The final credits rolled on the Victoria Cinema in Dundee in August 1990 when the beloved old building was torn down. The Vic on Victoria Road was popular with generations of theatre then cinema-goers. The fate of the historic landmark was sealed after structural faults were discovered.
The building began life as the Royal Victoria Theatre which opened in 1842. Plays continued to be staged at the Vic until 1903. Alterations were made and the building was converted into a music hall to meet popular demand and opened under the name of the Gaiety Theatre.
The Gaiety had a luxurious entrance. From it a cascade of light spilled across Victoria Road and spread its magic from the Wellgate Steps to Cotton Road. The Gaiety brought the glamour of the flesh-and-blood theatre to Dundee.
The audiences were raucous and rowdy and the atmosphere filled with the odour of stale beer, black tobacco, jute mill stoor and fish and chips. Plays included The Face at the Window, The Dumb Man of Manchester, The Murder in the Red Barn, Man to Man and The Ticket-of-Leave Man. The audience cheered the hero’s defiant speeches and booed the villain’s threats.
Some of the biggest stars of the day trod the boards at the Gaiety. Marie Lloyd was a huge draw in February 1908 and known for innuendo-laden songs such as Oh You Wink the Other Eye and A Little of What You Fancy. Sir George Robey was known as the Prime Minister of Mirth and performed in February 1909 where his appearance was hailed with deafening.