Empire Theatre Halstead

57 Butler Rd, Halstead CO9 1LL
This vibrant, non-profit theatre offers live performances alongside film, and boasts a strong cinematic history.

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About Empire Theatre Halstead

Contact & About

The popularity of cinema throughout the past century can be traced through the varying fortunes of the Empire Theatre since it first opened in 1915. It stood derelict at the end of the 1920s, then rode the filmgoing boom of the 1930s and 1940s. It received another makeover at the start of the 1950s, but closed its doors once more in 1971, only reopening in 1978 – with screenings of The Thirty Nine Steps, featuring Robert Powell – alongside the reintroduction of live shows, which had long been a guaranteed revenue spinner. Film screenings halted entirely in 2005 but came back in 2017. Now a registered charity, the Empire’s life blood is now made up of theatre performances, live music, bingo and children’s entertainment. Screenings of current repertory favourites tend to fall in the second half of the week, with family features on Saturday afternoons, and the programme has proved so popular that a new cinema screen was installed during recent renovations.

Getting Here, Map & Parking