Ron Drew's Theatre Page
Local Professional Theatres
Empire Theatre, Sunderland
Its origins rooted in SOUTH SHIELDS
Vesta Tilley, that great Edwardian music hall favourite laid the foundation
stone of the Empire on September 29th 1906 and from the
stage declared the theatre open on July 1st 1907. She then went on
to top the bill that evening to two packed houses.
The theatre was the vision of the South Shields entrepreneur, Dick Thornton,(q v). He had extended his variety establishments from the first music hall in his home town to Sunderland where he took control of the Avenue Theatre and Opera House, and the Theatre Royal. From these ventures he was soon successful and wealthy enough to enter into partnership with Edward Moss, forming an organisation which transformed the northern theatre provinces of the late 19th/early 20th century.
This Thornton/Moss partnership established 'Moss Empires' throughout the country with Dick Thornton as Director in Scotland and Northern England. They were known for their low admission charges which enabled the working classes to see quality productions in clean and comfortable surroundings, possibly for the first time.
Thornton, however, soon became restless in the partnership and decided to build a theatre of his own on the site of the present Empire Theatre, which he called the Empire Palace. The auditorium originally seated 3,000 but today this has been reduced to 2,000. Sir Edward Moss and another theatrical entrepreneur Oswald Stoll had started their partnership and later were to take over the site of Dick Thornton's Palace.
It was a magnificent building and the original decor is still maintained today. Alistair Robinson (Entertainments Editor of the Sunderland Echo) says in his book "Sunderland Empire: A History of the Theatre and its Stars""........"It was not only the grandest theatre in town, with its 90ft tower crowned with a dome, a revolving steel globe and a 7ft high statue of the Greek muse, Terpsicore,.........but it was packed with the most modern features, many of which were intended to make it the safest".
As a theatre The Empire is unique both in its auditorium layout, with its side 'slipper seats' almost bordering the stage, and because it has survived when just about all of its contemporaries in the region were either knocked down or converted to other uses.
Frank Allen, the first manager of the Empire, was
determined to maintain the high standards set by Dick Thornton and at the
top of all his Theatre Bills was the foreword "A good, clean
entertainment guaranteed here. Bring your wife and family, and enjoy elegance, safety,
comfort and respectability"
Many local artists made their names through the Sunderland Empire.(2x4).jpg)
Wee Georgie Wood, (pictured here) was born in Jarrow in1898 but
brought up in Sunderland and was only 4ft 9ins tall when fully grown. He
had made his debut at the age of five at a Sunday School concert, then
progressed to the 'Merry Minstrels', a Wearside Concert Party.
In 1906, through the good services of Vesta Tilley who was appearing at
the South Shields Empire, he was engaged for a week at that theatre by Dick
Thornton when only nine years old.
By 1907 Wee Georgie Wood was appearing in a principle part at the beginning of a touring production of "The Sleeping Beauty" at the King's Theatre in Sunderland. Also in the cast playing a small part of the second gollywog was a Stanley Jefferson, who had grown up in Bishop Aukland and North Shields. He had previously made a few haltering performances as a solo comedian in Glasgow and was later to become known as Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame.
In 1908 Stan's father, who was a theatre manager but still working on the stage, wrote, with his son, a comedy sketch "Home from the Honeymoon" in which they both appeared. It went on tour and reached the Sunderland Empire in the August of that year
By 1910 Wee Georgie Wood was engaged to play the Sunderland Empire, appearing between the acts of the two great artists of the time, Vesta Tilley and Marie Lloyd.
The Empire reached its heyday as a music hall in 1912 and was the home for much local talent, including many comics, for many years. These included not only Wee Georgie Wood and Laurel and Hardy but also South Shields' Albert Burdon, also the Stockton-on-Tees film stage and wireless comics, Will Hay and Jimmy James, also Frank E Franks a Hebburn lad who held the record for appearing more than anyone else in the theatre's first 40 years. They were followed later by the Smith Brothers and Bobby Thompson. 'The Little Waster', as Bobby was known, was the only star who came there who parked his caravan in the Empire car park whenever he played the Empire!
Other famous comics who appeared on its stage were Max Wall, Sir Harry Lauder, George Formby and later his son of the same name, Flanagan and Allen, Naughton and Gold both duos later to be part of the Crazy Gang, also Max Miller and many more too numerous to mention, Not all of them had success there and it was known amongst the trade that Sunderland Empire could be the graveyard for many comics.
But it was not just comedians who visited the Empire. Throughout the early1900's it hosted such cinema idols as Marlene Dietrich and Gracie Fields. Such singers as Arthur Tracy (The Street Singer), Florrie Forde, the Australian singer of 'Pack up your Troubles' fame. There was also a visit from the notorious stripper, Phyllis Dixey.
In that period it also saw the genius of Charlie Chaplin
(pictured left). In 1908 Charlie was a raw, young performer recruited into the
country's top comedy troupe, Fred Karno's Company of Speechless Comedians.
Two months after joining, the show reached Sunderland, and Charlie
Chaplin was already beginning to be noticed as a leading comic. It was the Fred
Karno's production of "The Mumming Birds" which was later
to tour in America that got Chaplin noticed by Mack Sennett.
and from then on his cinema career was assured.
Sid James, another comedian from Stockton often played the Empire, but it was in 1976 that he made his dramatic exit. He was playing in a comedy called "The Mating Game". Sid came on stage said a line, sat on the sofa but did not reply to the next cue. Olga Lowe who was sitting next to him thought it was a gag (for which Sid James was renowned) and started to ad lib, but soon realised that something was amiss. The curtain was brought down and the audience asked 'Is there a doctor in the house?' The audience also thinking it part of the plot greeted this with laughter and the question had to be repeated in earnest. Eventually a doctor responded, called an ambulance and Sid was then found to be dead from a heart attack.
Such an old building is sure to have rumours of a ghost. According to some, Molly, an actress who mysteriously disappeared in the 1940's, is reputed to roam the dressing rooms. But no one today will admit to seeing her! Comedian Les Dawson, however, is said to have refused to ever make a return visit to the theatre after appearing in panto in1989. He is reported as having seen a strange vision in the dressing room. Not only Les but many others think that it is Sid James having the last laugh on the legend that many comics would die on the stage of Sunderland Empire.
After the last war the Empire was taken over by the Sunderland Council, the first local authority to take over an entertainment venue, who ran it as a civic theatre. It was later administered by a Theatre Trust for the Tyne and Wear Culture Department.
During its period under the care of the Theatre Trust it developed a
Music
Hall Museum within the building under the curatorship of Joe
(Chislett Ging)(qv). (He is pictured here as the waiter, Leopold, in
the 1957 production by the South Shields Amateur Operatic Society of "White
Horse Inn"). The museum contained a lot of memorabilia of the music halls
which was collected from many of the county's theatres and suitably displayed. It also boasted a small auditorium complete with
stage and it was there that the Music Hall Society which had previously
been based at Balbra's in Newcastle met on Sunday evenings for
performances by local artistes. Frequent entertainers were Sunderland born Bob and Alf
Pearson,
the popular duo of the music hall days who had frequently played the Empire,
and Eric Boswell, the composer of a large
number of contemporary folk songs, mostly in a humorous vein (listen to one of
his songs "YOU'LL
HAVE TO SETTLE DOWN" Sung by Joe Ging and Marion
Aitchison).
Sadly the Museum had to close because of financial problems and most of its contents were dispersed. However many of the bill-boards of music hall performances throughout the years have been retained and are well displayed in the corridors, rooms and bars of the Sunderland Empire today.
Many innovations were tried out to encourage the theatre's use. These included a lunchtime hour long series of classical recitals which proved very popular. Perhaps the reason for dropping them as being unsuccessful, was that the majority of the audience were pensioners - who, at that time, received good concessions on their theatre tickets!
At the end of the last century the Theatre's Trust directors had been unable to maintain the quality of shows and still remain financially viable. In 2000 the theatre was bought out in the first instance by the management company Apollo Leisure and, at the time of writing this in 2004, by Clear Channel Entertainment: so this should guarantee its future for the next decade or so.
A number of Amateur Societies presented there shows there including the South Shields Amateur Operatic Society(qv) who in 1980 had been forced out of their home in South Shields. At this time the Mecca Bingo Hall, (originally the Regent Cinema) which they had used from the 50's for their annual productions, installed new equipment which prevented the stage being converted for theatrical use. The Society transferred to the Sunderland Empire Theatre for two decades but rising costs and diminishing audiences resulted in their having to return to a smaller theatre - The Customs House(qv) - in South Shields. They were back in their home town!
In the new century Sunderland Empire appears to have had a new lease of life under its new management. With more touring shows and public support improving it was decided to make a substantial improvement to the theatre. In April 2004 the theatre was closed and a start made on the £4m. re-development most of which will be spent on the stage and its facilities. When completed it will have the finest stage of any theatre between Manchester and Edinburgh with technical facilities to host the finest and largest of West End shows.
Booking has already started for the opening night with "Starlight Express" in December 2004 to be followed, in January 2005, by the West End production of "Miss Saigon".