Mayflower Theatre has been a part of the Southampton Community since 1928 when it first opened its doors as The Empire Theatre. Throughout our history we have survived being grazed by 2 bombs in WWII, becoming The Gaumont in 1950 and we were saved from being turned into a bingo hall in the 1980's when 93000 people signed a petition to keep their local theatre.

Mayflower Theatre has received generous support from the Heritage Lottery Fund to create our online archive. Currently hosting a sample of items, our digital archive continues to grow to allow you to access our rich 90 year history.

Our online archive has been made possible by our teams of dedicated volunteers, who meet regularly to assist with the sorting, cataloguing and digitising of our items. If you would be interested in finding out more about our volunteer opportunities then please email archive@mayflower.org.uk.