Fall & Rise of the Empire

As the Thwaites Empire Theatre celebrates its Centenary, we invite you to explore the history of this former cinema, which is now a thriving community theatre venue. Diligent research by a team of volunteers has uncovered the identities of the original founders of the Empire Electric Theatre, the films which were shown there in the early 20th century, the coming of 'talkies' to Blackburn, and the reason why the cinema fell into disuse in the 1970's. The latter part of the book tells the inspiring story of the Blackburn Theatre Trust, a group of dedicated local people who 'kept the dream alive' for almost twenty-five years as they fought to raise the funds to transform the dilapidated building into the lively theatre it is today. Compiled by Lancashire writer Melanie Warren from a wealth of newspaper archives, photograph collections, historical documents and local memories. All profits from the sale of this book go to the 'Empire100 Raise the Roof Fund' and on-going maintenance and development of the theatre.