New book 'Death in the Theatre' gives the full horror of Sunderland's Victoria Hall disaster

Chris Wood is the author of Death in the Theatre, a collection of true stories about tragedies to befall British theatres.

The fascinating tales come from around the country and are deeply saddening. But the most harrowing story is the Victoria Hall Disaster.

On June 16, 1883, around 2,000 children were in the hall, which stood at the corner of Toward Road and Tavistock Place, to see travelling entertainers The Fays.

As the performance ended, it was announced that prizes would be given to children with certain numbered tickets as they left. Many of the 1,100 children in the gallery began to rush downstairs.

Disastrously, the exit door at the foot of the stairs opened inwards. A total of 183 children were crushed to death. Some families lost all of their children. All died of asphyxia.

The book has been widely praised, including approval from the actor Hugh Bonneville.

Chris said: “It’s all British theatres, but being from the North East I really did want to cover some local ones if I could. When I started delving into it I found loads. I could have written three books.

“I didn’t want to cover Sid James at the Empire and Tommy Cooper at the Palladium. They’ve been written about many times and everyone’s aware of them. I wanted to cover events that people wouldn’t necessarily know about.

“When I was delving into the North East ones, there were five or six. The one in Sunderland is probably the one in the whole book which resonates with me. It was the most difficult to write. The Victoria Hall.

“When people have asked me about the book, I think one person was aware of it. I know it was a long time ago, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that 183 kids just didn’t come home that day. The fact that they were all children, at the start of their lives, makes it worse.

“It was a bit of an ordeal at times to go through the research and get it all down. But overall it’s a very satisfying and enjoyable thing to have done.”

Death in the Theatre is hardback is £15.40 and can be ordered at www.pen-and-sword.co.uk.