Tours through the Dreamland Cinema building, including part of the sets from the Empire of Light movie, will return on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd March to mark the 90-year anniversary of when the cinema was first opened in 1935.
Shooting for Empire of Light took place in and around Margate – including at the Manston airport site- between March and end of May 2022 and is credited with boosting the local economy by some £4million.
The tour means visitors can tread in the footsteps of stars Olivia Colman, Micheal Ward, Toby Jones and Colin Firth as they are guided through various sets featured in the film, including the ‘abandoned ballroom’ and the cinema auditorium.
Places are limited with a maximum of 25 people per session and there will be three sessions per day at: 9:30am, 11am and 12:30pm. This means, that there will only be space for the booker and a plus one.
To register for your place, email [email protected] before 9am on Friday 14th March with your name and the name of your plus one, specifying which session time and date you would prefer.
Due to popular demand, places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and if you have secured a place, you will be notified by email from customer services. On the day, visitors need to bring their email of confirmation to claim their space.
Some of the sets are in the Dreamland Cinema building which is listed and has been unoccupied for many years – it pre-dates current accessibility legislation and has no appropriate infrastructure for those with accessibility requirements. The event is not suitable for children under 14 years old.
Filming for a Bollywood blockbuster is anticipated to take place at the cinema building in June.
Dreamland Cinema was bought from Thanet council by Sands Heritage Limited (SHL), along with the amusement park, in December 2020. In December 2023, SHL was acquired by LN-Gaiety whose ultimate controlling party is Live Nation Entertainment.
The cinema building has been empty since 2007, other than its use for filming.
In the beginning….
Source Dreamland Heritage Trust and Cinema Treasures
Dreamland Cinema opened its doors on March 22, 1935.
Built on the site of the 900 seat Dreamland Variety Theatre of 1923, (later re-named Dreamland Cinema), John Henry Ilse invested more than £500,000 into the Dreamland site between 1920 and 1935, constantly adding new rides and facilities, and culminating in the construction of the Dreamland cinema complex in 1934.
The project was overseen by Iles’s son, John Bird Iles, in partnership with the established architects, Leathart & Granger and was strongly influenced by German cinema design, with no expense spared on the project.
The spectacular art deco expressionist-influenced brick idiom frontage of the cinema was the first of its kind in Britain. The huge art deco cinema fin tower gave the building prominence from a great distance along the shoreline and was to prove influential on the subsequent design of the Odeon chain of cinemas.
The Dreamland Cinema and Ballroom building was completed in the early part of 1935 and opened its doors to the public on Friday 22nd March 1935 with screenings of Greta Garbo in “The Painted Veil” and Laurel & Hardy in “Them Thar Hills”.
Inside the auditorium seating was provided for 1,328 in the stalls and 722 in the balcony. The interior design was by John Bird-Iles and sculptures of sea nymphs set into recesses each side of the auditorium were the work of Eric Aumonier.
The cinema had a fully equipped stage and has a 40ft wide proscenium. It was equipped with a Western Electric(WE) sound system.
The cinema was closed from 1940 due to the war and didn’t re-open until 1st July 1946.
The Dreamland Cinema was then twinned and re-opened on 22nd April 1973 with two cinemas in the former balcony which seated 378 and 376. The former stalls area became a live theatre but this was not a success and closed on 11th January 1975 and was converted into a bingo hall.
A third screen seating 60 persons and using video projection was created in what had previously been the balcony bar area. This opened on 10th May 1981 and continued until closing in 1993 when the Dutch firm Bembom Brothers took over the running of the cinema and amusement park.
The two cinemas remained open in the former circle area and were operated by the small Independent chain Reeltime Cinemas. Sadly they were closed on 1st November 2007 following closure of the bingo club operation in the former stalls area earlier in the year.
Restoration of the exterior began in February 2011 and repairs to the building followed in June 2011. Restoration of the exterior was completed in summer of 2017 and yellow neon has been installed to highlight the building.
In 1992, Dreamland Cinema was designated a Grade II Listed building by English Heritage. In early-May 2008, the building was upgraded to Grade II* Listed.
In March 2022 planning permission was granted to remove the original ‘Dreamland’ signage from the exterior of the building for it to be temporarily replaced by the name ‘Empire’. This was due to the building being featured as a location for the filming of “Empire of Light” directed by Sam Mendes.
Filming was completed on 15th May 2022 and all original fittings and signage were fully re-installed.
