Aldeburgh Cinema

Aldeburgh Cinema stands in the Suffolk town of Aldeburgh, behind a 19th-century shop on the High Street. It opened in 1919 and has run films without interruption ever since. The single auditorium was added to the rear of the original building. The cinema regularly shows operas and ballets relayed live from London’s National Theatre, New York’s Metropolitan Opera and Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet. It also hosts the annual Aldeburgh Documentary Festival each November. The cinema’s survival owes much to local action. In the 1960s it faced closure until residents refurbished the building and organised new events. Among them was Susan Harrison, later awarded a British Empire Medal for her work in film and theatre. The cinema club now has about 1,200 members. In 2013 it employed the UK’s oldest working projectionist, Neville Parry. In 2015 it became a comedy venue for the HighTide Festival. Inside, the auditorium offers a single tier of seats facing a wide screen. The walls still carry the marks of its 1960s rescue. Outside, the High Street shopfront hides the theatre’s entrance. The cinema’s programme mixes classic films with live arts relays and documentary premieres.