Finsbury Park Empire, May 1914

This is one of the best images I've seen of the Finsbury Park Empire. I've seen it published in a book and dated as 1923. However, I'm fairly sure that's wrong since the copy I have of the postcard here is postmarked 1920!. 

The show Full Inside had two runs at the Empire; once in February 1914 and once in May the same year. Given that the banners in the photo refer to the return of the show, I think I'm fairly safe in assuming the photo was shot during the later run.

Summer of 1914, the end of an era.

Two newspaper notices below.

Holloway Press,  27 February 1914.

Finchley Press,  22 May 1914.

The Empire advertised the star role as being played by Harry Brown.

Image: performingartsarchive.com

The Footlights Notes Blog informs us that another black American comedian, Johnny Glass replaced Brown at some point during the show's tour (though apparently not before the Finsbury Park Empire). The blog's author offers the following quote from Glass printed in an American newspaper.

"Johnny Glass writes from London that good colored acts are in demand in England, despite the war, and that colored turns should take advantage of the opportunity and make their way to London."The New York Age, New York, Thursday, 21 October 1915, p. 6b)