Broadway Cinema & Theatre in Letchworth celebrates a year of change and success.
In February 2017, following a major refurbishment project, Letchworth Garden City’s beloved Broadway Cinema re-opened as Broadway Cinema & Theatre, a new 2-in-1 arts venue for North Hertfordshire.
In the months since, the professional stage has seen a huge range of acts, from national treasures like Gyles Brandreth, Ruby Wax and Dawn French to powerful and inspiring dramas, live music and charming family shows.
80 years of film
Broadway Cinema opened on 26th August 1936 to a packed screening of Follow the Fleet starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. The beautiful Art Deco building quickly became a popular venue for occasional rallies, speeches and live music from the likes of Acker Bilk and Marti Wilde.
More recently Broadway Cinema featured on the big screen itself! Director Edgar Wright chose Letchworth for the filming location for The World’s End (starring Simon Pegg) and the Cinema featured as one of the pubs on an ill-fated pub crawl, along with several other town centre locations.
Bringing top quality theatre to the region
Broadway is run and funded by the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation, the custodian of the world’s first Garden City. In 2016, the Foundation decided to invest in the town’s cultural offer, developing Broadway into a 2-in-1 Cinema & Theatre and also converting the Letchworth Arts Centre into Broadway Gallery.
Major refurbishment works in 2016 saw the installation of a stage, backstage rooms and lighting rig, as well as sound proofing panels, air conditioning and other logistical capabilities. A new cinema screen was installed that can be raised in just five minutes to reveal the stage behind.
Alongside its film repertoire, the venue has now welcomed 60 professional theatre companies since opening, performing a diverse range of genres, for a diverse range of audiences!
Coming up soon
The Theatre’s first birthday season has been a great success, with most shows selling out and audiences coming from all over Hertfordshire. In the next few weeks the legendary Pam Ayres and Rich Hall will be coming to Broadway, as well as the Candoco Dance Company, the company of disabled and non-disabled performers who challenge notions of art and ability, and local celebrity James Mayhew.
Letchworth is also looking forward to a dynamic show “Twisting the Night Away” with Si Cranstoun and his band. Presented by Melbourn-based music promoter Terry Dash Music, the evening promises to take the theatre back to the days of Doo Wop, Rock’n’Roll and the early sounds of Soul!
Just 20 minutes from Royston by road and around the same by train, Broadway Cinema & Theatre is well worth a visit!
