Early theatres
Theatre in Kettering began with the 'Penny Gaffs', notably Wild's and Payne's, which were rough and ready portable affairs, with planks laid over barrels for seats. They were certainly ingenious-Payne's had an open backdrop in Summer which looked across the fields to the railway line, and one of his productions incorporated a real train as part of the plot, with the actors praying that the timetable would be followed exactly.
The gaffs died out with the opening of the Victoria Hall theatre in Gold Street in 1888. It seated 900, and hosted musicals, , plays, variety shows, and even dinners and dances. It later became a cinema.
Motion pictures first came to Kettering with the bioscopes (short movies) displayed at the Feast in 1897. The first feature film was shown at the Victoria Hall in 1901.