My Local Cinema
In a misguided fit of enthusiasm, I briefly considered booking tickets to go to London next month to see Predator: Badlands at the IMAX cinema at Waterloo. However, I balked at the price and when I considered the train journey and the fact I’d be going on my own, apathy got the better of me. I decided to wait until the film becomes available on Disney + etc. Hence cinema’s loss is streaming’s gain, which seems to be becoming an all too familiar story. I’ve only been to the cinema once this year and that was to the British Film Institute, where I saw an old classic, Electra Glide in Blue, rather than a new film. Last year I went to the cinema three times. All visits were to my local venue, the Sidcup Storyteller. Sadly that cinema has been closed since the end of July and its future has hung in the balance. Its absence has been keenly felt as it provided a pleasant and convenient local service.
The Sidcup Storyteller cinema temporarily closed because its operator, Really Local Group (RLG), went into liquidation. RLG faced wider financial difficulties, which led to the closure of its venues and a temporary closure of the Sidcup cinema for a refurbishment and transition to new management. The cinema was expected to reopen under a new operator, supported by Bexley Council in September. Sadly, finding a replacement operator with the necessary experience has proven harder than expected. However, it would appear that the management team behind Hackney’s Castle Cinema are looking to run the Sidcup Storyteller, which seems very reassuring. The Castle Cinema is an independent, crowd-funded community movie theatre and not affiliated to any corporate behemoths.
As there is no timetable at present for the re-opening of the Sidcup Storyteller cinema, I shall have to look to nearby alternatives for my immediate cinematic needs. There is the Vue cinema in Eltham High Street and Cineworld in Bexleyheath Broadway. They’re not my first choice as I’ve had issues with them in the past, such as film’s being shown in the wrong aspect ratio and lighting being insufficiently dimmed. They also seem to favour the most commercially viable films to schedule. Hence you don’t always get as much choice as you would like. Plus they tend to attract younger viewers who struggle with the social etiquette associated with a trip to the cinema. Therefore, I hope that an appropriate deal can be struck between the Castle Cinema management and Bexley Council, resulting in the Sidcup Storyteller cinema re-opening its doors soon.
