Who We Are?
Community cinema
Don’t be put off by the title of Community Cinema we use professional projection equipment, surround sound and large screen in a thearte seating 120
We started the cinema back in 2015 and are run by a dedicated team of volunteers who cover Advertising, Film Selection, Box Office, Refreshments, Technical and Front of House. We are a not for profit organisation…nobody takes a salary we all volunteer to bring cinema to Aldridge.
We tailor our choice of films to match our regular Wednesday afternoon audience. We do not show adverts and the films start promptly at 2:30. We open the doors at 2:00 giving time for a complimentary refreshments prior to taking your seat.
The VENUE
Aldridge Youth Theatre, Noddy Park Road.
Aldridge Youth Theatre is a community centre in Walsall that gives local youngsters the chance to express themselves through acting. The registered charity, founded in 1975, provides support to around 80 people between 10 and 18 years old, providing them with a creative environment in which to build life skills, confidence and team spirit.
The theatre and cinema are the cultural hub of the community, putting on regular plays, weekly rehearsals, films and live gigs, amongst a range of other community activities. For youngsters, it is a great place to meet like minded people and feel like part of the community. They pride themselves on their inclusive environment, which is like an open family to the people of Aldridge.
The youth theatre is particularly beneficial to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, as it gives them the opportunity to build on their self-belief and motivation in an environment where they are free use their imagination without fear of judgement.
ACCESSABILITY
The Theatre is just off the Aldridge Bypass and signposted from the main Island – take the A454 headed towards Sutton and its on your right hand side. The Theatre offers free parking for visitors to productions, performances and films with a number of disabled parking bays near to the front door. The entrance benefits from having a slight ramp and double doors making access for wheelchairs and mobility scooters easy.
FAQ
Some frequent questions and answers
We now try and book three months in advance. We aim to screen a balance between new and older films. The release date for new films isn’t always published more than a couple of months ahead. Also we have to have a licence in place per film title before we are allowed by law to advertise the screening. When we have all of this in place we update this website, our facebook page and place adverts in the theatre and at a selection of locations around the village – Croft News, Library, Portland Medical, Most of the Retirement Homes.
The ticket price is £5.00 and has been the same price since we started 4 years ago. In addition to admission to the film it covers free parking and refreshments before the screening.
The theatre seats 110 comfortably for a film screening although our average is under half that figure. We have only ever sold out once and had to turn people away. So it is not usually necessary to book in advance. However we are int he process of setting up an online booking system to reserve seats. More details to follow.
We have to work around the principal activities of the Youth Theatre which is the youth training and productions which take place evenings and weekends and during school holidays (which is why we close for August).
Yes, we are only too pleased to hear suggestions and recomendations.
We have taken time to re-open since lockdown and have kept up-to-date with all the various rules. The Theatre seats 120 but we usually have about 50 people at a screening so there is plenty of available seating space. The Theatre has hand sanitizer available and we maintain a flow of air. If you wish to wear a mask we have no issue. If you have any concerns or suggestions please speak to us and we will see what can be done.