The Alexandra Theatre was built by William Coutts in 1901. It started
off badly with very little public support and was sold just a year
later to a certain Lester Collingwood, a flamboyant gentleman of
means.
It
was under Collingwoods stewardship that the theatre prospered. It
became one of the most popular theatres in Birmingham due to
Collingwoods understanding of the theatre and his larger than life
personality.
Unfortunately Collingwood was killed in a motor accident and with his death the popularity of the theatre took a nose dive.
In
1911 the Alexandra came under new ownership when it was purchased by
Leon Salberg who was 36 years old when he took over with the help of
his two brothers-in-law, Joshua and Julias Thomas.
Things
went well for the trio and even during the First World War the theatre
continued to prosper. Changes in entertainment taste saw the theatre
move with the times until in 1935 it was rebuilt with an Art Deco
auditorium to cope with increased demand.
Sadly
Leon Salberg died in his office at the theatre in 1938 and Derek
Salberg took over the responsibility for the day to day running of the
theatre. The Salberg family continued to operate the Alexandra until
1977.
The
theatre was eventually sold to Apollo Leisure ( the UK's largest
theatre group ) in the 1990's and is still one of the main theatre
venues in Birmingham. This Edwardian style theatre with a capacity of
1,347 is well known for the quality of its productions and
musicals.
Station
Street,
Birmingham,
B5 4DS. Tel: 0121 643 5536
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