Middlesbrough Empire

Like Tunbridge Wells Opera House, this was a bingo house at the time of the first Curtains survey (1982), and after a period of closure became a nightclub. Like the Tunbridge Wells theatre it is an excellent 'Sleeping Beauty' which could by now have returned to theatre life, but is serving in a different role. The first Curtains assessment said that it was 'likely that the day (would) soon come when the Empire, with its fine auditorium .. will be better able to stage touring opera, ballet and drama, which cannot visit Teesside at present because of the limited size of the (nearby) Billingham Forum'. Fortunately the conversion works for bingo did little harm to theatre potential and much of the tawdry bingo overlays have been removed and more appropriate decoration restored. Indeed the present owner has worked hard on the restoration of the building so regret must, in this case, be tinged with relief.

Architecturally, the two theatres are quite different, but the Empire, faced in terra cotta, makes a significant contribution to the townscape of central Middlesborough, as does the Opera House in Tunbridge Wells. Built on an open island site alongside the splendid Town Hall (whose impressive great hall houses many concerts and theatrical events it is ill-designed for), the Empire originally had square towers on the four corners, each surmounted by a crested parapet and octagonal dome. Between the towers, in the upper storeys of the front and the two side elevations, are a series of closely-set arched windows divided by slender columns. The style was described in the opening souvenir brochure as being 'Spanish Renaissance'.

The stage was bombed during the Second World War and the rebuilding omitted two flanking towers. It has a fine and intimate auditorium with two curved balconies of six rows each terminating in superimposed stage boxes, each framed within an arch and flanked by colonnettes with enriched shafts. Rectangular proscenium and circular ceiling incorporating six circular panels. The plasterwork on the balcony fronts, proscenium, etc is in a rich and delicate Renaissance style.

The Empire is important as being the best of only three surviving theatres designed by Edward Runtz - the others being the New Theatre in Cardiff, and the Hippodrome in Hastings (where only the exterior now survives). Following substantial restoration inside and out, it is working successfully as a music venue, with lots of live performance making use of the stage facilities.