History of The Mayflower

Chapter 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, as well the Empire Theatre Glasgow, which sadly no longer survives. The theatres were built by William and T. R. Milburn of Sunderland using principles that T. R. Milburn learnt from his visit to the United States in 1925. He probably studied the theatres of Scottish American Thomas Lamb who perfected a technique of holding up the circle with a length of steel girder rather than the traditional pillars. This allowed long rows, thus bringing larger audiences than was previously possible closer to the stage with an unobstructed view.

Timing is everything in theatre and unfortunately their timing was off. By the time the Empire Theatre opened in Southampton on 22nd December 1928, 'talkies' had transformed the entertainment business and the cinema was rapidly replacing the theatre as the most popular night out. Soon after, the Wall Street crash sent economies into recession and unemployment rose, even in the previously prospering shipping port Southampton.

This didn't stop the excitement in the local population as the theatre rose in Commercial Road on a former motorcycle shop site. On 1 February 1928 the Managing Director of Moss Empires R. H. Gillespie laid the foundation stone. Built on shallow foundations because the land was barely above water level, the building was and still is the largest theatre in the South of England. The stalls were built on the natural slope of the land. Its massive auditorium covered nearly all the available land, leaving little room at the front for a foyer and bars.

No expense was spared in providing audiences and performers with luxurious surroundings. The front of the building was enclosed in a façade of white stone with fake pillars reminiscent of a building of the Italian renaissance. Local townspeople thronged to 'open days' in early December. Inside they found that the lower walls were lined with streaked marble from North Africa, as seen on the floor of the amphitheatre at Pompeii. There were mahogany panels and doors produced by out-of-work shipyard carpenters.

The seats were well sprung and upholstered in Rose du Barry velvet. There were heavy Durham carpets and staircases with brass handrails. The latest lighting technology was available to provide a magical experience. The relatively new fangled 'electricity' powered much of the equipment, though gas still provided the auditorium lighting.

Backstage artists enjoyed hot and cold running water, The two 'star' dressing rooms had phones and baths. A lift operated by a page boy went between the six floors. One thing lacking was wing space though this was not remarkable because touring productions came by train in those days (hence the location close to the station) and sets comprised primarily of painted cloths. Indeed there was a special road from a railway siding to the back of the theatre, so that scenery and costumes could be loaded in and out of carriages and carried by trailer to the doors of the theatre.

The design was described as 'neo-Grecian' though the influence of the popular 'art deco' of the time was evident. Hard edges and angles were eschewed in favour of curves. The dominant colours were cream and gold, with touches of blue and strawberry. A dome in the ceiling of the auditorium opened to allow heat and cigarette smoke to escape. A permanent 26 member orchestra provided the music. This was particularly important in the days before amplification and pre-recording allowed much smaller bands to produce a big sound.

In anticipation of even larger audiences than the nearly 2300 seats could accommodate, 22 standing boxes for a further 142 people were to be found on all three levels. On the roof, albeit short-lived, was a garden with an excellent view of the docks where tea could be taken while enjoying an excellent view of the ships in Southampton Water and the work on the dock extension.

Commissionaires in peaked caps and blue uniforms with red braid, wearing their wartime medals, were among the staff welcoming customers. Leading the Front Of House staff was chief commissionaire 'Uncle Ted' Edwards. The female staff who did the 'serving' jobs, including bringing tea to customers in their seats, were dressed like waitresses in black and white.

Four Page Boys in pill box hats and jackets with 61 brass buttons operated the lift and were used for the more active duties. One was Brian Mongan who now lives in West Totton. He started work as a 14 year old in 1929 and remembers earning 12s 6d (63p) a week. His day began at 9.00am. Following an afternoon break, he worked from 7.00pm until 10.00pm, six days a week. Subsequently he became a member of the stage crew, responsible for lighting the boiler in winter, lighting the gas lights and filling up the perfume holders attached to the air ventilation. When he left in 1939 he was earning £2.10s.0d (£2.50) a week.

Arthur Smith of Boyatt Wood Eastleigh started work as a Page Boy in 1937. He recalls being used as a 'runner' and also operating the lift in the evenings.

The manager was Ernest Lepard, a man who had already spent a lifetime in theatre first on stage as a ventriloquist and then managing a number of London theatres. He and his family lived in accommodation within the building. A man full of bonhomie, he proved popular with customers and could often be found entertaining friends after the show into the early hours. The staff liked him too (despite his habit of practising his ventriloquist skills on unsuspecting employees).

The opening night saw a presentation of Winona, a new musical bound for London, and featuring over 100 artistes. The show ran late and the Council laid on extra trams to get people home. While the show proved popular at the new theatre, it never reached the West End. Perhaps a bad omen for the future.

The early years did see a number of theatrical successes. Among the most memorable in the first year were Jack Buchanan in That's A Good Girl, Jack Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge in The House That Jack Built (October 1929), Stanley Holloway in The Co-Optimists (November 1929).

In 1930, Sybil Thorndike appeared in The Squall, during September Raymond Massey and Alice Delysia starred in Topaze, the legendary ballet dancer Anna Pavlova performed, followed two weeks later by the great American singer and actor Paul Robeson. And from Boxing Day that year, Gracie Fields, perhaps the most popular British entertainer at that time, appeared in This Week of Grace.

The great Scottish entertainer Harry Lauder could be seen 'twice nightly' in November 1931. Jack Buchanan was back on 25 April 1932 with his own musical Stand Up And Sing which included in the cast Richard Murdoch and Anna Neagle. Ivor Novello starred in I Lived With You in the week commencing 29 August 1932. In 1933, the American actress Tallulah Bankhead starred in The Lady of the Camellias.

Prices for the best seats in what was then called the Grand Circle were typically 5s 9d (28p) but you could get a seat at the back of the balcony for 1s 3d (6p). But then you could buy a four bedroom house for £700! Seats could be booked two weeks in advance. The Refreshment Saloons provided a waiter/waitress service of tea, coffee and soft drinks. Programmmes indicated that smoking was permitted but 'confined to Cigars and Cigarettes' and 'Ladies are requested to remove hats'.

Because productions were usually transported by train, few of the shows visiting the Empire Theatre matched the spectacle of their London counterparts. Exceptions, which came by lorry, were Switzerland On Ice in 1937, when the whole of the stage was transformed into an ice rink, and the Folies Bergeres which came over from Paris in the late thirties.

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