Grand Theatre, Islington

The Grand Theatre, Islington – formerly the Philharmonic, Islington, later the Empire, Islington, and finally the Empire Cinema – was a theatre and later a cinema in the London suburb of Islington. Opened in 1860 as a concert hall it became a theatre in the 1870s. After it was destroyed by fire in 1882 a replacement was designed by Frank Matcham; it opened in 1883, was burnt down in 1888, rebuilt to Matcham's designs, and burnt down again in 1900. Matcham again designed a replacement, which survived a 1933 fire and stood until the building was demolished in 1962.

The theatre was home to French opéra comique in the 1870s, melodrama in the 1880s and a range of productions in the 1890s. It became a regular first stop for companies from the West End going on provincial tours, and many stars appeared there including Henry Irving, George Alexander, Arthur Bourchier, Lottie Collins, Tom Costello, Harry Randall and Lewis Waller. In the 20th century the building became first a music hall and then, for its last thirty years, a cinema.