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➤The spice of lifeThe UK’s surviving music halls offer a glimpse of a once widespread aspect of working class culture. Norman Miller explores their history and architecturePlaywright John Osborne’s 1957 stage masterpiece The Entertainer celebrated the distinctive entertainments and glorious theatres of music hall through the story of fading star Archie Rice – a role specially written for Laurence Olivier. But music halls weren't usually the haunt of illustrious actors. They fi rst sprang up within pubs from the 1820s onwards to entice working-class folk to keep boozing by offering rip-roaring entertainment that not only refl ected their daily lives, but also took digs at their supposed social ‘betters’. A raucous riposte to posh Victorian pleasure gardens like London’s Vauxhall Gardens, they not only provided a showcase for a fantastic diversity of acts, but also provided a rare avenue for working-class performers – particularly women – to make a decent living. Though the popularity of music halls began to ebb after WW1, hit by rival attractions like jazz bands and moving pictures, major stars like cheeky ukelele player George Formby and naughty comic Max Miller continued to Below: WiltonÕsBottom: Britannia PanopticonMUSIC HALLS www.nadfas.org.uk NADFAS REVIEW / WINTER 2016 27