The Empire Theatre

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Mark Rashotte purchased the McCarthy building with a dream of bringing to Belleville a state of the art theatre for live performance and cinema. Rashotte, a professional musician and recording artist, spent many years touring Canada and the Northeast United States performing in various theatrical venues. Over the years he developed a unique insight as to what a performing arts centre should provide to both the audience and entertainer. In the fall of 2002, a highly skilled design and construction team began the task of transforming the McCarthy building into The Empire Theatre and Centre For Performing Arts. With respect for building’s past and an eye to the future, the 700 seat Empire Theatre opened its doors in September 2003 and the dream became a reality. In 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic shutting down theatres across Canada the Empire has invested in an 8 camera state of the art live stream studio to bring our stage into your living rooms!