Awaiting their audience, the Stars of the Strand pop up cinema marketing officer Emma Hart with chief executive of the Strand Arts Centre Mimi Turtle
Although pantomime is the thing at Christmas, it’s far from the only attraction, I saw a great show last night at the Theatre at the Mill. Belfast Actually is a comedy romp through romance and song and boy meets girl coming up to Christmas. Away from theatre, if you are searching for a unique Christmas outing look no further than the Strand Arts Centre. Although the building is clothed in scaffold due to refurbishment, they have moved headquarters from Holywood Road to Connswater Shopping centre in East Belfast where it’s all systems go!
This arts organisation was established in 2013 as a charity to safeguard Northern Ireland’s oldest cinema and they have come up with lots of ideas to secure the survival of this iconic picture house which opened in 1935 and famous for its art deco design. It was facing closure due to financial pressures and the current regime are to be congratulated on restoring it’s value to the public.
This year chief executive Mimi Turtle and her imaginative staff have searched around for additional venues and they have come up with something special, At the Ulster Transport Museum at Cultra they have erected a 20 foot screen to show two films. December 20th and 21st (Friday and Saturday) in the afternoon The Polar Express is showing with tickets £15 or £55 for a family. Doors open at 3.30 p.m. so you can explore the railway gallery and enjoy hot chocolate before the film begins at 4.15.
Later that evening It’s A Wonderful Life. Again you can visit the Railway gallery from 7 p.m. before the film at 8 p.m. Tickets are £15 and that includes a glass of mulled wine. A great atmosphere amongst the huge train engines which reflect the story line in both films. It’s a very magical place at any time but in December it’s especially exciting with the Christmas lights and the festive spirit. So an inspired backdrop for two most popular films to be shown, advice is book now and avoid disappointment
Yours For The Night
But most exiting of all is hiring the Strand popup cinema for a private party, choosing your favourite film from the list and have your very own exclusive guest list. Great present for all your family and friends to enjoy in one go as there is seating for 45. The cost of this block booking is £150 and you’ll find details on the Strand website.
Also coming up to Christmas you’ll find workshops with children in mind, a lego animated workshop, fashioning wreaths and making cards. Without doubt it’s all happening at the Connswater Strand.
Obviously popular is the Silver Screening where a classic movie is shown every Thursday at 2 p.m. designed for senior film goers, intended not only as an afternoon of entertainment but also a place to meet and chat over free tea, coffee and biscuits. Book tickets, £4 each, on line or by phoning (028) 9065 5830 and find out about complimentary transport for community groups or nursing homes subject to availability and notice given in advance.
Save A Seat
Even though the Holywood Road venue isn’t yet in operation you can still support the cinema with a donation or better still, buy a seat, how unique is that. It comes with your own plaque and your chosen inscription which is guaranteed for the lifetime of the seat. This costs £180 payable in one lump sum or in instalments of £10, you can claim your purchase when the iconic cinema reopens in May 2026. Emma Hart on (028) 90655830 will help you organise this and take your wording for the plaque. Some people buy in memory of someone special, a birthday present or an organisation just wanting to support the cinema whilst advertising themselves.
One of the hardest working, most effective arts workers must surely be in charge of The Strand. It was established eleven years ago as a not for profit charity to safeguard Northern Ireland’s oldest cinema and with football at a record high, they are achieving their objective.
More at strandartscentre.com
Lionel Blair , Anne Hailes and dancer DeDe McGarrity over my left shoulder.
So, be aware, be very aware, they are all round us, they’ve taken over theatres, town halls, indoors and outdoors and there’s one near you, in fact you may well have taken advantage already. I’m talking pantomimes. Technically this is the season to be merry, not easy but the colour, the music and laughter brings joy to both children and adults and I suspect the cast.
I had the great pleasure of being part of a pantomime once so I had my one and only view from behind the footlights or is it in front of the footlights!
A Once Upon A Time Story
I was sitting in a restaurant in University Street. My mobile rings. Ian Wilson, then publicity manager at the Opera House today chief executive, asks if I am sitting down. Yes. “Well,” he says, “We want you to be in the summer show.” OK is my reply. “Don’t you want to think about it?” No, my theory in life is it’s better to say yes than no. ‘No’ closes too many doors. So the adventure began, two weeks rehearsal in Tower Theatre Islington, two weeks in the Grand Opera House and three weeks in the Gaiety Theatre Dublin. I was the Countess de Colombe and my wayward son Danton was none other than the late Lionel Blair.
We met under a weeping willow on 12th July 1998 when amongst a dozen actors and dancers a white tornado blew into the garden. “Sorry darlings couldn’t find a parking place so I’ve abandoned the Roller on double yellow lines and a note to say I’ll move it when I can.” He signed it ‘STAR’ but he still got a ticket!
We were immediate friends and I’ll miss his phone call on Christmas morning, “Darling it’s your son, are you all right, are you happy?”
Acting Is No Joke
The colour, the costumes, whirling around wishing each other ‘have a good one’ is heady stuff but it requires concentration, courage and a certain ego. Opening night was a triumph, friends and family ensured I’d plenty of flowers delivered to my dressing room, Pauline my dresser was there to sooth me and make sure my crinoline was well hooked and my headdress straight. Afterwards it was over to the Crown Bar to accept the compliments and air kissing the crowd! But then reality hits – one show, often two shows, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow for five weeks. I ‘dried’ on one occasion but Sophie Lawrence, our Beauty, saw my eyes go blank and saved the day by immediately asking a question that put me back on track.
The nerves jangle no matter who you are, rehearsals are over and for better or worse you’re on the side of the stage, you hear the murmur of the audience and then the shout, The Iron Is Up. The cast of Beauty and the Beast included Paddy Jenkins, this year playing in the Grand Opera House Peter Pan, over 20 pantomime appearances in the Opera House to his credit. When I talked to him he recalled: “When you and I worked together there was a lot of mixing, off to the pub and parties, always fun.” Then came covid, thankfully restrictions have eased since. Our sausage sketch with Bella Emberg and Paul Hendy was very double entendre and a letter came from a Dublin Bishop who came to see the show before bringing his young parishioners. His letter was scathing about the morals of pantomime, the wicket behaviour and sexual innuendo of Dame Dora and Loopy Louis and he was cancelling his booking and reporting us all to the Pope. Major crisis, this was awful, what to do? Eventually, at an emergency cast meeting, I had to admit I wrote the letter! Relief and a lot of laughs.
For me it was history in action as I stepped into the limelight. It goes back to the day in 1837 when limelight was first used at Covent Garden Theatre. Here I go to the encyelopedic explanation.
‘If calcium carbonate, or limestone, is heated it produces calcium oxide, also called quicklime. Limelight is produced by heating quicklime to a high temperature. When it’s heated with a flame produced by burning a combination of hydrogen and oxygen gases through a blow pipe, quicklime glows a bright white, or, in other words, becomes incandescent – this is known as limelight.’
It was used in theatres and music halls in the 1860s and 1870s for spotlighting and creating sunlight and moonlight effects. Naturally this was a dangerous procedure, Ihe audience having to cope with noxious fumes and numerous fires were the result. In 1876, sadly 278 people died in a fire at the American Brooklyn Theatre,
Safety First
This, and many other fires, lead to safety regulations coming into place including stronger walls to prevent collapse, improved water supplies for fire fighting; the number of exits were increased and an iron fire curtain dividing the stage from the auditorium, I remember the thrill of hearing the shout: ‘The Iron’s coming in’ heralding the start of the show. The ‘curtain’, was originally made of nine tonnes of iron lined with asbestos but more often these days, as in the GOH, it’s steel and electrically operated but still referred to as The Iron.
Vegetarian Bliss
I’d some very good vegetarian meals recently, all at a reasonable price, delightful service and tasty. Lunchtime at Neill’s Hill at Ballyhackamore delicious cauliflower, sweet potato, chickpea and lentil curry, and at The MAC theatre complex at Victoria Square, crispy fried Brie, beetroot and pomegranate salad, toasted seeds and caramelised onion dressing and an early evening meal at Belfast Castle where I had Thai Veg Peanut Curry, Basmati Rice & Grilled Flat. All recommended.