The New Empire Theatre, located in Southend, was built on the site of a former pubic hall in 1896. The original hall which was owned by Frederick Marlow, a theatre impresario, was converted into The Empire Theatre in 1892 and it operated successfully up until Boxing Day 1895 when it was devastated by a fire. After the incident Marlow endeavoured to construct a much larger venue with electric lighting; this was to be The New Empire Theatre. Revamped, and with the latest technology at the time, the theatre became the first of its kind in Southend-on-Sea and, in 1896, at the time of its grand opening, it was considered ‘the prettiest theatre outside of London’ by local press. Appearances, though, do not assure the quality of the entertainment, therefore Marlow, who was attentive to this, aimed to provide a varied programme which contained musicals, opera, concerts and various plays, to reach out to a much wider audience. Unfortunately, however, Marlow only remained at the theatre until 1905, when it was purchased by the Southend-on-Sea Theatre Company Ltd.
By 1919 the advent of filmography (motion pictures) brought about many changes to Southend, forcing the theatre to close its doors for a short period while it was redeveloped and enlarged into a cinema – The Rivoli. The Rivoli thrived from 1921 to 1962, especially after installing new sound equipment to heighten the experience. However, by 1962, the site was taken over by the ABC cinema chain. Under new ownership the cinema underwent refurbishment, including the addition of an underground bar, which made use of The New Empire’s old passageways. The cinema managed to operate under ABC for a further 20 years and, in 1982, even succeeded in creating a second smaller screen room at the old Rivoli Mezzanine level. By 1998, though, business had diminished considerably, and the popularity of the cinema has declined. The last film was screened in February 1998, and afterwards the venue was declared closed. The cinema was used periodically after its closure, but its doors were permanently closed in 2002 when the owners fell into financial difficulty.
We arrived in Southend-on-Sea quite late one weekday afternoon, expecting to meet up with a fellow explorer and friend. That plan, however, failed and we ended up alone in foreign territory; there are many places that are far worse to be stranded in mind. So, despite the mishap, we set about wandering towards the nearest looking abandoned thing which turned out to be The New Empire Theatre, and within minutes of finding it we managed to find a way inside. But, unsure as to whether we should go grab a pizza and bring it back, or finish looking around and then go for the pizza, we stood in the mouldy bar for a while and eventually decided that it was in fact far too mouldy for pizza. We therefore decided crack on and grab the shots there and then; dinner would have to wait. Given that there are a spectacular number of abandoned theatres and cinemas across the UK, this one probably appears to be fairly run down, but its maze-like design keeps the whole explore quite interesting; for each time you reach a door you're unsure about what will be in the next room ahead. Moreover, it’s also possible to reach the rooftop in this explore and, although it’s just a small one, it allows you to take in the surrounding views of Southend-on-Sea from a slightly different angle.
Explored with Ford Mayhem and Deems.
1: The Display Board
2: The Underground Theatre Bar
3: The Bar
4: Moudly Equipment Box
5: Moudly Speakers
6: Dated Furniture
7: The Main Reception/Sales Area
8: Behind the Ticket Counter
9: Theatre/Cinema Main Doors
10: The First Screen Room
11: Dark and Gloomy
12: Piano
13: Projector Room
14: A New Performance - By the WildBoyz
15: The Mirrored Room
16: Entering into the Second Screen Room
17: The Second Screen Room
18: Second Screen Room (Front of Room Shot)
19: The Main Stage
20: On the Roof
21: Southend-on-Sea by Night
22: Some Sea
23: Leaving the Underground Passageways
24: External Street Shot
By 1919 the advent of filmography (motion pictures) brought about many changes to Southend, forcing the theatre to close its doors for a short period while it was redeveloped and enlarged into a cinema – The Rivoli. The Rivoli thrived from 1921 to 1962, especially after installing new sound equipment to heighten the experience. However, by 1962, the site was taken over by the ABC cinema chain. Under new ownership the cinema underwent refurbishment, including the addition of an underground bar, which made use of The New Empire’s old passageways. The cinema managed to operate under ABC for a further 20 years and, in 1982, even succeeded in creating a second smaller screen room at the old Rivoli Mezzanine level. By 1998, though, business had diminished considerably, and the popularity of the cinema has declined. The last film was screened in February 1998, and afterwards the venue was declared closed. The cinema was used periodically after its closure, but its doors were permanently closed in 2002 when the owners fell into financial difficulty.
We arrived in Southend-on-Sea quite late one weekday afternoon, expecting to meet up with a fellow explorer and friend. That plan, however, failed and we ended up alone in foreign territory; there are many places that are far worse to be stranded in mind. So, despite the mishap, we set about wandering towards the nearest looking abandoned thing which turned out to be The New Empire Theatre, and within minutes of finding it we managed to find a way inside. But, unsure as to whether we should go grab a pizza and bring it back, or finish looking around and then go for the pizza, we stood in the mouldy bar for a while and eventually decided that it was in fact far too mouldy for pizza. We therefore decided crack on and grab the shots there and then; dinner would have to wait. Given that there are a spectacular number of abandoned theatres and cinemas across the UK, this one probably appears to be fairly run down, but its maze-like design keeps the whole explore quite interesting; for each time you reach a door you're unsure about what will be in the next room ahead. Moreover, it’s also possible to reach the rooftop in this explore and, although it’s just a small one, it allows you to take in the surrounding views of Southend-on-Sea from a slightly different angle.
Explored with Ford Mayhem and Deems.
1: The Display Board
2: The Underground Theatre Bar
3: The Bar
4: Moudly Equipment Box
5: Moudly Speakers
6: Dated Furniture
7: The Main Reception/Sales Area
8: Behind the Ticket Counter
9: Theatre/Cinema Main Doors
10: The First Screen Room
11: Dark and Gloomy
12: Piano
13: Projector Room
14: A New Performance - By the WildBoyz
15: The Mirrored Room
16: Entering into the Second Screen Room
17: The Second Screen Room
18: Second Screen Room (Front of Room Shot)
19: The Main Stage
20: On the Roof
21: Southend-on-Sea by Night
22: Some Sea
23: Leaving the Underground Passageways
24: External Street Shot
