ABSTRACT
Many well-known stars appeared over the next forty years, but declining attendances led to its closure in 1956.5 After some years as a television studio and bingo hall, the theatre was occupied by Roland Muldoon’s Cartoon Archetypal Slogan Theatre (CAST) group in 1986. CAST had begun life as a touring group presenting work with a clear political message, but later turned to what they termed ‘New Variety’.6 Buoyed by success, they began to look for a venue larger than the arts centres, clubs and pubs in which they had previously played.7 Muldoon was drawn by the Empire’s architecture. He noted that his ideal theatre was not, despite his political and social convictions, a ‘democratic’, modern building, but one with ‘proscenium arches, a circle with good sightlines, ornate Victorian fixtures’.8 Muldoon may also have seen his work in terms of the Empire’s original raison d’être. The original stage door, its steps worn by the passage of famous variety stars, was retained in a niche adjacent to the new stage door.9
