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Empire, Leicester Square
Empire Leicester Square
Address	Leicester Square
City	Westminster, London
Owned by	Empire Cinemas Ltd
Capacity	2,000 seated (1884) 3,000 (1927) Empire 1: 1,330 Empire 2: 349 Empire 3: 77
Opened	17 April 1884
Years active	1884 - 1927 theatre 1928 - continues as cinema
Rebuilt	1893 Frank Verity 1928 Thomas Lamb 1961 George Coles
Previous names	1884 Empire Theatre 1887 Empire Theatre of Varieties
Current use	Première cinema
	Coordinates: 51°30′39″N 0°07′49″W / 51.510833, -0.130278

The Empire is a large cinema on the north side of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster. It is one of many large cinemas in and adjoining the square which are used for film premières and first runs. The original structure was built in 1884, as a theatre. In common with many of the cinemas that are now on the square, parts of the original structure may still remain, but are hidden by its modern adaption.

c.1905 The Empire Theatre, Leicester Square

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 Chilperic, 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^[1]. 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.

In March 1896, the Empire Theatre played host to an event of cinema history when Auguste and Louis Lumière gave the first commercial theatrical performances of a projected film to a UK audience there^[2]. 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 4/24 Wurlitzer organ (since removed in the 1960s). The new cinema opened on the 8 November 1928 with the silent film Trewlawny of the Wells.

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 Jimmy Durante and Doris Day film Jumbo. 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, discotheque and nightclub.

The Empire 1 screen is the largest, with a seating capacity of 1330 since its last major refurbishment in the mid-1960s. Empire 2, seating 349, was formerly a separate cinema called The Ritz, located below ground. Since the 1960s refurbishment, the screen has been part of The Empire (although it had a separate entrance until a small refurbishment in the mid-1980s). Empire 3 is a small screen with only a 77-seat capacity. Another screen will be added to The Empire Cinema Leicester Square, Empire 4 will be built in 2007 and will be in place of the existing foyer toilets.

For a period in the early-to-mid 1990s, the Empire 1 was notable for the short sound-and-light show, involving laser projections onto the curtains and walls, that preceded the start of each programme.

In October 2005, the Empire was sold to Empire Cinemas Ltd, along with ten other cinemas around the UK, following instructions from the Office of Fair Trading that Terra Firma Capital Partners divest of 11 cinemas in order that their acquisition of United Cinemas International go ahead.

On 2 April 2006, Irish newspapers reported that all of theatres which were recently acquired by Empire Cinemas will be rebranded under the Empire brand.

In the Summer of 2006, the Empire 1 sound system was completely overhauled, installing a 56 kilowatt THX certified sound system. At the same time as this the screen size was expanded by approximately 4 metres.

• Empire Theatre at the Arthur Lloyd site - the 1884 opening night programme and Archive images.
• Feature article on the theatre's history and the opening of the new cinema, with many images
• Ivor Guest The Empire Ballet Society for Theatre Research. 1962 (Online book)
• Profile of the Lumiere Cinématographe, at the theatre
• Cinema information, including seating capacity

• Profile and images of the theatre
• Programme and poster images
• Theatre images