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PREVIEW: The Cinema Years @ Tyne Theatre & Opera House

Posted on July 24th 2017 by Whats on Northeast

This year the Tyne Theatre & Opera House are celebrating a very important milestone. It’s 150 years since the venue opened its doors to the public, and while it may now be known for hosting a huge range of comedy, theatre and musical events throughout the year, there was a time when it operated in a very different capacity.

Between Friday 11th and Sunday 13th August, the Tyne Theatre & Opera House are teaming up with Whitley Bay Film Festival to present The Cinema Years, a celebration of the fifty years that the venue operated as the Stoll Picture House. The venue on Newcastle’s Westgate Road once screened a huge variety of the best films of the day to the public, making it a social hotspot as well as the place to be for early movie buffs.

As such, the venue will once again be playing host to some of the greatest and most popular cinematic achievements from across the Stoll Picture House’s history. There’s a chance to see some of the earliest celluloid classics with ‘King Kong’ and ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, the latter of which will be accompanied by a striking live score. 1973’s ‘Theatre of Blood’ will help celebrate the later years of the Stoll’s era. Meanwhile, Newcastle itself also gets the celluloid treatment, with a screening of early British film noir ‘The Clouded Yellow,’ which was partially shot in the city. In 2002’s ‘The One & Only,’ the toon is given a glamorous portrayal by writer Peter Flannery, who’ll be a special guest at the screening.

As well as the range of screenings spanning the Stoll era, there’s also a chance to learn more about the history and mechanics of films. Helping opening the series is a talk on The History of Cinema by Dr. Andrew Shail, while historian Chris Phipps will be celebrating the history of Newcastle on celluloid in ‘Forget Carter.’

Acclaimed animator Sheila Graber will be hosting a series of animation workshops for if you’ve been inspired by the stop-motion of ‘King Kong’, as well as an exhibition of Newcastle cinema-related artwork and free documentary screenings. As if that wasn’t enough, there’ll be a musical accompaniment to ‘Tarzan of the Apes,’ the film that opened the Stoll on 2nd June 1919.

Whether you’re reliving the memories of the Stoll, a film buff or just interested in the history of Newcastle’s culture, then The Cinema Years is set to be a thrilling, insightful few days.

For more information on all of the events relating to The Cinema Years, visit the Tyne Theatre & Opera House website.

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