Empire Leicester Square

The Empire, Leicester Square is a movie theater in London, England. It is on the north side of Leicester Square. Cineworld is in charge of the Empire. Cineworld is a British cinema chain.

The Empire was built in 1884. It was originally a variety theater that had live shows. It was rebuilt to show movies in 1927. Today, it also has a casino.

Early history (1884-1927)

Empire Theater opened on 17 April 1884. Its first show was the play Chilpéric. The music for the show was written by Hervé. It was adapted by H. Hersee and H. B. Farnie. Advertisements called it a “Grand Musical Spectacle.” The show had fifty ballet dancers.

The theater became a music hall in 1887. It was renamed “The Empire Theater of Varieties”. C. Wilhelm worked there from 1887 to 1915. He created scenery and costumes for ballets. His style was popular and many people copied it. Ballet was unpopular in the Edwardian era. The Empire’s prima ballerina, Adeline Geneé, helped to change that.

The theater was expanded in 1893. A side door was added on Leicester street. The architect for the project was Frank T. Verity.

The last performance in the theater was called Lady Be Good. It was performed in 1927.

The second Empire Theater (1928-1961)

The Empire was closed on 22 January 1927. The building was demolished soon after. A new theater was built on the site. This theater was a movie theater. It was called “The Empire Theater”. The new theater had 3,300 seats. It was designed by the architect Thomas W. Lamb. It had Europe’s largest Wurlitzer organ.

The new theater was owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It opened on 8 November 1928. The first show was called Trelawney of the Wells.

After World War I, the theater held cine-variety shows. These shows had both movies and live performers.

The Empire got rid of 1,200 seats in 1959. New projectors were put in. The theater reopened and played Ben-Hur for the next 76 weeks.

Modern theater

After the last showing of Ben-Hur, Mecca bought the theater. It was closed and remodeled. A new theater and a dance hall were built. The new theater’s first show was on 19 December 1962. It was the movie Jumbo.

The theater has not changed much since then. The dance hall, however, is now a casino.

References

1. ↑ Sychowski, Patrick von (2016-07-28). "BREAKING NEWS: Cineworld Buys Empire Leicester Sq and More in £94m Deal". Celluloid Junkie. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
2. ↑ "Cineworld reports surge in revenue thanks to films like Beauty and the Beast and Dunkirk". The Independent. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
3. 1 2 "History – Empire Wurlitzer". Retrieved 2026-07-31.
4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The Empire Theatre, Leicester Square". www.arthurlloyd.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
5. 1 2 "Chilperic Theatre programme 17 April 1884 (Arthur Lloyd) Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine". Retrieved 31 July 2026.
6. ↑ "Mr. Pitcher's Art" – Obituary The Times, 3 March 1925
7. ↑ Richards, Jeffrey (2001). Imperialism And Music: Britain 1876-1953. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-4506-6.
8. ↑ "Leicester Square, North Side, and Lisle Street Area: Leicester Estate, Leicester House and Leicester Square North Side (Nos 1-16) | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
9. ↑ "The Empire Theatre, Leicester Square". www.arthurlloyd.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
10. ↑ "Cineworld Cinema - Leicester Square in London, GB - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2026-07-31.