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Theatres and Halls in Kingston Upon Thames, London.

The Rose Theatre - Kingston Empire Theatre - Royal County Theatre - Cinema Palace / Regal Cinema

See also in this area: Richmond Theatres

The Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston upon Thames

Above - The Rose Theatre, Kingston in August 2009 - Photo M.L.

The Rose Theatre, Kingston was the first theatre to be built in the UK in the 21st Century. Work began on the shell of the building in 2003, which also included residential and commercial properties.

The Theatre itself was fitted out by the architects Blundell, Thompson and Hargreaves in 2004 and even before it was finished Sir Peter Hall, who had become the Director of the Theatre the previous year, staged several plays in its unfinished auditorium under the banner of the ‘In the Raw' season.

The Rose Theatre's Horse Shoe shaped auditorium drew its inspiration from the Elizabethan Theatre of the same name in London's Bankside which was home to many of Shakespeare and Marlowe's early plays. (There are plans to excavate the original Rose Theatre site on Bankside and more information about this can be found here.)

Right - The Rose Theatre, Kingston in August 2009 - Photo M.L.

Kingston's Rose Theatre was completed in late 2007 and opened on the 16th of January 2008 with an English Touring Theatre Production of 'Uncle Vanya' directed by Peter Hall.

Apart from the main Theatre there is also a complex of other theatre spaces in the building.

You may like to visit The Rose Theatre's own Website here...

The Royal County Theatre, Fife Road, Kingston Upon Thames

Formerly - The Albany Assembly Rooms / Hall - Later - The New Revue Theatre / Super Cinema / The County Theatre

Above - The Royal County Theatre, Kingston at the turn of the century - From a postcard

The Royal County Theatre opened on the 4th of October 1897 and was a conversion from the former Albany Assembly Rooms which had been vacated for some time. The Albany was bought by Peter Davey who was a writer of plays and pantomimes, and a member of the local Amateur Dramatic Club. Davey managed to raise enough money, £18,000, to have the Albany Hall converted into a Theatre. The Architect was J.C. Bourne, who was also associated with the planning of the Empire, Kingston, and the conversion took 9 months to achieve. When it was finished the new Royal County Theatre had an auditorium on three levels, Stalls, Circle, and Gallery with a capacity of 1,300.

Right - A Programme for the Royal County Theatre, Kingston for the week of September 7th 1903.

The Theatre was equipped with a working stage of 60 foot wide, with a proscenium opening of 24 foot wide by 22 foot high, which was big enough for all the productions it might encounter in that period. The Theatre also had an orchestra pit, 8 dressing rooms, and a green room, and became home to all manor of productions including plays, opera, and even variety shows, but it was more famous for its pantomimes, written by Peter Davey, which were so good that they would often be presented in other Theatres too. Noel Coward was taken to the Royal County Theatre as a child to see his very first Pantomime; "Aladdin" in 1903. Programmes and the scripts from some of these Pantomimes can be seen in the Templeman Library in the University of Kent.

By 1905 the Theatre was part of a Circuit of 20 other Theatres around London but by November 1912 its live theatre days had ceased and it was in use as a Cinema. In 1915 it was renamed the New Revue Theatre and was in use as a live Theatre again but this didn't last long and it was back in use as a Cinema again six months later, and by November 1917 it was reopened as the Super Cinema.

In 1939, under the control of H & R Properties, the building was modernised and refurbished and renamed the County Theatre. Sadly on the 9th of February the next year, 1940, the Theatre was destroyed by fire, gutting the interior and leaving only the exterior standing. The building then remained unused until 1955 when it was converted into a showroom for the Times Furnishing Company. This firm hired furniture to Theatre Production companies for dressing their stage sets, so there was still a slight connection with the theatre world. In 2009 the building is being used as a Sports Store called Sports World but it is still possible to see part of its original name on what remains of the fly tower. (See the two photographs below).

Some of the above information is Courtesy Alan Chudley.

Above - The remaining structure of the 1897 Royal County Theatre, Kingston in September 2009 when it was being used as a Sports Store called Sports World - Courtesy Roger Fox.

Above - Details from a Programme for the Royal County Theatre, Kingston for the week of September 7th 1903, with the Annual visit of Mr. Mouilot's Company in the Japanese Musical Play 'The Geisha' A Tale of the Tea House. And on the Friday of the same week, A Story of Ancient Rome; 'A Greek Slave' with full chorus and augmented orchestra.

Above - The remains of the fly tower of the 1897 Royal County Theatre, Kingston in September 2009. It is just possible to read part of the name of the Theatre picked out on the Stage Right Wall - Courtesy Roger Fox.

Empire Theatre / New Empire, Clarence Street,
Kingston Upon Thames

Above - The Kingston Empire in 1939 - From a programme - Courtesy Alan Chudley

The Theatre was altered in 1930 when the theatre was bought by Kingshot Theatres (See programme below) and the pit and stalls were merged. It was also, at this time, only the second theatre in the country to install neon lighting to its exterior.

Left - The Auditorium of the Kingston Empire before the 1930s alteration.

The Empire was another casualty of the coming of Television in the 1950s. When an auction failed to find a buyer for the Theatre it was bought by a property company in 1956, gutted and turned into a supermarket and offices.

The exterior of the building is however still partly recognisable as a lost theatre today and although in the late 2000s it was being used as a pub called 'Kings Tun' it still has the word Empire painted on tiling on the side of the building.

In 2010 the building was purchased by London Church International, who plan to change its name to KingsGate and reopen the building in September with the intention of running it as a multi-purpose hall for church and conference use, church offices, and a soft play area and coffee shop.

For more information on this see this page on the Surrey Comet website.

The Empire, always a twice nightly house, was the sister theatre of the Hippodrome Aldershot where in the 1940s I was employed as assistant Electrician. Sometimes when the Empire had a mid-week matinee and the usual stage crew, having day time jobs would not be available, I would be asked to work the Limes on the front of the upper circle, for that matinee at the Empire. I had to take a train from Aldershot to Surbition, and then catch a trolley bus, known locally as a 'Diddler' to Kingston. And it was quite a task to get back to Aldershot in time for the evening performances there.

Left - The Kingston Empire Auditorium after the 1930s alteration - From a programme - Courtesy Alan Chudley


The Empire was about twice the size of the Hippodrome and the pay for the matinee three times as great, at seven shillings and sixpence, plus train and 'diddler' fares. The Stage manager at the Empire was the highly respected Percy Court. the musical Director was Olly Aston who was replaced at the end of 1943 by Jack Frere, who had conducted the last two Royal Variety Performances prior to world war two.

Right - A Programme for 'Wild Oats' at the Empire Theatre, Kingston, run at this time by Kingshot Theatres Ltd. - July 24th 1939.

The Empire circa 1950 became one of the few theatres to install an Atlas Fluorescent Stage Lighting System, a grant when the supply changed from DC to AC helped to pay for this.

Left - Percy G Court, the Stage manager at the Empire, Kingston.

The success of the Empire put paid to the Royal County Theatre Kingston ( which was just around the corner from the Empire in Fife Road as a live Theatre.'

Text in quotes above was kindly written for this site by Alan Chudley.

The stage carpenter and resident stage manager at the Kingston Empire from when it first opened in 1910 was Percy Court, (Shown Left) who worked there for 30 years until 1940.

After Percy retired he wrote down his memories of his long career in the theatre from the late 1800s in an article entitled 'Memories Of Show-Business' and this is now availiable to read on the site here...

A visitor to the site, Angela Goldsborough, has sent in some information regarding her father, Henry Dean, who was manager at the Kingston Empire for over 30 years. Angela says: 'My Dad Henry Richard Dean was the manager of Kingston Empire for over
thirty years. He passed away on the 18th December 1948, but as I was not born until 1931 I can only assume that he became Manager about 1918. I know some of his duties were having all the days takings from the Box Office, the several bars in the theatre and possibly any other places where money was collected. This had to be checked and put in the safe until the next morning when it was taken to the bank. He used to leave home at 6.30 each morning and did not leave the theatre until after the interval of the second house in the evening. He was also responsible for booking the acts that were to perform in the following weeks. Such stars as Tommy Trinder, Billy Cotton and his Orchestra, Vera Lynne, and Hutch. These are but a few. I can remember my very first visit to the Empire with my Mother. We met my Dad at the stage door and he took us onto the stage where we were met by two little lion cubs! The circus which was performing that week had lions and Lena the mother had had cubs and I was allowed to play with them for a short
while. I was often taken back-stage to meet entertainers who were good friends of my Dad. He did actually give Frankie Vaughan his first week's work after he had spotted him in a talent show that was taking place at the theatre.' Courtesy - Angela Goldsborough.

Cinema Palace Theatre, 22-30, Richmond Road, Kingston Upon Thames

Later The Regal Cinema / ABC / Coral Bingo / Gala Bingo and Dance Studio

The Cinema Palace Theatre in Richmond Road, Kingston Upon Thames was built next to the Central Hall Rink and opened on the 4th of December 1909. The auditorium was in the style of the Music Halls of the day and was fitted with one balcony.

Despite its music hall pretensions however it wasn't long before it was being used as a Cinema only, and showing silent films instead. The Theatre was never converted for sound and although successful was demolished in 1931 so that a new Cinema, called the Regal, could be built on the site.

The Regal Cinema was designed by the well known Theatre Architect Robert Cromie with an auditorium in the Art Deco style and a capacity of over 2,400. The Cinema was built by the County Cinemas circuit with stage facilities and an orchestra pit and there was also a Tea Room on the first floor with a small stage, sometimes used as a Ballroom. The Regal opened on 15th February 1932 with the films 'Splinters of the Navy', 'Keepers of Youth', and the Laurel & Hardy film 'Our Wives'. The Regal also played host to regular stage shows and there were many radio broadcasts of its Wurlitzer organ.

In August 1961 the Cinema was renamed ABC, a name it retained until its eventual closure as a Cinema on July the 17th 1976 with a final showing of the films 'Blondie' and 'Adventures of a Taxi Driver.' The building was then converted for Bingo by Coral, and was renamed Gala Bingo in 1991.

The Regal is rrare example of one of Robert Cromie's Cinemas and is Grade II Listed. The building still survives with much of its fittings, and the former Tea Room, intact although in 2010 it is currently closed and boarded up.

There are many images of the building, inside and out, here.