Member Article

New reel in the life of historic cinema

An historic cinema in Newcastle is moving over the river while a redevelopment project gets underway to restore it to its former glory. The Tyneside Cinema’s temporary home will be in the Old Town Hall in Gateshead whose Victorian stage and balcony are being restored in preparation.

Plans to restore the Tyneside Cinema’s art deco glory have already secured funding of over £6m, including over £36,000 from donations from hundreds of individual supporters since the summer. Plans for the Cinema, which was built in 1937, include extending the roof to create two new screens and more space for digital filmmakers of the future to learn their craft.

The curtain will come down at the Tyneside on Thursday 23 November when it will move and take up residence in its ‘home from home’ to allow the restoration work to begin.

Mark Dobson, chief executive of the Tyneside Cinema, is enthusiastic about the move. He said: “This move to the Old Town Hall means we will be able to carry on uninterrupted all the work of the Tyneside Cinema in a venue that is as full as character as our own. We can screen independent films, carry on our extensive outreach and education programmes and support the film makers of the future in this wonderful venue. Not only will you be able to see films, but we are delighted that the Coffee Rooms are moving across the Tyne with us. So the whole ‘Tyneside Cinema’ experience will be temporarily recreated on the south bank of the Tyne and life can continue uninterrupted.”

The restoration work is expected to be completed in 2008 when the cinema will return to its Pilgrim Street home.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .