimpanzee, Rosie, was in town to officially open the South Shields Fine Fare self-service store.

British TV’s favourite chimpanzee, Rosie, was in town to officially open the town’s Fine Fare self-service store.
She proved a hit with staff and shoppers alike in 1962. — British TV’s favourite chimpanzee, Rosie, was in town to officially open the town’s Fine Fare self-service store. She proved a hit with staff and shoppers alike in 1962. | sg

She proved a hit with staff and shoppers alike.

The ‘fabulous Kathy Kirby’ was the star act on the bill at Beach Club in South Shields and her appearance was seen as a real coup for the club.

She was best known for her cover version of Doris Day’s song Secret Love, and for representing the United Kingdom in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in second place.

The Regent Cinema in South Shields had a film with Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy topping the bill. It was called The Devil at 4’o’clock and it was a precursor to disaster films of the 1970s such as The Poseidon Adventure. It was on a double bill with The Pursuers.

Share your own memories of South Tyneside life in April 1962 by emailing [email protected]