History of The Mayflower

Introduction

A reader wrote to the Southern Daily Echo letters page in 1987 that "Southampton never has been and never will be a theatre going town". He may have been proved wrong by the subsequent success of The Mayflower but at the time he had a point. Not only had other theatres opened and closed over the years, the theatre that had just reopened as The Mayflower had spent nearly all of the previous six decades struggling to survive as a home to live entertainment.

1. The Early Years

The prospects must have seemed good in the late 1920s, when the Moss Empire theatre group planned a major expansion, building six huge 2000 seater venues throughout the country, comprising Southampton, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Oxford and The Dominion in London... Read Chapter...

2. Under Attack from Cinema and Hitler

Many other musicals and concerts followed but by 1933, it was clear that despite the best efforts of the general manager Ernest Lepard, the theatre was going to have to give in... Read Chapter...

3. A Change of Name for the Return of Live Shows

The first musical of the new era was the West End production Annie Get Your Gun starring Peggy Powell in 1950. As was customary at that time the show went on sale two weeks before the opening night... Read Chapter...

4. The Rock'n'Roll Years

As part of what became the Rank Organisation, the Gaumont was fortunate to be included in a ready-made touring circuit for the new breed of pop artists who wanted to appear in concert halls and theatres rather than dance halls and clubs... Read Chapter...

5. Live But Not Kicking

There was a gradual increase in arts touring. Opera appeared in the form of Sadler's Wells in 1964, Welsh National in 1973 and 1976, English National in 1977 and Glyndebourne Touring in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978... Read Chapter...

6. The Threat of Closure

Despite all of this, live performances remained the exception rather than the rule. Audiences were still filling the theatre for the best new films - the latest Disney or James Bond - but there were many nights when cinema audiences were sparse... Read Chapter...

7. Born Again - The Mayflower Years

Next came the question of a name. Public opinion was canvassed and a committee considered the suggestions. Popular names included The Prince Of Wales and The Empire but in the end 'The Mayflower' was chosen... Read Chapter...

8. Musicals Fit For The Mayflower

Then in 1990, the situation changed dramatically. The producers of the West End and Broadway hit musical 42nd Street decided to tour the full London production, doing away with the previous practice of touring a cut-down, easily built and dismantled version... Read Chapter...

9. Preserving and Modernising

Still independent and run by a charitable trust, The Mayflower's surpluses have always been ploughed back into The Mayflower. In summer 2003, the theatre closed for five months for its first major refurbishment since 1987... Read Chapter...

10. The Changing face of Christmas productions

In 2005, audiences started telling the business that the current breed of pantomimes were slowly getting stale, and they wanted much more out of a Christmas show. Ever the innovator, The Mayflower then went in a different direction from the rest of the industry... Read Chapter...