Credit: William Barton, Shutterstock
Way back in 1896, the Lumière brothers showed off their “Cinématographe” machine for the first time, to a paying audience no less – and sparked a revolution in entertainment. Regent Street was a bustling thoroughfare to the West End, where fans of “moving pictures” were now able to enjoy congregating together in the name of film.
Housed in a gorgeous art-deco building which has been painstakingly looked after and preserved, keeping its old-time character intact, the cinema has been a stalwart for fans of film for eons. It’s not a stifled, soulless place, however. I heard a story on the grapevine that this cinema was the first to show an X-Rated film back in the day. It was even the first to show the Pepper’s Ghost illusion – a technique used in cinemas (and just about anywhere else showing visuals) where an off-stage object is projected to appear in front of an audience.
The Grade II listed building, one of London’s many historical spots, which hails from the Victorian era, closed to the public in 1980. During the cinema’s closure, the building became a lecture hall for Westminster University, as well as a function venue.
Luck changed in 2012, and with funding and support from Westminster University, the Heritage Lottery Fund, plus the Quentin Hogg Trust, Garfield Weston Foundation, alongside many more sponsors, the place reopened in 2015 as a fully-functional cinema.
In the decade since reopening, it’s a rite of passage for film lovers visiting the city.
The cinema is facing the future. Films are screened in digital 4K, with 7.1 surround sound. Their Art Deco auditorium has velvet chairs, gold coat hooks and an elliptical-coved ceiling, like a full-on, old-school cinema of yore. The team have toiled away over the past year at restoring their original 35mm projector, which will allow for rare film-on-film showings.
We love Regent Street Cinemas’ Matinee Monday. Each week, the cinema hosts a dedicated collective who often attend these screenings. The films are specially selected by Anna Paprocka, Head of Programming. Chosen films stretch between the 1930s-60s, bringing together a gaggle of passionate film fanatics, while fostering a sense of community.
Of the lore I mentioned, I heard they’re one of the only cinemas in the country to still have an original working Compton cinema organ. They show this off every first Monday of the month with a recital before their matinée screening.
To have a look at what films are on, find screening times, and all of the other fantastic details, have a peek at the Regent Street Cinema website here.
📍 307 Regent Street, W1B 2HW – just a two-minute walk from Oxford Circus station.