 In 1914 , the London County Council ( LCC ) enacted that drinking be banished from the auditorium into a separate bar and during 1923 even the separate bar was abolished by parliamentary decree . The exemption of the theatres from this latter act prompted some critics to denounce this legislation as an attempt to deprive the working classes of their pleasures , as a form of social control , whilst sparing the supposedly more responsible upper classes who patronised the theatres ( though this could be due to the licensing restrictions brought about due to the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 , which also applied to public houses as well ) . Even so , the music hall gave rise to such major stars as George Formby , Gracie Fields , Max Miller , Will Hay , and Flanagan and Allen during this period . 
