Garrick Theatre, Southport
former theatre, cinema and bingo hall in Southport, Merseyside, England
The Garrick Theatre is a former theatre, cinema and bingo hall in Southport, Merseyside, England. it is noted for its Art Deco style, and it is a Grade II listed building.
History
The theatre was built on the site of the Opera House, which had burned down in 1929. It was designed by George Tonge (1876–1956), an architect practicing in Southport, whose work included designing many cinemas. The auditorium seated 1,600, and there was a large stage, to accommodate musicals, operas and ballet. It opened on 19 December 1932, with the play Firebird, featuring Gladys Cooper.
The theatre was sold in 1957 to Essoldo Cinemas, opening on 21 January of that year with the film Love Me Tender. After a brief period as the Essoldo, the name reverted to the Garrick Theatre. From May 1962 no live shows were staged.
It became a bingo hall in 1963; from 1984 it was a Top Rank bingo club, later becoming Mecca Bingo.
The public source identifies “Garrick Theatre, Southport” as former theatre, cinema and bingo hall in Southport, Merseyside, England. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Garrick, Theatre and Southport.
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Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q26659915. Authority coordinates are 53.645, -3.012. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1929, 1876, 1956 and 1932.
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This entry incorporates text from “Garrick Theatre, Southport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.