Venue History
The Howard Assembly Room at Opera North forms part of the Opera North Centre in association with the University of Leeds. The Opera North Centre incorporates performance space, rehearsal rooms, and the administration offices for Opera North.
Designed by architects George Corson and James Watson The Assembly Rooms opened in 1879 with a performance from the conjurer Dr Lynn, a year after the Leeds Grand Theatre. The venue was created to provide ‘respectable’ entertainment, using the name ‘Assembly Rooms’ to set it apart from popular pub-based music halls. The Assembly Rooms provided a variety of entertainment, from magic and minstrel shows to musical concerts.
The venue became a cinema in 1911, opening with the film of English music hall comedian ‘Little Tich’ (real name Harry Relph). The building was damaged by a fire in 1923 and closed for 47 days for extensive alterations and renovations. In 1958 the Assembly room changed its name to the Plaza Cinema. It then reopened in the 1970s, with all the fire damaged Victorian grandeur hidden away, as an adult cinema before closing again in the mid-eighties.
The Assembly Rooms have now been fully restored to their original Victorian splendour, with a barrel vaulted ceiling, arched windows and gothic motif decoration. And there's is a new name: The Howard Assembly Room at Opera North, taking its name from Doctor Keith Howard, generous benefactor of the Transformation project that made the restoration possible.
The venue is one of Leeds’ most impressive and distinctive Victorian buildings. The events programme at the Howard Assembly Room is managed by Opera North.
