Cinema is on its way back to Marlborough on a permanent basis in the refurbished Marlborough town hall, which now has its own built in large screen, projector and sound system last used for the royal wedding.
Two seasons of film shows were staged in 2009, an outside company bringing in its own equipment but taking 80 per cent of the ticket revenue and too often offering a poor selection of films.
Now Kennet Valley Arts Trust plans to change all that, their debut event on Friday, October 28 being the hit movie Mamma Mia!, which has been chosen to give the event a party feeling, the audience invited to dress up and dance along with the Hollywood stars.
And the £15 tickets for an audience that will sit at tables will a Greek buffet with choice of drinks at a licensed bar manned by volunteers.
“It is not only an exciting event in its itself but also an opportunity for us to create a community event and bring people together, which is our aim,” Fiona Lawson, the trust’s development manager, told Marlborough News Online.
“For the first time – and thanks to the efforts of the town council – we shall have control over our own event, our own screen and equipment, and be able to decide for ourselves the films we want to show on a monthly basis until next May.”
The trust also plans to show more up to date films in its programme and, with just chairs laid out in the town hall, will be able to accommodate up to 250 people.
“In the past we were lucky to get 60 people coming, though on one occasion there was a packed house,” said Fiona. “But in the end it didn’t prove viable to put on performances when we lost so much of the revenue and we stopped them.
“Now we have the opportunity to bring back cinema on a permanent basis to Marlborough, and we are very delighted about that.”
Tickets for Mamma Mia! (7 for 7.30pm) can be booked in advance from www.kvat.co.uk, Sound Knowledge and Marlborough’s White Horse Bookshop.