Although it may be hard to believe today, surrounded by busy shops, frenetic traffic and the towering Centrepoint building, the area immediately surrounding Tottenham Court Road station was, just a few hundred years ago, still largely countryside. Nearby stood a leper hospital, founded by Matilda, Queen consort of King Henry I in the 12^th Century and in medieval London, gallows here saw the gory dispatch of multiple criminals (and no doubt just as many innocent souls) including the protestant martyr, Sir John Oldcastle, who was hung and roasted here.

The Dominion Theatre itself stands on the site of former cinema, The Court Cinema which opened in 1911 and stood until 1928. Opening as The Court Electric Theatre in 1911 and occupying a site roughly the same size of the Dominion’s Foyer today, the cinema was renamed the Court Imperial Playhouse in 1915 and was closed by authorities in 1928, allegedly for screening a film which had not passed censorship (perhaps an early forerunner of the nearby Soho ‘adult’ cinemas).

The remainder of the site now occupied by the Dominion was Meux & Co’s Horse Shoe Brewery (a brewery had occupied the site since at least 1764 when the area was open fields). In 1814, tragedy struck the Horse Shoe Brewery when a 22 foot high wooden vat of fermenting porter burst in what became known as the London Beer Flood. Eight people drowned in beer (a lot less fun than it sounds) including a two year old boy.The brewery, which began trading in 1809 and covered some two to three acres of land, was finally demolished in 1922, and then from 14th July 1925 the site became home to ‘O’Brien’s West End Amusement Park’, also known as ‘Luna Park’, consisting of a 1,000 seat temporary Theatre, a ‘Continental Cafe’ and various side shows. 

Eventually the Court Cinema and the Luna Park behind it would all be removed to make way for The Dominion Theatre, construction of which began in March 1928 for Moss Empires with a design by Williamand Thomas Ridley Milburn.

The Dominion project was financed via a public share issue, building what was at the time London’s largest theatre at a cost of £460,000 (nearly £30m today). The aim was to build a large enough theatre to house large musical spectaculars whilst allowing more affordable prices to be charged.

No expense was spared in the design and décor of the theatre’s interior. An entrance carved in Portland stone welcomed audiences to a spacious and luxuriously carpeted foyer, from which a marble staircase ascended to the circle landing. Interiors were decorated in late French Renaissance style with cool soft blue walls highlighted with silver. A retiring room behind the dress circle was fitted with soda fountains and throughout the rest of the building, lounges, bars, retiring rooms and a luxurious royal box ensured that the needs of every tier of society were catered for.

In contrast to many of London’s older theatres, The Dominion was built with the comfort of its audience as a priority with ample legroom even for taller patrons. A wide proscenium and an equally spacious auditorium ensured that every seat commanded a full view of the stage. Centre and side gangways allowed plenty of room to get in and out, and the theatre even had its own subway to Tottenham Court Road Underground Station to allow patrons egress without braving the elements, although this has since been blocked off.

Great importance was placed on the comfort of the artists appearing here, with large, comfortable dressing rooms with hot & cold water, radiators, wardrobes, bathrooms and even stage lifts to all floors provided – something those appearing in Victorian theatres could have only dreamed of.

The original seating capacity was a staggering 2,835, with 1,340 in the stalls, 818 in the dress circle and 677 in the balcony (upper circle) level. A 54 foot wide auditorium also allowed for scenery on a grand scale. Facility for the showing of motion pictures was also included in the original construction – something which would provide fortuitous for this and many other West End theatres during difficult times. The Directors of the Dominion Theatre for its construction and opening included Sir Alfred Butt MP, Chairman and Managing Director of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and R H Gillespie, Managing Director of Moss Empires.

Unfortunately, the theatre opened in turbulent times on Thursday 3^rd October 1929, just days after the London Stock Exchanged crash and at the start of the Great Depression. The first show, a musical comedy entitled Follow Through and based on two female golfers, lasted for a disappointing 148 performances. Despite already being a hit with Broadway audiences, critics felt that the sheer scale of the Dominion’s auditorium made the performances at times feel lost, and added “The piece began with golf, went on with golf and ended with golf…for three hours.”

The next show, Silver Wings fared still worse. This was followed by a critically-savaged two week variety season, headed by Maurice Chevalier. A little over a year from opening, and already struggling as a theatre, the venue’s potential as a cinema was realised – something which almost certainly saved the Dominion in its early years. This new cinematic lease of life began with a new edit of the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera, to which sound and dialogue was added. H G Wells attended the first screening. On 6th October 1930 the Dominion was taken over by Associated British Cinemas(ABC) who operated the theatre for four months, staging the Pantomime Aladdin for the 1930 Christmas season, which ran until February 1931.

The theatre was then leased to United Artists, commencing with a screening of the premier of City Lights, starring Charlie Chaplin, with Chaplin himself attending the premier and speaking from the stage at the end of the film. Chaplin also had his own Private Cinema in the Theatre, today used as a workshop. After alternating use as a live venue and cinema, on 15^th January 1933 the Dominion Theatre was taken over by Gaumont British Theatres and became a cinema full-time. A Compton theatre organ was installed and a large cafe opened over the main foyer.

The Dominion remained a cinema for much of the next two decades, closing only temporarily during the Blitz early in October 1940 and reopening on 12^th January 1941.

Occasional live shows resumed in 1957 including week-long performances by Sophie Tucker and Tommy Steele. Judy Garland appeared from 16th October until 16th November 1957 in her one woman show. These live shows interrupted film screenings until 28th December 1957 with the Norman Wisdom film Just My Luck. The cinema staged one final theatrical production with a month of performances of The Broken Dateperformed by Le Ballet-Theatre Paris in February 1958.

The Balcony was closed off in 1958 in order to house projection equipment, reducing the maximum seating capacity to just over 2,000 on two levels.

The Theatre reopened on the 21^st April 1958 as a so-called “Roadshow Cinema” with the film South Pacificwhich enjoyed a record breaking run of 4 years and 22 weeks here, before finally ending on the 30^thSeptember 1962.

In 1963, Elizabeth Taylor attended the European opening of the film Cleopatra which played for almost two years and then on 29^th March 1965 the Julie Andrews film classic The Sound of Music was shown until 29^thJune 1968, the longest run of screenings for the film anywhere in the world. These screenings were interspersed with occasional live entertainment (predominantly concerts rather than theatre shows). 

On October 16th 1977 the Dominion played host to the preview screening of the Hollywood blockbuster, Star Wars, which overwhelmed audiences with its relatively new Dolby Stereo sound and stunning special effects.

In 1981, The Dominion was converted back to primary use as a venue for live theatre and concerts, although it continued to occasionally show films, notably Return of the Jedi in 1983. The same year, Dolly Parton filmed a television special here. Other stars appearing during this era included Duran Duran, Bon Jovi, Boy George, David Bowie and U2.

Since then, the theatre has been used primarily to stage large-scale, spectacular musicals. In 1986, Dave Clark’s Time, a hugely technical and innovative stage musical enjoyed a run of nearly two years despite being plagued with technical issues and poor reviews. The interior was altered extensively to accommodate the production – including painting the auditorium black, which proved highly controversial.

In 1989, a stage version of the cult TV soap Prisoner Cell Block H enjoyed a week-long run here (not to be confused with the Musical of the same name which played in the mid-1990s at the Queen’s Theatre – now the Sondheim).

In June 1990 a new musical based on Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, opened. Bernadette is now a West-End legend. Written by the husband and wife team of Maureen and Gwyn Hughes, it was supported by the Daily Mirror, who urged their readers to become “angels” and invest. Just over half the £1million required to stage the musical was raised through 2,000 small shareholders, many investing sums as low as £100. A former chauffeur famously put up £500,000 of his life savings, and the show’s producer re-mortaged his house, thus raising the £1.25 million needed. The opening night was enthusiastically received by a house packed with hundreds of investors, but the next day, the critics were damning. Comments like “three thousand angels and not a prayer” and “Pass the loaves and fishes, they need a miracle” were perhaps not what the producers were hoping for to market the show. Despite a blessing from the Pope, the show closed after just 28 performances, losing its entire investment. Sadly, little evidence remains of the show other than a youtube clip of one of the songs (below) and the factoid that a 14-year old Martine McCutcheon had a small role in the show.