The Carlton Theatre was a

London West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

dual-purpose theatre-cum-cinema built in 1927 for Adolph Zukor's

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. It continues in use as a cinema and is now called Empire Haymarket. It was designed by

Frank Verity Francis Thomas Verity (1864–1937) was an English cinema architect during the cinema building boom of the years following World War I. Early life Verity was born in London, educated at Cranleigh and joined Thomas Verity, his father, in his ...

and Sam Beverley in Italian and Spanish Renaissance architectural style with a total seating capacity is 1,150 and a dual theatre or cinema capability. It is located at 63-65 Haymarket, London, SW1 and was built on the site of Anglesea Yard, a former coaching inn. It opened on 27 April 1927 with the successful musical play ''Lady Luck'' by

Firth Shephard Firth Shephard (27 April 1891 – 3 January 1949) was a British writer, theatre producer and presenter of plays. Shepherd attended The Grocers’ Company’s School in Downs Park Road, London,E.5. The Shepherd Show was Firth Shepherds headlin ...

and starring

Laddie Cliff Laddie Cliff (3 September 1891–8 December 1937) was a British dancer, choreographer, actor, producer, writer, and director of comedy, musical theatre and film. He was noted for his versatility. His many London West End theatre appearances and ...

. In 1933 it staged another stage success, a run of '' Bitter Sweet'' by

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

. The Carlton Theatre was wired for sound in 1929 and increasingly went over to being used as a full-time cinema. It was originally built and owned by

and was operated by them until 1954 when it was leased to

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

as their West End showcase for

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

films. Fox continued to operate the Carlton until 1977 when they withdrew from cinema operations in London (they had also run the Rialto, Coventry Street). The cinema was taken over by Classic and the former stage area was sold for demolition and redevelopment. The auditorium was divided into three screens and reopened on 11 January 1979 as the Classic Haymarket. Various changes in ownership resulted in name changes to Cannon, MGM, Virgin, UGC and Cineworld Haymarket. The Cinema is currently operated by Empire cinemas who took over ownership in 2017. It was listed Grade II on the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

in October 2018.

References

Event venues established in 1927 Theatres completed in 1927 Theatres in the City of Westminster Cinemas in London Grade II listed theatres Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster {{UK-theat-struct-stub