By Elliott West
Introduction
One of the prominent buildings of Northampton’s skyline has to be the Derngate Theatre. An addition to the Royal Theatre which opened in 1884 with a production of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, suffered a devastating fire in 1887 and somewhere where Errol Flynn made an early performance before his film career launched, the Derngate as it is fondly known, has a close association with snooker in its long and illustrious history.
The building itself was first conceived in the early 1980s and constructed on the former site of Northampton’s bus station with an official opening in April 1983 and a performance from the singer Jack Jones. Both buildings would fuse in 1999 and became the Royal Theatre and Derngate.
The Snooker Connection
The Derngate Theatre was the home of the World Doubles Championship from 1982-1987, a tournament that brings back so many happy memories for snooker fans with a strong field that included the likes of Alex Higgins, Tony Meo and Jimmy White. Originally held at Crystal Palace, the event was moved to the Derngate in 1982 due to poor attendance. A tournament that was sponsored by Courage Brewery through their Hofmeister brand and in its final year of being held in 1987, switched to being sponsored by Fosters.
Four of the six tournaments were won by the dream partnership of Steve and Tony Meo with victories in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986 with Alex Higgins and Jimmy White winning in 1984 and Mike Hallett and Stephen Hendry in 1987. Sadly the event was axed from the tour calendar after it was held for the last time in 1987, mainly due to poor ticket sales. Ironically the tournament was still popular with a high television audience at its conclusion but it was buried and has yet to be revived despite various calls over the years to bring it back, all have fallen on deaf ears.
Fits like a glove
Once adjusted for a snooker venue, the Derngate Theatre in Northampton fitted the game like a pair of crisp white gloves worn by a snooker referee. Its seating covered all angles of the table. With sweeping side staircases and boxes above the seating area, this theatre was ideal for the staging of a snooker tournament. With a prominent lighting rig above the table and an audience that looked like they were planted in window boxes around the sides of the stage. Perched in each corner of the seating area, stood a cameraman with one of the bulky contraptions used during the 1980s, reminding of something that was an arch-enemy of Doctor Who on wheels.
Afterthoughts
This was a time when snooker was more popular than football and people would scramble to see it in any format, live at the event or from the comfort of their front rooms. The Derngate Theatre was a key component of this vast snooker machine, that darted around the country and to various overseas venues too. A time when its players had almost demigod status and became household names overnight.
This was a boom period of snooker, a far cry from the days when it almost became a distant memory in the 1960s. Shown in colour, the game was transformed into a game that the audience could see every aspect of a match as if they were there via their television sets. An airing that allowed you to savour the atmosphere and participate in supporting your man, whether in the leaps of victory or defeat.
