Mayflower Theatre facts for kids
Mayflower Theatre, 2006
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 Mayflower Theatre
Location in Southampton
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| Former names | The Empire Theatre (1928–50) Gaumont Theatre (1950–86) |
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| Address | Commercial Road Southampton United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 50°54′31″N 1°24′37″W / 50.908550°N 1.410240°W |
| Owner | Mayflower Theatre Trust Ltd |
| Designation | Grade II |
| Capacity | 2,300 |
| Current use | Live performance venue |
| Construction | |
| Opened | December 1928 |
| Architect | William and T. R. Milburn |
| Website | |
| www.mayflower.org.uk | |
The Mayflower Theatre is a famous building in Southampton, England. It's a large theatre that can hold 2,300 people. This theatre is a special "Grade II listed" building, which means it's important and protected.
You can often see big shows here, like those from London's West End, when they travel around the UK. The Mayflower also hosts fun comedy nights and music concerts. It has had a few names over the years, starting as The Empire Theatre and later becoming the Gaumont Theatre before its current name.
Contents
History of the Mayflower Theatre
The Empire Theatre: Early Days (1928–1950)
The theatre first opened its doors on 22 December 1928. Back then, it was called The Empire Theatre. It was part of a big plan by the Moss Empire theatre group to build more theatres. Other theatres were built in cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Liverpool at the same time.
When it was built, it was the biggest theatre in the south of England. It still holds that title today! In its early years, many shows arrived by train. The theatre's spot near Southampton Central railway station was perfect for this.
However, the theatre faced a challenge when movies with sound, called 'talkies', became popular. To keep up, a projection room and a screen were added in 1933. By 1942, it was mostly used as a cinema. The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation then took over the theatre.
Gaumont Theatre: Music and Movies (1950–1986)
As the Gaumont Theatre, it hosted many famous music artists. Imagine seeing Bill Haley & His Comets in 1957! The Beatles played here in 1963. The Rolling Stones performed in 1966, with Ike & Tina Turner and The Yardbirds opening for them.
Other legendary musicians also played at the Gaumont. These included Jimi Hendrix in 1967 and Led Zeppelin in 1973. Queen visited in 1974, 1975, and 1977. The Police played in 1979 and 1982. Rush came in 1978, and Iron Maiden in 1980, 1981, and 1983. Kate Bush performed in 1979. AC/DC's last concert with Bon Scott was here in January 1980. Ozzy Osbourne also played in October 1980. The band Slade even filmed a music video for their song "Wheels Ain't Coming Down" at the theatre in 1981.
Even with all these concerts, the building was still mainly a cinema. But cinemas were losing popularity because of television. The owners thought about changing it into a dance hall or a ten-pin bowling alley. This didn't happen, and more acts continued to perform. However, by the late 1980s, big acts preferred larger concert halls.
In 1970, there was a plan to turn the theatre into a bingo hall. This also didn't happen. The owners were still not making much money. In 1982, they tried again to change it into a bingo hall. This was refused in 1983. That same year, the building became a protected "Grade II listed" building. The local council decided to buy the theatre. They spent £650,000 to buy it and planned a £3 million renovation. A special charity was set up in 1989 to manage the theatre. This helped keep it as a theatre for everyone to enjoy.
Becoming the Mayflower Theatre (1987)
The theatre closed for a big makeover in January 1986. The stage area was greatly improved. New features, like a computerised box office, were also added. The theatre reopened on 24 February 1987, with its new name, The Mayflower. The first show was Peter Pan, starring Bonnie Langford. The official opening gala was even shown on TV in May.
At first, not many people came to the shows. Some worried the project was a "white elephant," meaning a costly failure. But things changed when big pantomimes started to be performed. These shows attracted huge audiences. The 1994 pantomime, Dick Whittington, starring Lesley Joseph and John Nettles, brought in over 126,000 theatregoers!
Musicals also played a huge part in the theatre's success. In 1990, a full-scale version of the West End musical 42nd Street came to the Mayflower. Evita followed, and both were massive hits. These musicals, along with the pantomimes, made sure the theatre continued to thrive. Cats arrived in 1994, attracting 125,000 people. Many other shows followed, including The Phantom of the Opera. This show set a new record in 2000, with 185,000 people attending!
Major Refurbishment (2003)
In 2003, the theatre closed again for more improvements. A big change was making the stage flat instead of sloped. They also made it easier for people with disabilities to access the theatre, adding a new lift. The theatre reopened with a huge show, Miss Saigon. This show wouldn't have been possible with the old stage.
The Mayflower continued to host major musicals. Starlight Express had a five-week run in 2005. Other popular shows in 2006 included Saturday Night Fever, Miss Saigon, The Rocky Horror Show, and Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang stayed at the Mayflower for almost three months in 2007. The Christmas show in 2007 was The Wizard of Oz. It starred famous actors like Russ Abbot and Matthew Kelly.
The 2008 season featured Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love and a return of Cats. New shows like Zorro and The Wedding Singer also came. In 2009, the traditional Christmas show was Cinderella, with Christopher Biggins and Matthew Kelly.
Also in 2009, the Mayflower welcomed West Side Story, Calendar Girls, and Evita. After these shows, the theatre closed for three months. This time, they made huge improvements backstage, adding a new area for scenery. The stalls and circle bars were also updated. The season then continued with LazyTown Live! The Pirate Adventure, followed by The Sound of Music and High School Musical 2. In 2010, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang returned. The first national tour of Hairspray and the 25th anniversary tour of Les Misérables also visited.
Foyer Renovation (2013)
Around summer 2012, the theatre held an open day to celebrate 25 years as the Mayflower. During this event, they announced plans to update the main entrance area, called the foyer. The old foyer wasn't big enough for modern needs.
The new foyer would offer many benefits:
- More space for visitors.
- A bigger area for the box office to buy tickets.
- Easy wheelchair access from the street.
- A covered walkway to the Ovation restaurant.
- A modern look that still fit the building's historic "Grade II" status.
After the musical Strictly Confidential finished, work on the foyer began. It took a couple of months to complete. Along with a new logo and look, the expanded foyer opened on 30 August 2013. It was ready just in time for the Mayflower Theatre's first summer youth project, a performance of Bugsy Malone. In 2014, big UK tours of West End musicals like The Lion King and Wicked visited the theatre. In 2015, Shrek The Musical came, and in 2016, Mary Poppins the Musical visited.
Auditorium Refurbishment (Summer 2018)
In the summer of 2018, the theatre closed again for three months. This happened after a four-week run of the play War Horse. The main focus of this work was inside the auditorium, where the audience sits. All the seats in the stalls and circle were completely replaced. The seats in the balcony were re-covered to match the new ones.
The auditorium was also fully redecorated. It changed from its well-known green colour scheme. Now, it features a beautiful new royal red and gold colour scheme. Many of the public areas, like the lobbies, were also redecorated to match this new look.
Here are the main things that were done during this closure:
- The entire auditorium was repainted in a new red and gold colour scheme.
- All 1,659 seats in the stalls and circle were removed and replaced with new, wider seats.
- All seats in the balcony were re-covered.
- New, energy-saving LED lighting was installed.
- Accessibility was improved, with better facilities for people with disabilities.
- The orchestra pit was moved to be under the stage.
- The decorative plasterwork was repaired and renovated.
- The restaurant, bars, and function rooms were redecorated.
The Mayflower Theatre reopened in September 2018. A special gala evening was held on 26 September. Staff, theatre leaders, and the builders who worked on the project attended this event.
