Erith Playhouse

The building was originally the Oxford Cinema, which opened on 27 July 1913, showing silent movies. It continued as a cinema until 1938, when it closed, opening again as a news cinema for a short time. During the Second World War it was used as a store for furniture from the bombed homes in the locality.

The theatre's present auditorium is still basically the original from cinema times, apart from the modifications noted above. It is slightly unusual because it is a little narrower at the front (previously the screen, now the stage and orchestra pit) than it is at the rear (where the audience enters), which is why rows in the front half of the theatre have one fewer seat than those towards the back. Also, half of Row "F" is missing to allow for the Fire Exit at the side of the auditorium. For many years the theatre did not have its own licensed bar, so some of the audience would visit one of the public houses either side of the theatre before shows and during the interval. In order that…