The Empress Theatre (variously later known as: The Empress Theatre of Varieties; Empress Music Hall; and, from 1957, Granada Cinema) was an entertainment venue located on the corner of Bernay's Grove and Brighton Terrace in Brixton, south London from 1898 to 1992 when the building was demolished and the site redeveloped for housing. [1] [2]
The Empress Theatre was built for Messrs W. H. Burney and W. J. Grimes and was designed by Wylson & Long and built by the contractor T. L. Green. The Empress could seat 1,260 on three levels, stalls and pit, Dress Circle and Gallery, and had a large stage 60 foot wide by 40 deep with a proscenium opening 30 foot wide. The electric lighting and heating was installed by Messrs Strode and Co.. The box-office hall was decorated with marble mosaic by Messrs Diespeker and Co., and was fitted with Japanese leather decorations. The auditorium, decorated in the French Renaissance style, was fitted with 'chaste embellishments' of nine panels 'each ornamented by a heraldic dive of griffins.. clawing a shield in delicate pink' [3] measured 75 foot by 64 foot in the clear over which was a "lofty saucer-shaped dome". Over the proscenium, on each top corner, were positioned reclining female figures of Euterpe and Terpsichore, while over the two boxes, placed on each side of the proscenium on the dress circle level, were paintings, again in the French Renaissance style. The Empress opened on Boxing Day 1898 with a variety show. The Music and Theatre Review of 30 December 1898 recorded that on the theatre's opening night hundreds of patrons were turned away. On the 'bill' that night were Brixton's Kate Carney as well as a display of the Thomas Edison moving pictures. [4] The singer and comedian Arthur Lloyd appeared here in 1900, 1901 and 1902. [1] Other performers to appear at the Empress at this time included Joe Elvin, Vera Lynn, Tommy Fields, [5] [6] Wilson, Keppel and Betty, [2] Marie Lloyd and Harry Lauder.
During the 1950s and 1960s various well-known performers appeared at the Empress, including Tony Hancock, [7] Dorothy Squires, Alma Cogan, [8] Joe Brown, Shirley Abicair, Hughie Green, Charlie Chester, Max Miller, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and Bruce Forsyth.
The Empress Theatre was variously known as the Empress Theatre of Varieties and the Empress Music Hall. In 1930 it was taken over by Variety Theatre Consolidated as a variety theatre and the auditorium was remodelled in the Art Deco Style to seat 2,000. [1] It was the Granada Cinema from 1957 until the 1970s when it was repurposed as a bingo hall. The Empress eventually became a furniture warehouse before being demolished in 1992. A small housing development now stands on the site. [2] [4]
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous Music Hall and subsequent, more respectable Variety differ. Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts.
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Oxford Music Hall was a music hall located in Westminster, London at the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. It was established on the site of a former public house, the Boar and Castle, by Charles Morton, in 1861. In 1917 the music hall was converted into a legitimate theatre, and in 1921 it was renamed the New Oxford Theatre. In May 1926 it closed and was demolished.
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The Chiswick Empire was a theatre facing Turnham Green in Chiswick that opened in 1912 and closed and was demolished in 1959. A venue for touring artists, some of the greatest names in drama, variety and music hall performed there including George Formby, Laurel and Hardy, Chico Marx, Peter Sellers and Liberace.
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