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In Depth History

In Depth History

In Depth History

We are often described The building however is a as being a big old barn, mere shell, it is the people having one of the largest and productions who come auditoriums in the country and work here that make us with over 2,300 seats. a living breathing theatre.

Contents

Chapter 1: The Early Years 3 Chapter 2: Under Attack from Cinema and Hitler 6 Chapter 3: A Change of Name for the Return of Live Shows 8 Chapter 4: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Years 10 Chapter 5: The Return to Live Theatre 13 Chapter 6: The Threat of Closure 15 Chapter 7: Born Again - The Mayflower Years 17 Chapter 8: Musicals Fit for The Mayflower 19 Chapter 9: The Changing Face of Christmas Productions 22 Chapter 10: Preserving and Modernising 23 Chapter 11: New Leadership and a New Foyer 24 Chapter 12: Regeneration for the Next Generation 26 2 3 Chapter 1: The Early Years The prospects were good in the late theatre as the most popular night 1920s, when the Moss Empire theatre out. Soon after, Street crash group planned a major expansion, sent economies into recession and building six huge 2000 seater venues unemployment rose, even in the throughout the country, comprising previously prospering shipping port , , , Southampton. and The Dominion in , as well the Empire Theatre , No expense was spared in providing which sadly no longer survives. The audiences and performers with theatres were built by William and luxurious surroundings. The front T. R. Milburn of Sunderland using of the building was enclosed in a principles that T. R. Milburn learnt façade of white stone with fake pillars from his visit to the United States reminiscent of a building of the Italian in 1925. He probably studied the renaissance. Local townspeople theatres of Scottish American Thomas thronged to ‘open days’ in early Lamb who perfected a technique of December. Inside they found that the holding up the circle with a length of lower walls were lined with streaked steel girder rather than the traditional marble from North Africa, as seen pillars. This allowed long rows, thus on the floor of the amphitheatre at bringing larger audiences than was Pompeii. There were mahogany previously possible closer to the panels and doors produced by out-of- stage with an unobstructed view. work shipyard carpenters.

On 1 February 1928 the Managing The seats were well sprung and Director of , R. H. upholstered in Rose du Barry velvet. Gillespie, laid the foundation stone. There were heavy Durham carpets Built on shallow foundations because and staircases with brass handrails. the land was barely above water The latest lighting technology was level, the building was and still is available to provide a magical the largest theatre in the South of experience. The relatively new- . The stalls were built on the fangled ‘electricity’ powered much natural slope of the land. Its massive of the equipment, though gas still auditorium covered nearly all the provided the auditorium lighting. available land, leaving little room at the front for a foyer and bars. By the Backstage artists enjoyed hot and time the Empire Theatre opened in cold running water; the two ‘star’ Southampton on 22nd December dressing rooms had phones and 1928, ‘talkies’ had transformed the baths. A lift operated by a page entertainment business and the boy went between the six floors. cinema was rapidly replacing the One thing lacking was wing space 4 though this was not remarkable because touring productions came Commissionaires in peaked caps and by train in those days (hence the blue uniforms with red braid, wearing location close to the station) and their wartime medals, were among sets comprised primarily of painted the staff welcoming customers. cloths. Indeed there was a special Leading the Front of House staff was road from a railway siding to the back chief commissionaire ‘Uncle Ted’ of the theatre, so that scenery and Edwards. The female staff who did costumes could be loaded in and out the ‘serving’ jobs, including bringing of carriages and carried by trailer to tea to customers in their seats, were the doors of the theatre. dressed like waitresses in black and white. The design was described as ‘neo- Grecian’ though the influence of the Four Page Boys in pill box hats popular ‘art deco’ of the time was and jackets with 61 brass buttons evident.The dominant colours were operated the lift and were used for cream and gold, with touches of the active duties. One was blue and strawberry. A dome in the local man Brian Mongan. He started ceiling of the auditorium opened to work as a 14 year old in 1929 and allow heat and cigarette smoke to remembers earning 12s 6d (63p) escape. A permanent 26 member a week. His day began at 9.00am. orchestra provided the music. This Following an afternoon break, he was particularly important in the days worked from 7.00pm until 10.00pm, before amplification and pre-recording six days a week. Subsequently he allowed much smaller bands to became a member of produce a big sound. crew, responsible for lighting the boiler in winter, lighting the gas lights We used to have a to have a and filling up the perfume holders attached to the air ventilation. When garden on the roof! he left in 1939 he was earning £2.10s.0d (£2.50) a week.

In anticipation of even larger Arthur Smith of Eastleigh started work audiences than the nearly 2300 seats as a Page Boy in 1937. He recalls could accommodate, 22 standing being used as a ‘runner’ and also boxes for a further 142 people were operating the lift in the evenings. to be found on all three levels. On the roof, albeit short-lived, was a The manager was Ernest Lepard, garden where tea could be taken a man who had already spent a while enjoying an excellent view of lifetime in theatre first on stage as a the ships in Southampton dock and ventriloquist and then managing a the water. number of London theatres. He and 5

Hulbert and Cicely Courtneidge in The House That Jack Built (October 1929), Stanley Holloway in The Co- Optimists (November 1929).

In 1930, 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 his family lived in accommodation which included in the cast Richard within the building. A man full of Murdoch and Anna Neagle. Ivor bonhomie, he proved popular with Novello starred in I Lived With You customers and could often be in the week commencing 29 August found entertaining friends after the 1932. In 1933, the American actress show into the early hours. The staff Tallulah Bankhead starred in The liked him too (despite his habit of Lady of the Camellias. practising his ventriloquist skills on unsuspecting employees). Prices for the best seats in what was then called the Grand Circle The opening night saw a presentation were typically 5s 9d (28p) but you of Winona, a new musical bound could get a seat at the back of the for London, and featuring over 100 balcony for 1s 3d (6p). But then you artistes. The show ran late and the could buy a four bedroom house for Council laid on extra trams to get £700! Seats could be booked two people home. While the show proved weeks in advance. The Refreshment popular at the new theatre, it never Saloons provided a waiter/waitress reached the West End. service of tea, coffee and soft drinks. Programmes indicated that smoking The early years saw a number of was permitted but ‘confined to Cigars theatrical successes. Among the most and Cigarettes’ and ‘Ladies are memorable in the first year were Jack requested to remove hats’. Buchanan in That’s A Good Girl, Jack 6 Chapter 2: Under Attack from Cinema and Hitler Many other musicals and concerts The theatre sustained damage in the followed but by 1933, it was clear blitz at the end of 1940 when two that despite the best efforts of the bombs left holes in the back wall. general manager Ernest Lepard, the John Shawyer was on fire watch with theatre was going to have to give in the Territorial Army in 1942, when and welcome in the brash newcomer, he was called the theatre to kick cinema. A projection box was built incendiary bombs off the roof, a task at the very back of the Balcony, or that also fell to Empire staff such third tier, and a screen installed that as Arthur Smith. Now the Empire could be raised and lowered at the was almost entirely a cinema and in front of the stage. On 14 May, the 1942, The Gaumont British Picture first film was shown. Elsewhere in Corporation took over from Moss Southampton, The Grand Theatre Empires. and The Hippodrome continued to present pure theatre, whilst cinemas During the latter years of the war sprung up all around. and just after, Police Concerts often At the time, Southampton, still the took place on Sundays. Memorably country’s number one passenger port, in 1945, Ted and Barbara Andrews was recovering from the recession introduced their ten year old daughter with a new dry dock opening in Julie Andrews to the stage. She 1933 and the Eastern Docks built stood on a box to join her father at on reclaimed land and opening in the microphone and, reports Shirley 1934. The building’s reincarnation Wilson who was herself ten at the as a cinema with occasional live time, sang ‘most beautifully’. entertainment such as The Crazy Gang or the Tiller Girls proved a Although the Second World War success and full houses were soon finished in 1945, large scale theatre applauding the latest hits. shows did not resume until 1950, the However, another threat was looming. year in which the name was changed to The Gaumont and in which Ernie When war was declared in September Lepard died while still manager. 1939, the Government initially ordered the closure of all theatres and cinemas, because of the fear of bombing. When the feared massive casualties did not materialize, places of entertainment reopened and became an essential part of morale boosting. 7 8 Chapter 3: A Change of Name for the Return of Live Shows The first musical of the new era was company to a civic reception. the West End production Annie Get Your Gun starring Peggy Powell in London Festival Ballet appeared in 1950. As was customary at that time 1953 and 1958, the Covent Garden the show went on sale two weeks Opera in 1957, Sadlers Wells Ballet before the opening night. In the days returned in 1959 and Sadlers Wells before computerized ticketing, all Opera in 1960. tickets had to be pre-printed and checked off against a seat plan as Variety shows were once again a they were sold. frequent part of the programme, including perhaps the greatest of all People turned out in their thousands British stage comics Max Miller in to buy tickets on the first day of sale. April 1952, and probably the finest With very few people having access of all time Laurel to a phone, the queue stretched five and Hardy in May that year, each abreast down the side of the building for a week. Ted Ray topped and into West Park Road all day, in September 1953. Billy (Wakey! at one time reaching 5,000. By the Wakey!) Cotton’s Christmas Party time the box office closed, so much was the highlight of 1954. David cash had been taken (there were no Whitfield and Jon Pertwee provided credit cards and only a few cheque the fun in October 1955. Pantomime book accounts in those days), it could too made an appearance with not be accommodated in the theatre Cooper and Derek Roy starring in safe. For security, staff had to put the Humpty Dumpty in 1959. money into mail bags and store it at the Civic Centre police station until Meanwhile cinema which, while the next day, when it could be paid threatening the survival of live into the bank. entertainment, had actually kept the Gaumont open, itself came under Annie get Your Gun was the start of attack with the arrival of television. a revival in live entertainment at The At the peak of movie going in Gaumont. Films still dominated the 1955, there were 19 cinemas in programme but increasing customer Southampton but soon cinema affluence tempted the new owners audiences like those of live theatre into trying a few spectacles. In three decades earlier began to October 1952 the Sadlers Wells Ballet decline. As the owners considered Company brought Margot Fonteyn to closure, an unlikely saviour came to the theatre for the first time, an event the rescue in the form of Rock’n’Roll. so special the Mayor welcomed the 9 10 Chapter 4: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Years As part of what became the Rank Buddy Holly and the Crickets, later Organisation, the Gaumont was to be the subject of one of the most fortunate to be included in a ready- successful musicals to visit The made touring circuit for the new breed Mayflower, appeared on 3 March of pop artists who wanted to appear 1958. Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran in concert halls and theatres rather and Chuck Berry were three more than dance halls and clubs, now of the many American acts to wow that it was possible to produce a big Southampton audiences. Even so, amplified sound from a small group. cinema was still the main source The first were Bill Haley And The of income and Rank watched in Comets of Rock Around The Clock despair as one after another picture fame on 23 February 1957. Their house closed around the city and the three performances in one night were country. By the end of 1961, Rank instant sell-outs with fans queuing were investigating converting the through the night to get tickets Gaumont to a dance hall or a ten-pin despite freezing temperatures. bowling alley, then all the rage.

A young Jimmy Young was joined by In April 1962 the succession of Chas McDevitt’s skiffle group in July managers of the last decade - H. J. 1957 for two weeks. Excell, Jimmy Abell, Charles Jolliffe, 11

Robert Lucas and Graham Jelly - Satisfaction (which also topped the gave way to a period of stability. US charts) - had established them Appointed in April 1962, Kenneth as second only to in Watts was to remain manager until popularity by the time of their next the Gaumont closed nearly 23 years visit on 25 September 1965. Another later. year and several more hits on, including the chart toppers Get Off Ken oversaw a further expansion in My Cloud and Paint It Black, the the amount of live activity on stage Stones returned for their last visit on 9 and was present during the years October 1966 topping a bill that also when conquered featured Ike and Tina Turner and The the world. It was a golden era for pop Yardbirds. music at The Gaumont. Almost every hit band and singer of The Beatles first appeared on 20 May the sixties and seventies appeared 1963. By then they had had three hits on the Gaumont stage. - Love Me Do, Please Please Me and and Freddie and the Dreamers their first number one From Me To were joined by The Searchers and You. They began the tour supporting Brian Poole and The Tremeloes on Roy Orbison but ended it at the top of 16 September 1963 and by Wayne the bill. Fontana And The Mindbenders on 21 April 1964. Gerry and the They had achieved another number Pacemakers topped a bill that one She Loves You in the summer included , Jet Harris and and I Want To Hold Your Hand was Tony Meehan, The Bachelors and the current number one, when The Del Shannon on 5 October 1963. The Fab Four returned here in triumph Who and the Spencer Davis Group on 13 December of the same year could be seen on 14 April 1966. The to perform the last concert of their Jimi Hendrix Experience, autumn tour. and the Walker Brothers shared the same bill on 12 April 1967, performing The Rolling Stones visited the as was often the case at 6.15 and Gaumont four years running during 8.30. the Sixties. On the first occasion, 29 September 1963, they were the As the sixties gave way to the support act for Bo Diddley and The seventies, the packed bills of short Everly Brothers. The following year sets gave way to concerts in which they had had their first number one one singer or band played the whole It’s All Over Now and returned on 4 show, perhaps with one supporting October 1964 at the top of the bill. act and often accompanied by a Three more number ones - Little major theatrical production. The Red Rooster, The Last Time and masters of this were Queen who 12 appeared on 14 November 1974, 24 came in the seventies. The wave of November 1975 hot on the heels of big names continued in the eighties their new hit Bohemian Rhapsody, with Duran Duran (1 July 1981), and finally on 26 and 27 May 1977. Ultravox (29 and 30 May 1984), Thin Lizzie and the heavy metal of Black Paul McCartney returned with Wings Sabbath featuring Ozzy Osbourne on 9 September to open their 1975 (1 May and 25 June 1980) and Iron tour and on 1 December 1979. It is Maiden (7 May 1983 and 5 October believed George Harrison performed 1984) to name but a few of the many at an Eric Clapton concert also concert dates. featuring Elton John on 1 December 1978. From to Culture Club, to Madness, Rod Stewart The Beach Boys (23 November to Elton John, the Beach Boys to 1970), Led Zeppelin (21 January Simple Minds, the list seems endless. 1973), Genesis (16 April 1975, 20 However, it didn’t last and by the end January 1977 and 10 April 1980), of the eighties, the top names were Status Quo (16 November 1977 moving from theatres to the new large and 21 June 1979), Roxy Music (20 concert halls and arenas. December 1976) and many more 13 Chapter 5: The Return to Live Theatre There was a gradual increase in arts Wood starring the comic duo Jimmy touring. Opera appeared in the form Jewell and Ben Warris, with guest of Sadler’s Wells in 1964, Welsh pop singers Mike Sarne and Danny National in 1973 and 1976, English Williams. Puss In Boots with Richard National in 1977 and Glyndebourne (Mr Pastry) Hearne, Joan Regan Touring in 1974, 1976, 1977 and and Bill Maynard performed for three 1978. By the 1980s Glyndebourne weeks from Christmas Eve 1963, and Touring Opera and Welsh National Mother Goose with comic actress Opera were visiting the theatre four Libby Morris and pop star Mark times a year between them. Wynter commenced Boxing Day 1964 for two weeks. Ballet too was benefiting from increased funding for regional touring. Towards the end of the sixties, The Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet pantos gave way to Christmas Shows appeared with La Fille Mal Gardée in starring some of the most popular 1978 and paid nine more visits. Again entertainers of the day including Ken by the 1980s, they and the London Dodd, Dick Emery and Lulu. The Festival Ballet (later re-named English Roy Castle Christmas Show played National Ballet) were providing four for three weeks from Christmas Eve weeks of ballet each year. 1975, as did Frankie Vaughan and Jimmy Tarbuck in 1979. Ken Watts also encouraged amateur companies to provide musicals and Between 1968 and 1971, the Black operetta. In 1964 Southern Theatre And White Minstrels played four- Productions presented Perchance week seasons, the first of which To Dream and Southampton Musical was attended by one of their most Society performed Showboat. famous admirers Lord Mountbatten Both companies became regular of Burma. A rare panto in those years performers on the Gaumont stage. was Cinderella starring Colin () Baker in 1984. Professional musical productions still could be found occasionally became almost an including a season of Herman Levin’s institution in this period, with production of starring five presentations of West End Myles Easton, Jill Martin and James productions, usually just after Hayter, in February 1966. Christmas. In 1964, Julia Lockwood, and Pantomimes became a regular starred; in 1966, it was Sylvia Sims feature for a few years from 1962. and Ronald Lewis; in 1967, Millicent The first wasThe Babes In The Martin, fresh from TV’s That Was The 14

Week That Was, starred with Paul still toured regularly. Tony Hancock Daneman followed by Hayley Mills appeared for a week from 23 March and Bill Travers in 1970 and Anita 1961 (having appeared ten years Harris and Alan Curtis in 1974. Peter earlier in the cast of Educating Archie Pan tradition was revived when it on 12 November 1951). Morecambe returned as The Mayflower’s opening And Wise and The Two Ronnies were production. two high points of an almost constant diet of the best of British comedy in The great of the day the seventies. 15 Chapter 6: The Threat of Closure Despite all of this, live performances Inspector John McBride supported remained the exception rather than the Council’s decision, stating, ‘There the rule. Audiences were still filling is clear evidence of overwhelming the theatre for the best new films - the popular support for the retention latest Disney or - but of the building as a place of live there were many nights when cinema entertainment. The Local Authority audiences were sparse. In 1970 have committed themselves to a an application went in to convert to policy of initial purchase and early a Bingo Hall, though this was not physical improvement.’ Rank were pursued at the time. Despite investing forced into negotiations with what by £40,000 in a new sound and lighting then had become a Labour Council, system in 1975, the owners were still led by Alan Whitehead. not sure whether there was a future for their Southampton cinema-come- The Council offered to buy the theatre. building for £650,000, giving the management of a £3 million In 1982, the Rank Organisation found refurbishment contract to the outgoing they were losing too much money and owners. County Council submitted a proposal to Southampton and the Arts Council of Great Britain City Council for a change of licence contributed to the cost. In a visionary which would turn the theatre into approach, they then set up a separate a bingo hall. In 1983 the Council, company to manage the theatre under Conservative leader Norman on behalf of the Council with the Best, refused the application which intention of handing over control to then went to appeal. A public enquiry an independent charitable trust. The was set up. Fortunately, and not trust was created in 1989 and given coincidentally, in the same year the a lease on the building of over a Department of Environment awarded hundred years for a peppercorn rent. the building a Grade II listing. This The idea was to prevent the theatre strengthened the Council’s hand from a ‘political football’ or since it prevented changes being coming under commercial pressures. made to its theatre design and features. Ken Watts took his retirement after achieving the longest stay The enquiry was presented with a in the post of any of the theatre’s petition organised by the Save The managers. He had the satisfaction Gaumont Committee, led by locals of having overseen a revival in live Pam Sherbourne and Cyril and Joyce entertainment at the theatre, including Grout, containing 93,000 signatures. its greatest period of live music, and On 1 March 1984, the Enquiry having played a significant part in 16 saving the building from closure. He was also the last manager to ‘live above the shop’.

Finding the right person to manage the refurbished theatre was a challenge. Previously managers had been employed by a large organisation and the programming was mainly provided for them and, since 1933, largely comprised films. Now the person in charge would personally have to put together a full programme of live events. ’s Entertainments Manager Dennis Hall fitted the bill perfectly. He had spent his life working in show business, he was an experienced programmer and he was young and dynamic. He took up the job of Director (later Chief Executive) in November 1985 just as the theatre was closing. The last performance at the old Gaumont - Southern Theatre Productions’ amateur production of Carousel - took place in January 1986. 17

Chapter 7: Born Again - The Mayflower Years Next came the question of a name. was recovered; the manager’s Public opinion was canvassed accommodation was converted into and a committee considered the offices; new toilets and one new bar suggestions. Popular names (the Empire Suite) were added; the included ‘The Prince Of ’ foyer had a new floor; a computerised and ‘The Empire’ but in the end box office and the latest sound and ‘The Mayflower’ was chosen. The lighting systems were installed. name had the virtue of referring to Southampton’s historic role as the On Tuesday 24 February 1987, The starting point for the Pilgrim Fathers’ Mayflower opened with a production famous ship, while being unique as a of Peter Pan starring Bonnie name for a theatre. Langford. In May, an official Opening Gala starring Neil Sedaka was A year of refurbishment saw the televised nationally. stage gutted, as an orchestra pit and new understage was installed; Initially there was much an extended scene dock was built experimenting with the type of events providing more space and an easier to establish which would prove get-in for the productions; dressing popular and at first audience numbers rooms were refurbished; the seating were disappointing. 18

The turning point came with a Despite steadily improving audiences decision by Dennis Hall to stage a in the early years, the theatre major pantomime starring the biggest struggled to make money and relied comic star of the day, Les Dawson. on revenue support from the City Babes In The Wood which also Council for its survival. Dennis Hall starred John Nettles attracted over and the Council stuck to their guns 65,000 people and was declared a and a programme of exclusively live smash hit. Building on that success, entertainment continued to be offered. and in A week of rock music cinema in the Cinderella in 1988 sold over 100,000 summer of 1987 was the first and last tickets and the following year Russ occasion on which The Mayflower Abbot’s Jack And The Beanstalk showed films. achieved a then record attendance of 122,000 people. In the following years Stefan Dennis from , Danny LaRue and Michael Elphick in Aladdin, David in Robinson Crusoe and in Cinderella, all attracted over 100,000 people.

The highest ever attendance at a Mayflower pantomime was in 1994 when 126,256 people saw star with John Nettles in Dick Whittington. It was also the first pantomime to take a million pounds at the box office.Jack And The Beanstalk starring (1995), Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs starring Lionel Blair and Britt Ekland (1996), Brian Conley (replacing a terminally ill Dudley Moore at short notice) and Danny LaRue in Cinderella in 1997, Frank Bruno in Goldilocks (1998), Lily Savage in Snow White (1999), in Dick Whittington (2001) and Brian Conley back in Cinderella (2002) kept up the tradition of high quality fun and spectacle. 19 Chapter 8: Musicals Fit for The Mayflower Then in 1990, the situation changed A fortunate confluence of factors dramatically. of the led to this success. The first was West End and Broadway hit musical the fact that The Empire had been decided to tour the full built to accommodate large scale London production, doing away with singing and dancing productions, the previous practice of touring a despite not being provided with a cut-down, easily built and dismantled great deal of wing space. Dennis version. The spectacular show was Hall decided to take advantage of a major success, the first to take £1 this and concentrate on musicals. By million at the theatre’s box office and the beginning of the nineties, people closing with sales of over 80,000 had much more money available for tickets. Combined with the success of leisure activities and could afford to ’s panto and of , the pay the prices it was necessary to result was the theatre’s first surplus. charge for major productions. And, thanks to the success of composer More mega musicals followed. In and the 1993, 90,000 people enjoyed Me producer , there And My Girl starring . was a public appetite for spectacular This was followed in 1994 by Andrew musicals. Lloyd Webber’s attracting 125,000. 111,000 came to enjoy Philip Having one of the largest seating Schofield in the Rice & Lloyd Webber capacities in the country - suddenly musical Joseph And The Amazing became an asset, as sell-out Technicolor Dreamcoat in 1996. performances filled its 2,300 seats The first visit of in 1997 saw and swelled the box office coffers. A 100,000 people through the doors. computerised box office allowed the Les Misérables was seen by 125,000 sale of large numbers of tickets in people in 1998. advance.

There was a hat trick for Andrew The decision to make musicals, along Lloyd Webber in 2000 when The with ballet and opera, the mainstay of Phantom Of The Opera set an all- the programme of events was made time record attendance of 185,000. In easier by the decline in pop concert 2002 Disney put its first blockbuster touring. No longer part of the Rank theatrical production Beauty And circuit, concerts were less easy to The Beast into The Mayflower and book and the big names were by now attracted 120,000 people. Miss playing the larger concert halls and Saigon in the autumn of 2003 was arenas that were springing up around seen by over 150,000. the country. Rather than present one or two concerts a week, the theatre 20 diary was filled with weeklong shows, You, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, booked well in advance. Nevertheless Doctor Dolittle and others followed. occasional concerts did sell out and provide a reminder of the golden age The only sadness was that opera of pop - the screaming fans of Jason and ballet, which had been built up Donovan on 10 September 1990 over the years and proved immensely were reminiscent of The Beatles’ popular through the eighties and visits and, when Genesis chose in nineties, were gradually cut from 1992 to rehearse at The Mayflower four weeks to three and two weeks in readiness for their sell-out show a year respectively as the century in Earls Court, the overnight queue ended. Funding for touring was for tickets on 23 October circled the spread more thinly because of the building. proliferation of lottery-funded theatres who understandably demanded their The top comedians still played to live share. But Welsh National Opera and audiences though less frequently than English National Ballet continued to in the past. Eddie Izzard performed in attract huge audiences, including on 1995 during his early Unrepeatable occasion sell-out weeks. tour. Others included Lee Evans (9 June 1998), Jethro almost annually, Between 2000 and 2010, the (19 September 1998), blockbusting shows continued to Lenny Henry (30 May 1999), appear including , Julian Clary (26 May 1990 and 22 Cats, My Fair Lady, Chitty Chitty September 2000) and Victoria Wood Bang Bang and The Sound of (1998, 1991 and 1993). Music. Dennis Hall ensured each year contained a full programme Other musicals to return regularly by of successful returning shows, and popular demand were Blood Brothers, introduce new productions including Buddy, , The Riverdance, Flashdance, Calendar Rocky Horror Show, and the Bill Girls and ’s Spamalot. Kenwright production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The latter’s repeated visits have accumulated ticket sales matching the long-running shows.

Summers were traditionally a barren time for theatre attendance but the right show would bring people in from their gardens and outdoor activities. In 1992, Paul Nicholas in proved the right attraction. Crazy For 21 22 Chapter 9: The Changing Face of Christmas Productions In 2005, audiences started telling so much, they wanted more, so the the business that the current breed theatre has returned to the format, of pantomimes were slowly getting in 2010 presenting Aladdin starring stale, and they wanted much more Paul O’Grady and Peter Pan in 2011. out of a Christmas show. Ever the Christmas 2012 saw a glittering innovator, The Mayflower then went production of Jack and the Beanstalk, in a different direction from the rest starring Julian Clary and Nigel of the industry and sought out a Havers. large scale musical production that would sit well in the Christmas period, satisfying the audiences need for a quality production.

The net result was Santa Claus the Musical, and a new partnership with producers Michael Rose and Chris Moreno. It seemed to be the right answer, as a record number of people attended. A European premiere production of ’s White Christmas followed in 2006 breaking box office records, and a brand new production of The Wizard of Oz in 2007 with the biggest headline cast in the country proved to be a smash hit.

In 2008 having set this high standard, time was ripe to bring back pantomime to The Mayflower. So we put together another all-star cast of , , Stefanie Powers, and Craig McLachlan in Cinderella, The Musical Pantomime. The show was another hit, and critically acclaimed bringing together the feel of a full West End musical along with the best bits of pantomime. The audience were enjoying the pantomime experience 23 Chapter 10: Preserving and Modernising Still independent and run by a upholstered. Work was also carried charitable trust, The Mayflower’s out on a complete refurbishment of surpluses have always been the historic Empire Suite, moving the ploughed back into The Mayflower. central bar and fitting in the latest In summer 2003, the theatre closed audio visual equipment to capitalize for five months for its first major on the growth of conferences and refurbishment since 1987. The corporate hospitality. previously raked stage was made flat and the flying system moved to In 2010 a new scene dock facility increase wing space, thus making opened allowing three articulated it possible to accommodate Miss lorries to drive into the theatre and Saigon and future large-scale unload sets straight onto the stage. productions. Other improvements The Mayflower had always been able included more wheelchair spaces to handle the large scale West End and a lift for disabled people, more transfers, but the theatre was now set legroom in the stalls and a quicker, for the future to cope with the new safer scene dock. demands from ever bigger touring productions. In 2007, the original cast-iron balcony seat frames from 1928 were re- 24 Chapter 11: New Leadership and a New Foyer Under Michael’s leadership the good Oliver!, , ship Mayflower changed its course Guys and Dolls and Les Misérables with an objective to develop new School Edition inspiring the next audiences in the local community. generation of theatregoers with Michael developed a new programme hundreds of young talented people with the aim to develop and nurture taking part. In the past three years new audiences through a youth over 120,000 local people have been engagement strategy – Mayflower involved in an educational or outreach Engage came into existence in event run by the Engage team. 2013, and the department has grown and expanded ensuring the theatre In summer of 2013 building work delivers its charitable aims and commenced on the theatre foyer and reconnects with local people. after 9 weeks a new substantially larger foyer was unveiled to the A highlight of Engage has been public. The modern extension the annual Summer Youth project, to the front of the building was following the inaugural production initially welcomed and reviled in of in 2013. The youth equal amounts, and since has project has developed over the years gone on to be extremely popular with productions of Five of the Best, giving audiences an appropriately 25 sized space to enter the theatre to musical acts has ensured the theatre begin their amazing experiences. continues to offer entertainment for Not content with a major building everyone. has project, and directing the theatres gone from strength to strength with youth productions, Michael initiated record attendances and participation a re-brand of The Mayflower itself through Engage events. In 2014/15 reverting back to the title of Mayflower we had a blockbusting year with Theatre. The process of rebranding the highest attendance ever – over triggered the creation of a new look 600,000 people attended the theatre website, new logos and a new feel for seeing West End favourites War “Mayflower Theatre” as we are now Horse, Disney’s and known. . Since then the theatre has seen an attendance of over 500,000 Michael has broadened the each year. programme to include a wider variety of dance and to focus on presenting Michael is a Board Member of Culture original artists. The balance of Southampton and also Hampshire large scale musicals combined with Chamber of Commerce. drama, opera, one night comedy and 26 Chapter 12: Regeneration for the Next Generation

In 2018 a major refurbishment project and signage that make up its rich 90 was undertaken. Several years in the year history. planning, it was time to update the auditorium and improve connectivity The theatre is grateful to the public, around the theatre. trusts and foundations who have helped in the fundraising for this Two major capital works projects project. were completed following a sixteen week closure period in the summer of After sixteen weeks closure and 1,000 2018. litres of paint the newly refurbished auditorium was opened to the public The theatre was completely repainted on Wednesday 26 September 2018 with a new red and gold colour in a Gala Night of entertainment to an scheme. All of the seats in the invited audience. stalls and circle were removed and replaced with 1,659 brand-new, wider For the theatre, this project was very seats and the balcony seats were much about ensuring Mayflower reupholstered. Theatre remains best in class not just for now, but long into the future – a New environmentally-friendly regeneration for the next generation. LED lighting has been installed, the orchestra pit has been moved beneath the stage and accessibility has been improved, with better facilities for people with disabilities. A Changing Places Toilet (a specially adapted room with hoist and bench facilities) was also built as part of the project.

In addition to the theatre’s commitment to enhance the customer experience, an extension to the west side of the theatre was built. This improves connectivity around the theatre and provides much needed extra space including a new archive room enabling the theatre to care for posters, programmes, photographs 27

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