Public Venue Tour

Sunderland Empire is opening its doors for a public venue tour on Saturday 14 November, and it's not your usual walk-through. It's a behind-the-scenes look at a theatre that's been a part of the city's high street for over a century, and the tour is led by staff who know the building inside out.

The theatre describes the Empire as having 116 years of history, and that's exactly what the tour works through. You'll be taken backstage to see the parts of the house that don't usually get a look-in, and along the way you'll tread in the footsteps of the acts that have played here over the decades. The names they mention run the gamut: the young Beatles, Kate Bush, Laurel and Hardy, and Gary Barlow. The tour follows the story from the moment the doors first opened right through to the present day, so you get a sense of how the place has changed while staying the same.

It's not just the walk itself, either. The tour includes refreshments in the Dress Circle Bar, which gives you a bit of time to sit and chat about what you've seen. If you've spent years watching shows from the stalls or the circle, this is your chance to see how the other half lives—the wings, the dressing rooms, and the machinery that keeps the whole thing running.

There are two dates to choose from: Saturday 14 November and Saturday 5 December, both starting at 11:00am. Tickets are £12 for a standard spot, and the tour runs from the Sunderland Empire Theatre on High Street West.