Tuesday night, and off to the newly refurbished Rex in trendy Berkhamsted.
Closed in 1988 it was split into a bingo hall and a parade of shops before laying derelict for the best part of 20 years. The recent redevelopment was funded in part by splitting the original building into three parts: some expensive flats; a foyer which has been leased to a chain restaurant with some tables outside in the summer:
and the cinema itself, which now has a much smaller entrance at the side of the building;
Sadly 'The Rex' neon sign seems to be broken already:
Once you get past the incomplete entrance you're instantly transported back into thirties splendour:
The black walls are adorned with art deco shell lights:
There's a magnificent gold plastered ceiling:
but top billing has to go to the stage:
with its fantastic proscenium arch:
The circle has traditional theatre seating. Downstairs is open plan with cocktail tables:
and a reasonably priced bar:
so you can enjoy a drink at your table and then swivel round to watch the film once it starts:
As for the film programme, so far it looks like a pretty good mix. Wish they'd get their act together with the web site. (Update: they have!) We saw The Motorcycle Dairies which was sold out:.
This was the second time i've seen this naturalistic gem which is without doubt now one of my favourite films of all time - see my Imdb voting history.
Fingers crossed it manages to pay it's way - it's great fun having such a fantastic place less than 10 minutes walk down the road!