About the Old Market Hall
The history of cultural cinema in Shrewsbury
The Music Hall is Shropshire's leading arts centre with a popular programme of theatre, dance, live music, comedy, family shows and performances from local companies. The Music Hall also housed a small cinema called The Film Theatre.
Established in 1987, underground and to the back of the building the space suffered from damp, uncomfortable seats and outdated technical facilities which hampered staff at every opportunity. The cinema was located next to the building's boiler room and patrons regularly complained of overheating, often when the Film Theatre itself had no heating on. This was exacerbated by the very poor ventilation for the Film Theatre. There were no permanent facilities for guests to the Film Theatre and audiences were forced to contend with uncomfortable seats with very poor sight lines and furnishings in need of repair. Facilities for disabled customers were poor with wheelchair spaces only available on the front row. The projection suite contravened just about every health and safety law known and when performances occurred in the main auditorium the ceiling of the cinema would creak in the most inopportune of cinematic moments.
Against the odds the film theatre built up a strong and fiercely loyal audience who relished the diverse programme of films, and it earned high regard from the British Film Institute and the Regional Arts Board as it continued to attract audiences to see art-house, foreign and independent films which the multiplex cinemas shunned.
The Film Theatre required drastic improvement and the options were few. If the Music Hall were to undergo a major refurbishment some improvements could have been made, but the major problems could not have been solved. Managers of the Music Hall were very reluctant to close the Film Theatre as there was clearly a very strong desire in the town to see 'cultural' cinema.
Shrewsbury was also beginning to explore digital media, a new artistic medium which was waiting to be discovered. Although a few local artists were already working with the medium, there was a real desire to make it more accessible to the people of the town and really engage them in the possibilities it presented.