Palace Theatre, Southend-on-Sea

The Palace Theatre is an Edwardian playhouse on London Road in Westcliff, part of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Opened in 1912 and now Grade II listed, it keeps much of its music hall character, from the sweeping staircase up to the Circle to the regency-style domes on the boxes and the ornate billboard frames on the proscenium arch. Run by Trafalgar Theatres as one of the two Southend Theatres alongside the Cliffs Pavilion, it hosts touring plays and musicals, comedy, live music, family shows and pantomime, with smaller-scale work in the adjoining Dixon Studio. A bus stop sits immediately outside the entrance.

The theatre opened on Monday 21 October 1912, built by Ward & Ward of London and owned by Mr Raymond of the Raymond Picture Company, who ran a string of other cinemas and theatres. It was named the Palace of Varieties that November, then renamed The New Palace in December. It was considered thoroughly modern for its day, with the claim that every seat in the house had a clear, uninterrupted view of the stage. It originally seated 1,500.

In 1919 Mrs Gertrude Mouillot bought the theatre for £25,000, hoping to run it as a cinema. The steep rake of the circle made front projection impossible, so a small annexe was built behind the stage for rear projection, a structure still in use today. Between the wars the Palace mainly hosted touring ballet and repertory companies, with names including Ivor Novello, Sybil Thorndike, Lillian Braithwaite and John Clements appearing here, and the building came through the Second World War without serious damage. In 1942 Mrs Mouillot gave the theatre to Southend Corporation on the condition that local drama societies could continue to use it.

The Palace Theatre Club was founded in 1957 to champion the building, and it proved its worth when financial crisis forced the theatre to close in 1969. A petition signed by more than 2,000 people, 1,400 supporting letters and a protest march persuaded the council to act, and the Palace Theatre Trust was set up in 1970. Extensive redecoration followed in 1973, and the building was listed Grade II on 23 August 1974. In 1980 the neighbouring property was acquired, allowing a new foyer, courtyard, workshop, wardrobe and the Dixon Studio, named after appeal chairman John F Dixon, to be built at a cost of £314,000. The theatre reopened in 1982 as the Palace Theatre Centre.

Rewiring came in 1986, and in 1987 the theatre closed for three months while the main auditorium was restored to its Edwardian appearance, in time for its 75th birthday that October. There were further closures in 1999 and 2002, but the Palace reopened in 2003 under the newly formed Southend Theatres, created by merging the running of the Palace with the Cliffs Pavilion. It is now operated by Trafalgar Theatres.

Southend Theatres aims to make both of its venues welcoming to all, with staff training in areas including introductory British Sign Language, sight loss awareness, sight guide training, dementia-friendly communication, mental health awareness and neurodiversity awareness, developed with local organisations such as Southend In Sight.

• Flat floor access and automatic sliding doors at the entrance
• A lift serving the Dixon Studio, with a platform lift giving access for up to two wheelchair users and their companions
• Two dedicated wheelchair spaces on the left-hand side of the auditorium, plus one next to the sound desk in the back row of the rear stalls
• An accessible toilet opposite the entrance to the main auditorium and a second upstairs by the Dixon Studio
• An infra-red hearing assistance system
• Assistance dogs are welcome; please tell the box office when you book

Access performances

BSL interpreted, signed, captioned and relaxed performances are scheduled across the year. For BSL interpreted or signed shows, ask the box office for seats in front of the interpreter; for captioned performances, ask for seats with a clear view of the caption boxes.

Stairs

there is no lift to the upper levels of the main auditorium. The Dress Circle is 39 steps up and the Gallery 65 steps, so book Stalls seats if you need step-free access.

Booking

access tickets, including companion seats and places for wheelchair users, should be booked directly with the box office. The Customer Contact Centre can be reached on 0343 310 0030 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday. A Changing Places facility with a RADAR key lock is available at the Cliffs Pavilion, on its lower ground floor.