Odeon Covent Garden
A four-screen West End cinema that operated in a historic former theatre building on Shaftesbury Avenue until its permanent closure in 2024.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Odeon Covent Garden was a cinema in London’s West End, occupying the building historically known as the Saville Theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue. Although the Odeon-branded cinema dates from 2001, the building has a substantially longer performing-arts history. It opened as the Saville Theatre on 8 October 1931, designed by Sir Thomas Bennett in consultation with Bertie Crewe. The original theatre held approximately 1,426 people across three levels and was designed with an opulent interior, including decorated bars, lounges and a broad stage suitable for drama, revue, musical theatre and concerts. During its theatre period, the venue hosted a succession of successful West End productions. Its history included long-running revues and musicals such as Up and Doing, Junior Miss, Here Come the Boys, Gay’s the Word, Love from Judy, Expresso Bongo and Pickwick. The building suffered damage during the Blitz in 1941 but reopened quickly. In 1955 its interior was refurbished under Laurence Irving, with a new mural by John Collins in the stalls bar. The theatre continued to present plays and musicals through the 1950s and 1960s, including productions associated with performers such as Peter Ustinov and Laurence Olivier. A particularly notable phase began in 1965, when Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager, leased the venue. Under his management the Saville became an important London location for drama, popular music and rock performances. The programme included theatrical work as well as appearances by major performers and groups including the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Chuck Berry, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Cream, Fairport Convention, the Rolling Stones, the Bee Gees and Nirvana. The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company also presented two London seasons there in the 1960s. This period established the building as more than a conventional West End playhouse, linking it to the rapidly changing British music and entertainment scene. The theatre was sold in 1970 and converted into a two-screen cinema by ABC Theatres, then owned by EMI. The conversion opened on 22 December 1970, with ABC 1 seating 616 and ABC 2 seating 581. The former stage area was adapted for administrative use, and the cinema conversion removed or obscured much of the original theatre’s internal structure. In 2001 the building became part of the Odeon Cinemas Group and operated as the four-screen Odeon Covent Garden. Its primary business was commercial film exhibition in a central London location, serving West End visitors, local residents and cinema audiences. Despite the changes to its interior, the exterior retained important elements of the 1930s design. These included much of the original frontage and a large sculptured frieze by Gilbert Bayes, extending for approximately 130 feet and representing “Drama Through the Ages.” The venue’s later identity therefore combined a modern multiplex operation with a listed or heritage-associated theatrical shell and a prominent place in London’s entertainment history. The cinema’s final period was shaped by redevelopment plans. Yoo Capital acquired the property in October 2021 with proposals to transform the site into a live-arts destination incorporating a hotel and restaurant. Odeon Covent Garden permanently closed on 11 August 2024 pending redevelopment. Planning consent for a later proposal involving a nine-storey hotel and a 622-seat basement theatre was reported in April 2025. As a result, Odeon Covent Garden is no longer an operating cinema, while the wider Saville Theatre building remains associated with an intended future live-arts use.
History
The building now associated with the former Odeon Covent Garden began life as the Saville Theatre, a purpose-built West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London. Designed by Sir Thomas Bennett in consultation with Bertie Crewe, it opened on 8 October 1931 with For The Love Of Mike, a play with music by H. F. Maltby. The theatre was planned for substantial public use, with capacity for roughly 1,426 people on three levels, a stage approximately 31.5 feet wide and 30.5 feet deep, and elaborate public rooms. Contemporary descriptions emphasised its decorated stalls bar, saloon lounge and hospitality facilities. The Saville established itself as a venue for drama, revue and musical theatre. It survived wartime disruption after being damaged during the Blitz in 1941 and reopened in time for a revised production of Up and Doing. The 1940s and 1950s brought long runs by productions including Junior Miss, Here Come the Boys, Gay’s the Word and Love from Judy. Expresso Bongo began a substantial run in 1958, while later productions included Peter Ustinov’s Photo Finish, Laurence Olivier’s Semi-Detached and the musical Pickwick, which premiered in 1963 and ran for 694 performances. The interior was refurbished in 1955 by Laurence Irving, with John Collins contributing a new mural to the stalls bar. The venue became particularly significant in the 1960s. Brian Epstein leased the Saville in 1965 and broadened its programme to include drama, opera and rock music. The theatre presented works by dramatists such as Arnold Wesker, while the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company held two ten-week London seasons in 1965–1966 and 1967–1968. The music programme reflected the expansion of British popular music and included performances by or associated with the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Who, Chuck Berry, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Cream, Fairport Convention, the Rolling Stones, the Bee Gees and Nirvana. The building consequently became linked both to traditional theatre and to the live rock culture of the period. In 1970 the property changed hands and was converted by ABC Theatres, then part of EMI, into a two-screen cinema. Its formal cinema opening took place on 22 December 1970, showing There’s a Girl in My Soup in ABC 1 and The Railway Children in ABC 2. The conversion relocated administrative functions into the former stage area and substantially altered the original theatre interior. In 2001 the cinema was taken over by the Odeon Cinemas Group and became the four-screen Odeon Covent Garden. The Odeon operation focused on mainstream theatrical film exhibition in a heavily visited central London district. The exterior continued to communicate the building’s earlier identity. Surviving features included much of the 1930s frontage and a long sculptural frieze by Gilbert Bayes depicting the development of drama. Although its auditorium had been repeatedly adapted, the property remained recognisable as a former West End theatre and an important architectural and entertainment landmark. Yoo Capital acquired the site in October 2021 and proposed redevelopment as a live-arts venue with hotel and restaurant uses. The Odeon cinema permanently closed on 11 August 2024. A subsequent planning decision reported in April 2025 allowed a scheme involving a nine-storey hotel and a 622-seat theatre below ground. The closure ended the Odeon-branded phase of the site, while the building’s longer history continues to inform its intended future as a live-arts destination.
- 2025
Redevelopment planning consent
[1]Planning consent was reported for a nine-storey hotel with a 622-seat basement theatre.
- 2024
Cinema permanently closes
[1]Odeon Covent Garden ceased operations on 11 August ahead of redevelopment.
- 2021
Yoo Capital acquires the site
[1]Yoo Capital acquired the property with plans for a live-arts-led redevelopment.
- 2001
Odeon Covent Garden launches
[1]Odeon Cinemas Group took over the cinema and operated it as a four-screen Odeon venue.
- 1970
Conversion to a two-screen cinema
[1]ABC Theatres converted the former theatre into a two-screen cinema, opening the new operation in December.
- 1965
Brian Epstein leases the venue
[1]The Beatles’ manager took a lease and developed the Saville as a venue for drama, opera and popular music.
- 1955
Interior refurbishment
[1]The interior was refurbished under Laurence Irving, with a new stalls-bar mural by John Collins.
- 1941
Building damaged during the Blitz
[1]The theatre suffered wartime damage but reopened quickly and continued its theatrical programme.
- 1931
Saville Theatre opens
[1]The new theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue opened on 8 October with For The Love Of Mike.
Products and positioning
A centrally located Odeon cinema combining mainstream film exhibition with the heritage character of a former West End theatre and music venue.
Film exhibition · 2001
Cinema screenings
The core offering of Odeon Covent Garden was scheduled commercial film exhibition across four screens. The venue served audiences in London’s West End and operated as a conventional Odeon cinema within a building originally constructed for live theatre. Its programming details and individual film line-ups are not specified in the supplied sources.
Cinema hospitality
Cinema concessions
Like other commercial cinemas, the venue offered admission-linked refreshments and concession services, but the supplied reference material does not identify specific menus, formats or proprietary products.
Brand decisions
2024
Permanent cinema closureOtherBackground
The property was subject to a redevelopment programme intended to create a live-arts venue and associated hotel and restaurant uses.
Action taken
Odeon Covent Garden closed permanently on 11 August 2024.
Aftermath
The Odeon operation ended and the site proceeded toward redevelopment, with later plans including a new basement theatre.
2001
Rebrand as Odeon Covent GardenStrategyBackground
The cinema operation was taken over by the Odeon Cinemas Group.
Action taken
The venue became a four-screen Odeon cinema.
Aftermath
The building operated as Odeon Covent Garden for more than two decades before its permanent closure in 2024.
1970
Convert the theatre into a cinemaStrategyBackground
After the building changed ownership, ABC Theatres chose to repurpose the former West End playhouse for film exhibition.
Action taken
The interior was converted into two cinema auditoria, with the former stage area adapted for administration.
Aftermath
The site moved from regular live theatre into cinema operations, beginning a cinema phase that later continued under the Odeon name.
Sources1 sources
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