Scotland has some of the most architecturally diverse cinema buildings of anywhere in the world. This double-act led talk will cover the full range of Glasgow’s cinema history, from converted roller-skating rinks, via the earliest purpose built halls, the peculiarly Scottish ‘back-court’ theatres, to the finest thirties art deco super-cinemas, stopping off to highlight some of the most interesting depictions of Glasgow on screen, both as itself and pretending to be other cities along the way.
The talk will cover cinemas that were, cinemas that are, and cinemas that might have been. Although many buildings have been demolished or converted, there are still a lot of interesting gems to discover if you know where to look.
Gary Painter and Gordon Barr have been recording and researching Scotland’s palaces of entertainment for over fifteen years – www.scottishcinemas.org