The original 1890s canopy at the Olympia Theatre was hit by a reversing truck on 18th November 2004. It was removed and sent to Glasgow (where it had been manufactured by the long-gone Saracen Ironworks) for renovation, leaving the theatre’s main entrance looking bare and quite ordinary for two and a half years before it was reinstated in 2007.
Stained glass looks best in strong sunlight, but Dublin’s pretty bright even when the sky is a flat grey, and passing under the canopy feels like an event. It’s a whimsy, appropriate to a venue that’s hosted a music hall, variety, pantomime and performance since 1879, and it’s generous to offer a gesture of theatricality to the street.
