Saville Theatre - a new permanent home for Cirque du Soleil?

Odeon have the new "Odeon West End" which is also in Leicester Square. 2 screen Luxe. They recently removed the Covent Garden cinema from the "central london" cinemas with the limitless pass. Definitely avoid the Odeon on Tottenham Court Road - horrible cramped seats

Shame, I'll also miss it as a cinema. It was a bit ungainly - but it was cheap, warren-like, had good and varied programming, and usually had a decent (although admittedly often small) crowd. Many times as a student I was in the area at a loose end and found something worth seeing at the right time there.

I also agree that it's a shame to lose a cinema to gain a theatre in the West End. The great thing about having a wide range and large number of cinemas in that kind of place is that odds are between them they'll be something to see at almost any time of day. They're an affordable place to spontaneously while away a couple of hours.

I don't think so, simply because you can never have to many cinemas - given the almost limitless rotation of films and start times, the more the merrier! The number of times I've traipsed between the Curzon, Empire, Apollo, Picturehouse etc. after a 2pm meeting to end up watching some obscure film at the Odeon suggests it wasn't surplus to my requirements! In fact, after the Cineworld on Haymarket (another fantastic theatre conversion), it was probably my most visited spot.

But I think the main point is we're definitely losing more and more of these interesting, cheap "fleapit" type cinemas in the West End, first with the redevelopment of the Trocadero, and then the Haymarket changing hands and the luxury refurb of the Panton Street Odeon (once the go-to spot to see foreign films not showing anywhere else). Sure, they could add another of these upmarket cinemas where you might a best catch a Wes Anderson film, but it would be nice if the West End could remain a place to see all kinds of films affordably and not just generic Disney/Marvel fodder.

It'll be a shame to lose that odeon — managed to catch some hard to find films there over the last few years! But at least it's returning to a theatre instead of offices or whatnot

TBH the fact Odeon has so many cinemas in the West End and it's not been refurbished unlike some of the others meant it's time was limited.

Not sure about the bit at the top, doesn't really complement the venue.

I think the likely scenario is that the "permanent home" lasts a few years, before it becomes a more general venue/theatre which hosts Cirque du Soleil semi-frequently.

It’s not very big though is it?

The architects have clearly never visited the site or even looked at the previous planning application.

When it was a twin-screen ABC, the two auditoria were one on top of the other.  Both were large.  I remember seeing Blade Runner in 70mm there.  The conversion to four screens was achieved with:

Screen 1 - front half of upstairs
Screen 2 - rear half of upstairs
Screen 3 - rear half of downstairs
Screen 4 - front half of downstairs

All screens had the potential to be "Luxe'd" and screen 1 had the possibility of a much vaster screen, but clearly Odeon was never going to invest in a venue with a limited future.  It will be a great shame to lose this as a cinema venue, one that has been programmed more toward art-house content in recent years.  This provided an opportunity to see some films at no additional cost (for myLimitless West End members) and without the tiny screens of the other similarly programmed Odeon, the Haymarket four-screen.

Missing the point. It showed less commercial films that don’t get shown elsewhere. There’s literally dozens of ancient outmoded theatres with god awful sightlines within walking distance of this place. No need for another one of those.

From the Theatres Trust website

Image of the new upwards extension: