One of the UK’s oldest cinemas has reopened for the first time in five years.
Liverpool’s historic Woolton Picture House is back up and running with a special run of Christmas movies after closing during the pandemic, reports the BBC.
It’s only a temporary revival – the cinema reopened last Friday and will close again after Christmas eve – but the hope is to raise funding to reopen the 1927 venue on a permanent basis.
The campaign is being led by Kevin Fearon and his partner Gillian Miller, who co-manage Liverpool’s Royal Court theatre together. The pair aim to raise £700,000 to buy and refurbish the venue. They’ve raised £150,000 so far.
‘I think this should be funded by people who want this cinema to be open, so we shouldn’t be taking out of the public purse,’ says Mr Fearon.
The old picture palace has had a bumpy ride since the turn of the century. The shutters went up in 2006 before a local entrepreneur came to the rescue, reopening the single-screen cinema less than a year later in time for its 80th birthday.
It was used in 2009 John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy – John gets taken to the cinema by his mum to watch an Elvis Presley newsreel.
The pandemic led to its closure on a more permanent basis in 2020, but this month’s reopening, and the campaign to save it, is cause for optimism.
With its classic interiors and trademark intermission during every screening for punters to re-up at the ice-cream kiosk, it’s easy to see why it’s so cherished by Liverpudlians.
Head to the official site to book in for one of the festive films on offer before Christmas.