The Futurist Theatre was a theatre and cinema in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

, England. It was located on Foreshore Road, on the sea front of the South Bay. The theatre closed on 6 January 2014 after the operator's lease expired. The building was demolished by August 2018. The Futurist was built as a cinema in 1921. It remained in this role until 1958 when the stage was extended to allow live performances at the venue.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

performed there twice, on 11 December 1963 and on 9 August 1964. Extensions to the stage allowed the popular ''

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'' to perform there many times when it was owned (between 1966 and 1974) by Robert Luff, the producer of the stage version. The extension to the stage meant the closure of the adjacent Arcadia Theatre which became a lounge. During the 1980s,

Scarborough Borough Council Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

took over the property and leased the theatre to Apollo Leisure Ltd (UK), who ran it until September 2002. In December 2002, Barrie C. Stead, who also runs the Hollywood Plaza cinema, took over the Futurist and refurbished the theatre and cinema, installing new projectors, DTS sound system and a new CinemaScope screen. Annually, the theatre predominately maintained consistent acts throughout the months of July and August. The Futurist had the twelfth largest capacity (2,155) of a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in the country, and the fifth largest outside

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In the winter of 2011, the Futurist managed to attract over 16,000 people during eight sell-out performances of ''

Calendar Girls ''Calendar Girls'' is a 2003 British comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, based on a true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who produ ...

'' produced by David Pugh. On 9 January 2017, Scarborough Borough Council voted to demolish the theatre, by the narrowest of margins (22-21). The decision was a controversial one, as not all the councillors voted, and many locals and visitors alike, would have preferred the venue to be saved, restored and modernised. The fate of the site is uncertain. However, interest has been shown from the Flamingoland group, who gave a large donation to the incumbent conservative party prior to the ramping up of the parties campaign to demolish the building. Demolition of the building began in June 2018 and was completed in August 2018. Plans for a new Flamingo Land attraction on the site were revealed in February 2019.

Gordon Gibb Gordon Gibb is the CEO of Flamingo Land Ltd and former chairman of Bradford City Football Club. Personal Gordon Gibb was born in November 1975 at Strathaven in Scotland, moving to Yorkshire when his father, Robert Gibb, a former professional fo ...

, Chief Executive of Flamingoland announced in January 2022, that the company had reluctantly withdrawn its interest in the site, due to differences in development plans between the company and the local council.

References

External links

* http://www.savethefuturist.co.uk/ {{Scarborough, North Yorkshire Theatres completed in 1921 Cinemas in Yorkshire Theatres in Scarborough, North Yorkshire