St. George’s Hall

Stylish historic concert hall in downtown Bradford. Sonics are good, too.
Bradford in West Yorkshire is not necessarily the town that comes up first when you think about historic buildings and monuments in the UK. There are a few stunning examples, like the town hall — and of course, St. George’s Hall, the premier concert venue in the city. It is a lovely 19^th century building outside and inside, very well preserved. The auditorium especially is wonderfully ornate and pleasant.
Unlike German cities its size, Bradford does not have its own, standing professional symphony orchestra, so they depend on guests. A regular visitor to St. George’s Hall is the Manchester-​based Hallé Orchestra, one of the oldest professional classical ensembles in the country. I visited St. George’s Hall for a Hallé concert in September of 2014.
The acoustics are very good. Maybe not as transparent and dynamic as those of Nottingham’s modern Royal Concert Hall, certainly not comparable to the magnificent The Bridgewater Hall. But very good indeed if an orchestra is in town.
Amenities are on the traditional side: Toilets are small and few, the bar certainly doesn’t impress compared to the above-​mentioned venues. The décor is cozy, rather 1960-​ish. Everything feels a little cramped until you get into the auditorium.
Definitely worth a visit in a city with few outstanding features.

I went here earlier this month to see Russell Brand and was so excited for the night. The bar area was filling up pretty quick but there was enough time to get a drink and take a seat in the bar.
The bar had not only a very poor selection of drinks but the staff had very poor knowledge of what was actually stocked on the bar. They were also happy to serve whoever pushed to the front which was unfair on everyone else who was waiting patiently.
Breaking free from the nightmare that was the bar area we went to take a seat in the theatre. It looked great and seeing the stage made me even more excited of what was to come.
We found our seats and went to sit down. Painful! I am unsure whether the seats were actually designed for children, they were so small! It wasn’t the seat space it was the leg space you had to literally wedge yourself down. I have no idea how people with long legs sat in these seats as I am not exactly the tallest person ever and found it quite hard. The most comfortable position was to sit with your legs apart as it gave you a little more room however it isn’t exactly the most lady like of positions.
We were seated at the end of a row and had to get up to let people in and out about 800 times which was fine but each time we sat back down it really hurt your legs.
Great show just shame on the seats, they are in no way made for adults.

A wide variety of acts take place at this theatre. Some old and some new, with varying quality. However, there have been some great acts over the years. Overall, if you like visiting theatres then there is no reason why you would miss out on the opportunity to visit this one. Sometimes we wish we did drama classes at our learning centres.
The EducateFirst Team.

This is an old building which could do with a bit of a refurb.
When i went i was on the top floor, for which the view was very limited and the seats not very comfty. Audio was not brilliant either.
If you could get good seats i imagine it would be a good venue as it is quite intimate.
They have some good shows on, not the biggest acts normally but then that’s why they aren’t at a bigger venue!

Lovely building –could do with a wash abd brush up but I can live with that. Decent boozer which feels like a real boozer as oppossed to somewhere you will go for a drink before the performance. Has a very varied diary of events Patrick Moore hot comedians etc not overpiced but the venue is awful. The seating plan is terrible and the sound is the worst I’ve ever heasrdin my entire life. I have been twice and I will never go again.

A lovely venue a little more intimate than its big sister the Bradford Alhambra. Plenty of good acts and shows appear here and the staff are always friendly and helpful. Can be difficult to see or hear for that matter if you are up in the gods in the upper circle as you’re quite a distance from the stage but then the prices you pay for this little theatre seem to reflect that in that you pay more for the big shows in the bigger theatre across the road.

A nice place to see some of the UKs best stand up comedians and pop groups. It is a small venue and does have some issues with stage visability from the upper levels. This is an old venue and tey do seem to have carmmed in as many seats as possible so be prepared to get pretty close to any stranger sat next to you. The accoustics have always been a problem for me too. Most of the time I’ve been in the stalls (well the actual main floor is a dancefloor area that they set out with folding chairs) This are has been fine accouctically but if you are in the the upper circles it’s sometimes hard to hear the performance, especially if it’s stand up! All this said, I’ve seen some great shows at St. George’s Hall and will do for many years to come!

A good old fashioned location (The early Labour Party had some of its first meetings here) with an interesting selection of bands and acts on. The ticket prices can be a bit steep and the upper circle is very cramped, but its two minutes from the bus station so its very accessible.

This is a smaller theatre and not as impressive as the alhambra but it is much more impressive in that the building has much more original features and the beatles once played here years ago. They have the history of other big names who have played here like ub40 and cliff richard, etc. The theatre hosts some very big names in comedy like jimmy carr and it seems to have its regulars who come to do a spot like derek accorrah which always pulls in the punters. The prices are about £18 a ticket but well worth it and they do vary with concessions for disabled and kids and students. The seats are very cramped and all close together so it does get a bit uncomfortable and hard to get in and out of your seat. The downstairs is best if you can get tickets but the seats are like old school seats and are a bit hard. This seems to be a nofrills theatre and can get a bit cold too. There is a bar and someone comes rounds selling icecreams in the interval.

Great old theatre with a calendar of events to suit everyone — Ken Dodd to Scouting For Girls. Great accoustics. Looking a bit tired now but still a great atmosphere

Bridge Street,
Bradford
BD1 1JT
1 274 432 375
This is the second busiest music/​variety venue in bradford. Unlike the alhambra this hasnt been revamped in years and is looking a tiny bit dated but, that adds to the atmosphere. It is an old victorian building which still has lots of its old original features which are very interesting.
The st georges hall is over the road from the main bus interchange and train stations so it is conveniently based.
There is quite a good variety of acts that come here be it musicals/​comedy/​concert/​kids. The popular acts get booked up very quickly so be quick.
The ticket prices vary and are a bit steep but are well worth it for a good night out.
The seating is very cramped — infact you end up sitting on the person infront nearly — there is no leg room at all as they still have the old fashioned seats, but, this does add to the ambience.
There arent enough toilets and the queues at interval times are horrendous — you usually end up missing a couple of minutes of the show if you arent quick enough.
There are a couple of bars to get a drink from during intervals but these too are usually very busy.
There is limited disabled access so be prepared.

St Georges Hall is a versatile venue with removeable seats. It hosts many shows from professional to amateur, musical to comedy. The downsides for the place are that the side seating in the circle and upper circle have limited views. The place tends to feel a bit tired in general. Having said that, it still hosts some top acts. Ken Dodd always makes a Christmas appearance!

St George’s Hall does get a good number of well known musicians/​bands playing each year so it’s worth keeping an eye out for what’s going to be on.
The venue is in Central Bradford so a short walk from the interchange and also from parking so it’s very convenient.
It’s not the poshest of venues but it is still a great location to go and watch performances of any kind. Has a number of bars on site where you can go and have a drink before a performance.