The Edwardian theatre is leased and operated by private firm Live Nation, which has proved massively successful at pulling in big West End shows like The Producers and We Will Rock You.

But in June the global entertainment company announced it was accepting bids for the 17 theatres it owns around the UK, hoping to raise £75million from its venues in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and elsewhere.

The move is part of the organisation's decision to focus more on its live music operation, and it is still not clear if it will continue operating the Empire.

This week, however, Vicky Medhurst, cultural heritage manager at Sunderland City Council, presented a glowing annual report on the theatre to councillors – and the document foresees a flourishing future for the venue.

Labour Councillor John Scott asked if the Empire was on the list of venues Live Nation no longer wished to run, but Ms Medhurst said there was nothing to fear.

"There have been rumours but that is all it is at the moment. Live Nation don't own the Empire, it is owned by the council and with a management contract in place," she said.

"Even if it was to be taken over, we have managed this before, with Clear Channel and before that with Apollo.

"The city council would have to approve any takeover and they would have to agree to our terms and conditions."

Ms Medhurst said Live Nation was fulfilling its obligations to the Empire Theatre Trust in terms of the mix, variety and quality of its shows and gave a run-down of its performance.

The theatre staged more than 320 shows last year, including dance, opera, musicals, children's shows, pantomime, community events and educational productions.

Up and coming productions include The Sound of Music, featuring Connie Fisher, Mickey's Magic Show and this year's pantomime Peter Pan.

Ms Medhurst said Live Nation had also been very committed to education and outreach projects, including programmes to give young people tuition and experience in stage performance.

She added that the Empire had taken part in the Heritage Open Days to give visitors a peek behind the scenes on a series of fully-booked free tours, and was also participating in the Arts Council's scheme providing free tickets to young people.

Ms Medhurst said the council used "mystery visitors" to keep tabs on service quality at the Empire and most had been satisfied, though there had been some complaints with telephone booking systems and the cost of refreshments.

She added there had been 99 complaints last year for reasons including other people sitting in visitors seats, the temperature in the auditorium, cast changes and technical faults.

But she said there had also 101 compliments. She said all complaints and issues raised by mystery visitors were followed up and were often down to production companies rather than Live Nation.

She added that the Empire Trust has agreed to look at a number of issues which need addressing to continue raising the profile of the theatre, including improving parking and signage and better promotion of education programmes.