1939 - 1980

The Second World War hit the theatre badly. Rationing and shortages of materials meant that shows became austere and it was increasingly difficult to fill the house. Although post-war euphoria brought with it increased audiences, by the fifties the days of large repertory companies were numbered. There were of course some memorable moments, such as the Grand's diamond jubilee production of South Pacific, featuring a young actor by the name of Sean Connery, but by and by large rep companies were dying out.

The main problem was television. Across the country, provincial theatres were losing audiences and rep companies were disbanding. The Grand avoided closure by changing its format once again and 1959 saw the return of touring companies including Michael Caine and Terrance Stamp in a production of The Long, The Short and The Tall, but even prestigious shows like this failed to counteract the steady decline in audiences.

The late fifties and sixties also saw the return of variety shows and many famous stars appeared, notably singing star David Whitfield, who had more hit records than any other recording artist in the fifties. (His last appearance at the Grand was in 1977). Eventually however in 1969, the Myatt Family, the principal shareholders were forced to sell the Grand Theatre to the local authority for £74,000. Thus ended a remarkable era - the theatre had been owned by the descendants of the original shareholders for 75 years.

The theatre underwent a small renovation in 1970, with the auditorium repainted from its old Wedgewood blue, white and gold to the new Spanish Chestnut red, white and gold. The painting was done on Sundays in August of that year, by sixty or seventy volunteers from the Grand Theatre Club and The paint was donated by Manders, and later on a cheque from Bilston Operatic Society paid for the temporary scaffolding.

John Holland, a member of the Grand Theatre Club at the time, has this to say about the refurbishment:

'I was the first Hon Secretary of the Theatre Club. We decorated the entire auditorium over a weekend... Ron Howard and I continued to add touches to the paintwork for many weeks.'

The paint was donated by Manders... local paint and ink manufacturer and developers of the Mander Centre. The scaffolding too was donated... As the Saturday evening house emptied the scaffolding was walked in... By around one o'clock we were painting. We worked in shifts throughout the weekend.

Public money was needed to keep the theatre open. In order to attract funding from the Arts Council the theatre was made into a non-profit making trust, subsequently, a new company the Grand Theatre Wolverhampton Ltd was born. The company began refurbishing the theatre in 1973, laying down a new stage, improving lighting in the building and strengthening the back wall in Berry Street. Throughout the seventies the Grand enjoyed some success with pantomime and numerous touring productions of musicals, ballet, opera and plays, but, as audiences again began to decline, the theatre was forced to close in 1980. It seemed that the story had ended.

Fortunately, there were some Wulfrunians who recognised the need for live theatre, and immediately after the curtain fell on that fateful night in 1980 a public meeting was held to start a campaign to re-open the Grand. Fifty people attended the meeting and from that night the "Save the Grand Action Group" was born. Working in co-operation with Wolverhampton Borough Council, renovation work began while the council agreed that in common with other theatres of similar size, a substantial annual subsidy was required to enable the theatre operate successfully. With a grant from the Department of the Environment, the immense task of restoring the building began. The grant was awarded dependent upon the auditorium being restored to its original state. Consequently the ceilings, boxes and proscenium arch which were painted cream and gold from the original colour scheme, while the use of claret that had predominated up until then, was restricted.