Revamped cinema to showcase global events

The City Screen cinema will open to the public today after undergoing the biggest renovations since it opened in 2000 in the old Yorkshire Herald printworks overlooking the River Ouse in the centre of York.

The £300,000 refit has introduced new seating in the three screens, and transformed the river-side bar which is aiming to bring in new customers with a revamped menu featuring locally sourced produce.

Marketing manager Dave Taylor revealed the cinema will continue to provide a mix of blockbusters and art house movies for which is was famed before its month-long overhaul.

But he confirmed the soaring popularity of special event screenings will feature more heavily in the venue’s programme. Among the forthcoming screenings will be a performance of The Audience stage production featuring Helen Mirren as the Queen, and a preview of an exhibition in Oslo celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The cinema will also show performances of the National Theatre and New York’s Met opera company, as well as RSC productions for the first time.

Mr Taylor said: “Many people, myself included, feared for the future of cinema with the advent of video in the 1980s. But there has been a real renaissance in recent years, helped by screenings of special events many of which are selling out really quickly. We have a very loyal customer base who keep coming back, but we want to attract a new audience after the renovations to both the cinema and the riverside cafe-bar.”

The revamp has been planned for a year but funding was made available after Cineworld bought Picturehouse Cinemas, which owned City Screen, in December.

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