Troxy
Troxy is a Grade II-listed Art Deco entertainment venue in Stepney, East London, originally built as a cinema and now used for concerts, cultural events, screenings, ceremonies and televised productions.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Troxy is an Art Deco entertainment venue on Commercial Road in Stepney, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The building opened in 1933 as a large and highly appointed cinema designed by architect George Coles. It was built on the site of a former brewery at a reported cost of £250,000 and initially accommodated approximately 3,520 people, making it one of the largest cinemas in England at the time. Its design and service emphasized theatrical luxury: the auditorium included a revolving stage, mirror-lined restaurants, a prominent organ that rose from the orchestra pit, and staff dressed in evening wear. Perfume was reportedly sprayed during screenings as part of the venue’s presentation. The first film shown was King Kong, a connection that has remained part of the building’s identity. The cinema’s original audience declined after the Second World War as bombing damage and post-war slum clearance changed the surrounding East End. Troxy closed as a cinema in 1960, with its final listed screening taking place on 19 November that year. After a period of vacancy, the Royal Opera House converted the building into the London Opera Centre, which operated from 1963 to 1977 as a training and rehearsal facility for singers and other opera professionals. The building was adapted internally to provide rehearsal rooms, orchestra facilities and a stage corresponding to the dimensions of the Royal Opera House stage. Royal Opera House use continued in broader form until 1990. During the 1980s, Troxy was operated as a Mecca Bingo hall. Bingo sessions continued until 2005, when Mecca stopped using the building in the context of changing gambling habits and the growth of online alternatives. Troxy was subsequently redeveloped and reopened as a live events venue in 2006. Its present business combines music concerts, award ceremonies, corporate events, sporting occasions, film screenings, television productions and other ticketed or privately hired events. The venue has hosted artists and productions ranging from alternative and indie rock to electronic music, pop, classical-related programming and televised entertainment. It has also been used for MMA fight nights, debates and specialist screenings. Preservation is central to Troxy’s positioning. The building received Grade II-listed status in 1990, and later operators have invested in restoring its historic features while upgrading technical infrastructure for contemporary productions. One of its most distinctive assets is a Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ, transferred from the former Trocadero Cinema in Elephant and Castle. The organ was restored in a six-year project completed in 2015. It has 1,728 pipes, four keyboards, one pedal board and 241 stop keys, and can be used for performances and events. Troxy has developed a profile beyond ordinary concert-hall operations through high-visibility media and cultural events. It hosted the NME Awards, Kerrang! Awards, Google’s annual Christmas party, the BRITS Icon concert featuring Robbie Williams, Secret Cinema productions, Channel 4’s Brexit debate and filming for Sky One’s Sing: Ultimate A Capella. In November 2024, The Cure performed a full concert at Troxy to mark the release of Songs of a Lost World. The performance was streamed online and later issued as a live album, Songs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV, with proceeds donated to War Child. DICE has handled ticketing operations since August 2018. Broadwick Group has operated the venue since 1 July 2025. The venue is reported to have capacity for approximately 3,100 people, with a planned extension to approximately 3,600 in 2026.
History
Troxy opened in 1933 on Commercial Road, Stepney, on the site of a former brewery. Designed by George Coles, a leading designer of London Art Deco cinemas, it was conceived as a major luxury picture palace. The building reportedly cost £250,000 and had seating for about 3,520 people, placing it among England’s largest cinemas at the time. Its interior included a revolving stage, restaurants with mirrored decoration, formal staff attire and an organ that emerged from the orchestra pit during intervals. Troxy’s first screening was King Kong, and the venue promoted the latest major film releases while presenting cinema as a complete theatrical experience. The East End changed substantially during and after the Second World War. Wartime bombing and subsequent clearance of local slum areas disrupted the community that had supported the cinema. Troxy eventually closed as a cinema in 1960, with its last recorded film shown on 19 November. The empty building was then adapted by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, which established the London Opera Centre there in 1963. The centre provided training and rehearsal facilities for opera singers and other professionals. Its stage was extended to replicate the dimensions of the Royal Opera House stage, while former cinema areas and basement spaces were divided into rooms for rehearsals and orchestral use. This phase continued through 1977, with Royal Opera House use associated with the building until 1990. Troxy entered a different phase during the 1980s when Mecca operated it as a bingo hall. Bingo was held twice daily, seven days a week, until 2005. The venue then ceased to be used by Mecca amid changes in the gambling market, including the growing importance of online gambling. A redevelopment followed, and Troxy returned in 2006 as a live events venue rather than a cinema or bingo hall. The building’s heritage status became formalized when it was Grade II listed in 1990. Later operators sought to retain the auditorium’s historic character while adding the sound, staging and production facilities required for modern concerts and broadcasts. Troxy became the first venue in the EMEA region to permanently install JBL’s VTX A12 loudspeaker system, reflecting its shift toward technically demanding live productions. A major heritage project concerned the Wurlitzer theatre organ now associated with the venue. The instrument originally belonged to the Trocadero Cinema in Elephant and Castle, which opened in 1930. After the Trocadero was demolished, the Cinema Organ Society preserved the organ and it was eventually transferred to Troxy. A six-year restoration project brought it back to its original condition in 2015. The instrument has 1,728 pipes ranging from 16 feet to one inch, four keyboards, one pedal board and 241 stop keys. Its console can be moved within the venue, allowing it to support different event formats. Since its 2006 reopening, Troxy has hosted concerts, award ceremonies, film and immersive-cinema events, corporate functions, sporting events and television productions. Its music programme has included artists such as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Flying Lotus, Jarvis Cocker, Beady Eye, Garbage, Morrissey, Doves, Pixies, City and Colour, Stereophonics, Patti Smith, Siouxsie and The Cure. It became a recurring awards venue, including for the NME Awards and Kerrang! Awards, and was selected for high-profile private and broadcast events. In 2016, a new truss was installed above the circle for the BRITS Icon production fronted by Robbie Williams, after structural load testing and engineering work. The venue has continued to combine cultural heritage with contemporary distribution. DICE has operated Troxy’s ticketing since 30 August 2018. In November 2024, The Cure staged a three-hour concert at the venue around the release of Songs of a Lost World; the performance was streamed and later released as Songs of a Live World: Troxy London MMXXIV, with proceeds benefiting War Child. Broadwick Group has operated Troxy since 1 July 2025. Troxy is reported to have a current capacity of about 3,100, with an expansion to approximately 3,600 planned for 2026.
- 2025
Broadwick Group takes over operations
[1]Broadwick Group begins running Troxy on 1 July.
- 2024
The Cure stage a live album concert
[1]The Cure perform Songs of a Lost World in full at Troxy, with the concert later issued as a live album for charity.
- 2018
DICE begins ticketing operations
[1]DICE starts operating ticketing for Troxy on 30 August.
- 2015
Wurlitzer restoration is completed
[1]A six-year restoration project returns the transferred theatre organ to its original condition.
- 2006
Troxy becomes a live-events venue
[1]The building is relaunched for concerts, ceremonies, screenings and other live productions.
- 2005
Bingo operations end
[1]Mecca stops using Troxy as a bingo hall after regular sessions that began during the 1980s.
- 1990
Troxy receives Grade II listing
[1]The building is formally recognized for its architectural and historical importance.
- 1963
London Opera Centre opens at Troxy
[1]The Royal Opera House converts the building into a training and rehearsal centre for opera professionals.
- 1960
Cinema operations end
[1]Troxy closes as a cinema after its final listed screening on 19 November.
- 1933
Troxy opens as a cinema
[1]The new Art Deco cinema opens in Stepney with a reported capacity of approximately 3,520. King Kong is the first film screened.
Products and positioning
A heritage-led London live-events venue combining an Art Deco cinema auditorium, large concert capacity, modern production infrastructure and distinctive cultural assets such as its restored Wurlitzer organ.
Live music venue · 2006
Troxy live concerts
Troxy’s principal public offering is a large-scale concert programme in its historic Art Deco auditorium. The venue accommodates touring artists and bands across rock, indie, electronic, pop and related genres, combining substantial audience capacity with modern sound, lighting and staging infrastructure.
Event venue · 2006
Troxy event hire
The venue is available for award ceremonies, corporate functions, private parties, launches, televised events and other productions. Its historic architecture, adaptable auditorium and production facilities allow it to support both formal ceremonies and high-capacity entertainment formats.
Musical instrument and performance feature · 2015
Wurlitzer theatre organ
Troxy houses a restored Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ transferred from the former Trocadero Cinema. The instrument has 1,728 pipes, four keyboards, one pedal board and 241 stop keys. Its movable console allows it to be used during performances and special events.
Cinema and immersive entertainment · 2009
Film and immersive screenings
Although no longer a conventional daily cinema, Troxy periodically hosts film screenings and immersive productions. The venue returned to film presentation in 2009 with Secret Cinema’s Bugsy Malone and later revisited its cinematic origins with an anniversary screening of King Kong.
Brand decisions
2025
Broadwick Group assumes venue operationsM&ABackground
Troxy’s operating structure changed as the venue continued to develop its concert and events business.
Action taken
Broadwick Group began running operations at Troxy on 1 July.
2018
DICE ticketing partnershipStrategyBackground
Troxy required a ticketing operation for its expanding concert and event programme.
Action taken
DICE began running ticketing operations for the venue on 30 August.
Aftermath
DICE became part of Troxy’s ticket-distribution infrastructure.
2015
Completion of Wurlitzer restorationOtherBackground
The theatre organ had been moved from the demolished Trocadero Cinema and required extensive restoration.
Action taken
Troxy completed a six-year restoration project and returned the organ to working condition.
Aftermath
The Wurlitzer became a distinctive feature available for performances and venue events.
Restoration cost. £275,000 (2015)
2009
Return to film screeningsProduct launchBackground
Troxy had not shown a film for more than 50 years after closing as a cinema.
Action taken
The venue hosted Secret Cinema’s interactive presentation of Bugsy Malone.
Aftermath
The event demonstrated that the former cinema could support contemporary immersive and participatory screen-based productions.
2006
Conversion from bingo hall to live-events venueStrategyBackground
After Mecca ended bingo use in 2005, the historic building required a new commercial and cultural role.
Action taken
Troxy was relaunched as a venue for concerts, ceremonies, screenings, sporting events and other live productions.
Aftermath
The live-events model restored regular public use and became the foundation of Troxy’s current identity.
Recent events
- 2025
Broadwick Group begins operating Troxy[1]
Leadership change
Broadwick Group took over operational responsibility for Troxy on 1 July 2025.
- 2024
The Cure perform a streamed anniversary-era concert at Troxy[1]
Product launch · Other
The Cure played their only full live concert of the year at Troxy in November, performing Songs of a Lost World in full alongside other catalogue material. The event was streamed on YouTube.
- 2013
Troxy celebrates its 80th anniversary with King Kong[1]
Other
The venue screened King Kong, echoing the first film shown at Troxy when it opened as a cinema in 1933.
- 2009
Troxy reinstates cinema programming with Secret Cinema screening[1]
Other
Secret Cinema presented Bugsy Malone at Troxy, marking the venue’s first film screening in more than five decades and combining the film with live entertainment and audience participation.
- 2006
Troxy reopens as a live events venue[1]
Other
Following its period as a bingo hall, Troxy was converted for concerts and other live events, establishing the operating model it retains today.
Sources2 sources
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