Empire, Leicester Square - History

History

The Empire Theatre opened on 17 April 1884 as a West End variety theatre on Leicester Square, as well as a ballet venue. The first performance was Chilpéric, with music by Hervé, adapted by H. Hersee and H.B. Farnie and described as a Grand Musical Spectacular, in three acts and seven tableaux. The corps de ballet for the performance was 50 strong. Its capacity was about 2,000 seats. Edward Solomon and Sydney Grundy premièred their comic opera, Pocahontas or The Great White Pearl, another Solomon opera, Polly or The Pet of the Regiment transferred here, and his Billee Taylor was revived here, all in 1884. Kate Vaughan starred in Around the World in 80 Days at the theatre in 1886. Hervé premièred his Diana (1888) and Cleopatra (1889) at the theatre.

In 1887, the theatre reopened as a popular music hall named the Empire Theatre of Varieties. From 1887 to 1915, the designer C. Wilhelm created both scenery and costumes for (and sometimes produced) numerous ballets at the theatre, which established a fashion for stage design and were much imitated. George Edwardes managed the theatre around the start of the 20th century. The dancer Adeline Genée and the theatre's ballet company, working under composer-director Leopold Wenzel, did much to revive the moribund art of ballet in Britain, which had declined in the 19th century.

In March 1896, the Empire Theatre played host to the first commercial theatrical performances of a projected film to a UK audience by Auguste and Louis Lumière. The film programme ran for 18 months. Over the next few years the theatre began to offer a programme of live performances with short film shows.

As the technological wonder of moving pictures grew in popularity in the 1920s, the Empire was acquired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who demolished the theatre in 1927 (its last live theatre performance was Lady Be Good, starring Fred Astaire) and rebuilt the Empire as a film theatre by architect Thomas Lamb, although it still had a large stage and often hosted ballet and dance performances. The theatre's capacity was increased to about 3,000 seats and boasted a 4/21 Wurlitzer organ (since removed in the 1960s). The new cinema opened on 8 November 1928 with the silent film Trelawny of the Wells, based on the play by Arthur Wing Pinero.

Programmes of cine-variety were presented at the Empire after the war. These were elaborate live shows, similar to those presented at the Radio City Music Hall. In 1952 the Empire featured in Charlie Chaplin's film Limelight. In 1959, the Empire installed new 70mm projectors, enabling it to show epics such as Ben Hur (which ran for 76 weeks).

MGM refurbished the building in 1961. Architect George Coles was commissioned and he built a new entrance and lobby in black and white Italian marble, and redesigned the 1,330 seat auditorium with banks of coloured lights. The theatre re-opened on 19 December 1962, with the Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard film Mutiny on the Bounty. The 1928 façade was retained but remained hidden for many years by a full building hoarding advertising both the film and Mecca Dancing, at the Mecca Ballroom, constructed in the stalls of the second Empire theatre, this has remained in use as a separate dance hall, discothèque and nightclub.