Our story

The story of Mayflower began when The Empire Theatre was built in 1928 by Moss Empires. The venue changed its name in 1950 the The Gaumont when it was purchased by The Rank Organisation.

In 1986, the theatre was purchased by Southampton City Council. This followed a public enquiry, to prevent it from being turned into a bingo hall. The theatre was renamed Mayflower Theatre and reopened in February 1987. At this point, The Mayflower Theatre Trust was established to manage the theatre.

Mayflower Theatre is the largest theatre on the South Coast with 2,271 seats in the auditorium. The Theatre’s aim is to bring a diverse range of shows to Southampton. We present a mixture of spectacular touring productions, from musicals to dance, opera, drama, ballet and comedy. The Theatre is run as an independent charitable trust. We do not receive direct funding from any external bodies. All the money generated from ticket sales is invested back into the theatre. This supports our community and education strategies, and the upkeep of our Grade II listed building.

In 2020 Covid hit the world and for the first time in its history Mayflower Theatre went dark and closed its doors for parts of that year. The teams adapted to remote activity and developed an educational strand that could be delivered via zoom. When allowable, socially distanced workshop activity recommenced, and the building was put to use when it could. In the September whilst live performance was still not possible, the theatre looked to its past and presented a series of filmed theatre productions. A very grateful socially distanced audience enjoyed a return to the venue to watch what they were missing out on. The theatre reopened in 2021 and on Friday 25 June with a performance of Rambert’s Draw From Within.

Whilst the theatre had been closed, in 2020 the Mayflower Theatre Trust took over the operation of Studio 144 North. This venue situated in the city centre was previously NST City Nuffield Southampton Theatres. The venue was named MAST Mayflower Studios and is funded by Arts Council England and Southampton City Council. Mayflower Studios opened to a performance by Rambert 2 on Friday 28 May 2021 and continues to establish itself as a cultural and community hub. We present family shows, dance, musicals, music, comedy, circus, cabaret, spoken word, and visual arts. We are community focused. We put participation at the heart of everything we do. We work with the best touring companies and local artists. With these companies, we present a diverse, vibrant, high-quality artistic programme. We pride ourselves on our own Mayflower Made productions and co-productions.

Both the Theatre and Studios operate under the Mayflower brand. Collectively we provide Inspiring Experiences to all who engage with each venue. We have versatile spaces across our venues. These allow for a rich diversity of shows and events at different scales and for all audiences in our community.