Also known as Astoria Theatre, Odeon Astoria, Sundown, Fair Deal, Brixton Academy
02 Academy Brixton
London, England
211 Stockwell Road
,
London,
England,
United Kingdom SW9 9SL
(
map)
+44.0.8444.77.200
 Recent view of the Atmospheric style side-wall and part of the proscenium of the Astoria TheatrePhoto courtesy of Ian Grundy
The Astoria Theatre, Brixton was opened on August 19, 1929 with Al Jolson in "The Singing Fool", and is regarded as the first fully fledged Atmospheric style theatre in Great Britain. This large super-cinema was fully equipped for stage shows on its 40 feet deep stage, as well as films. The interior decorations were carried out by interior designer Marc Henri. There was a Compton 3Manual/12Rank organ which was opened by George Pattman and a cafe/restaurant for the convenience of patrons. An unusual feature was the location of the projection box which was 'hung' beneath the circle, giving a straight throw onto the screen.
In December 1930 it was taken over by Paramount Pictures Inc. and they sold their cinemas to the the Odeon Theatres Ltd. chain operated by Oscar Deutsch on 27th November 1939.
In later years it was known as the Odeon Astoria and was closed by the Rank Organisation on 29th July 1972 with "Red Sun" and "The Looking Glass War".
It was converted into a Sundown discotheque, but this was a short lived (4-months) venture and planning permission was sought to demolish the building, but this was scrapped. The building became a warehouse storing equipment for the Rank Organisation for several years. It was re-opened on 12th March 1982 as a rock concert venue known as the Fair Deal with a concert by UB40, but closed in April 1982 when the operators went bankrupt. It re-opened as the Academy on 7th October 1983 with a concert by the Japanese group Eek-a-Mouse. The plasterwork in the auditorium has been slightly damaged over the years, especially in the early years of its current use as a concert venue when punk concerts were held. The current full capacity is 4,921 as all seating has been removed from the stalls floor. If seating is installed in the stalls the capacity would be 2,391, with 1,083 of these being in the circle. There is standing space for 3,760 in the stalls and 78 in the circle.
The theater became known as the Brixton Academy and was designated a Grade II Listed building on 16th January 1974 and this was upgraded to Grade II* Listed 26th March 1990. In 2006 renovation work was carried out to restore the building to its 1929 splendour. In a sponsorship deal with the mobile telephone company 02, it was re-named 02 Academy Brixton from January 2009.
Contributed by Tony Fenton, David Thompson, Ray Martinez, Ken Roe
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(DEMOLISHED OCT 1984)
THIS WAS ONE OF THE"PARAMOUNT" ASTORIAS...
BRIXTON...STREATHAM...FINSBURY PARK...OLD KENT ROAD...
IT CLOSED ON 29TH JULY 1972...