The Past of Tyneside Cinema

By Landy

The Tyneside Cinema is an independent cinema, which located in Newcastle city centre.

Cinema was designed by local architect George Bell and commissioned by Dixon Scott, who is “Tyneside Cinema’s founding father”.

As we know it was first opened as the "Bijou News-Reel Cinema" on 1 February 1937.

Firstly, it was commonly known as the News Theatre, which plays travel, sport, news films and cartoons. For example, it screened FA Cup Final in 1955 when Newcastle United brought home the FA Cup.

Lord Ramsbotham recalls his boyhood memories of watching the news in this building. Sheila Walker remembers seeing her father for the first time in a news theater.

From 1944 film societies began to hire the News Theatre to show European films not screened in the city’s commercial picture houses.

In 1950s, the Tyneside cinema had grown into the largest film society and demonstrating receptive audience for foreign and experimental film in the UK outside London.

In 1975, the cinema was made to close. The case for re-opening the cinema, then known as the Tyneside Film Theatre, was put together by the Tyneside Filmgoers Group.

The decorated inside the Tyneside cinema was influenced by décor from Dixon Scott’s travel in the Middle East, which meant to represent a Persian palace in Newcastle and was awash with gold, greens and purples.

The Tyneside Cinema as we know it now re-opened in 2008. Many of these features were brought back to life, such as cinema's foyer, a pair of original stained glass windows and mosaic floor tiling that had been hidden for years.

Inside the cinema

Tyneside Cinema has four screens, which are the Classic, the Electra, the Roxy, and the Digital Lounge.

The Classic is original News Theatre auditorium, now is the Tyneside Cinema’s largest space and the heart of the cinema.

The Electra screen 2008, it stadium stating layout and massive cinema screen is ideal for conferences and presentations. The Roxy is Tyneside’s cozy screen just right next door to the Tyneside bar and all decked out in green. The Digital Lounge is 4th screen and used for many of social events and private.

Moreover, the Tyneside coffee rooms is also a historic place, which opened in 1938, a year after the News Theatre. As well as this and the main screen, the building's facilities also included a private cinema, a tea club and a men-only smoking room.

In addition, there are displays of heritage items and contemporary artworks, such as the old film projector, filmstrip and so forth.