{"id":301199,"date":"2025-07-29T12:37:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T12:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/301199\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T12:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T12:37:10","slug":"regent-street-cinema-in-london-is-the-uks-oldest-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/301199\/","title":{"rendered":"Regent Street Cinema In London Is The UK’s Oldest Cinema"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: William Barton, Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Way back in 1896, the Lumi\u00e8re brothers showed off their \u201cCin\u00e9matographe\u201d machine for the first time, to a paying audience no less \u2013 and sparked a revolution in entertainment. Regent Street was a bustling thoroughfare to the West End<\/strong><\/a>, where fans of \u201cmoving pictures\u201d were now able to enjoy congregating together in the name of film.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s Ghost illusion \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

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The Grade II listed building, one of London\u2019s many historical spots<\/strong><\/a>, which hails from the Victorian era, closed to the public in 1980. During the cinema\u2019s closure, the building became a lecture hall for Westminster University, as well as a function venue.<\/p>\n

Luck changed in 2012, and with funding and support from Westminster University, the Heritage Lottery Fund, plus the Quentin Hogg Trust<\/strong><\/a>, Garfield Weston Foundation<\/strong><\/a>, alongside many more sponsors, the place reopened in 2015 as a fully-functional cinema.<\/p>\n

In the decade since reopening, it\u2019s a rite of passage for film lovers<\/strong><\/a> visiting the city.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

We love Regent Street<\/strong><\/a> Cinemas\u2019 Matinee Monday<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n

Of the lore I mentioned, I heard they\u2019re 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 matin\u00e9e screening.<\/p>\n

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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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udccd 307 Regent Street, W1B 2HW \u2013 just a two-minute walk from Oxford Circus station.<\/p>\n

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