In today’s exploration, we venture inside
a massive abandoned theatre that could hold
more than 1,800 visitors in its prime.
The decorated building boasts ornate details,
working power and lost remnants of the past.
To compare it to other theatres we have come
across through urbex, we’d say it is the
best of the lot.
Come with us into the stunning property to
see what is left.
We had an amazing response to our 10,000 subscriber
giveaway from our last video. Placing all
the entries into a lucky dip we selected three
winners. Congratulations Matt, Courtney and
Kate! We will message you regarding your prizes.
Thanks to everyone for the constant support,
and don’t worry if you missed out this time.
We will be doing more giveaways like this
one soon! Now, let’s get into the explore.
With the theatre being located in a very public
area of a city, we decided it was best to
visit it at night, so there would be less
chance of detection.
Soon enough, we were in.
The sounds of passerby’s outside was a strange
experience as we made our way downward towards
the centre piece, the main hall.
Like most theatres, hardly any natural light
was casting into the building, meaning our
torches had to be fully charged so they could
be used constantly.
Through the beams of artificial light we could
make out the decorative features in the hall,
such as the detailed balcony rim, the notorious
sunburst that was shared under the balcony
as well as on the towering arched ceiling
and the beautiful proscenium around the stage.
It’s no surprise that the building was listed
in the early 80s, 15 years before closure
and is described as being one of the famous
architect’s best interiors.
We thought the stage would be bigger than
it was, and behind the curtain there wasn’t
too much space. However, the sandbags were
still in place at its lower parts that once
would’ve been raised to allow the audience to see the performance.
Moving through the front floors of the property,
you get the sense that this is a very different
style of theatre than those you would see
today. During most performances, as well as
films shown in later years, there would be
intervals and guests would come into these
parts to sit and chat between showings.
In the foyer and regions of the upper floors
we are now in, Italian marble lined the walls
and floors. The striking red, purple and gold
design is shared throughout the complex, though
some of it had been blocked off as time went
on, by the likes of modernised office spaces.
We were ready to use the long row of blue
doors that would take us onto the balcony.
The view was breathtaking! From this height
we could properly take in the incredible architecture
of this vast space, and judge its size better
with the multitude of seats gathering dust.
During the property’s cinema period since
the 1970s this space was split into 3 separate
screens for films to be shown. It was only
5 years ago when the scintillating hall was
opened up again, revealing the scale and grandeur
hidden beneath the cinema additions.
The theatre was constructed using funds that
roughly summed £200,000 in the 1930s by notable
architects of the time. Unlike most buildings
of this nature, it contained excessive seats
on its circle than the lower floor.
Due to the darkness that makes the theatre
hall a difficult place to cinematically film,
here are some photographs we took, that hopefully
showcase even more detail inside the impressive
room.
It’s rare that you see buildings closed
for over 25 years in as good a condition as
this property, but it seems that some of the
care the owners have shown to it has prevented
too much deterioration from taking place.
A few years ago, the roof was fixed making
the building fairly watertight.
None of 
the equipment remained but there was still
this control board. On the panel you can see
settings for the projectors themselves, the
sound and the tape of the film.
Actually it wasn’t Ratatouille, which was
released in 2007. This was a poster for the
film ‘Mouse Hunt.’
Venetian depictions are portrayed on the walls
of the theatre, with natural scenes of lakes,
bridges, trees and hillsides.
We moved downstairs into the basement to see
if there was any interesting remnants left.
It was well worth coming below ground level
as we made possibly our best discovery of
the whole explore quickly in a small storage
room.
To conclude our visit, we wanted to turn the
lights on briefly to see the lower floor lit
up. At one point, the construction lights
in the whole theatre functioned but it seems
that they have lost bulbs or maybe connection
to the source. This shows that little work
has been going on recently.
All in all this was one of our favourite explores
we have done this year. Everything about the
theatre’s design, items and condition made
it very enjoyable. We hope you liked coming
along with us.
Here are some of our photographs from the
exploration of the abandoned site. If you
like the look of them, check out our Instagram
page in the description where we post images
of our explores months before they are seen
on YouTube.
Thanks for watching our latest work! Due to
the lockdown state of England, we are unable
to explore currently but we will be publishing
videos more frequently because of it. Hopefully
that’s good news to you, see you next time!
