Slice of cinema history to be brought back to life after garden find

PLAYHOUSE: 10 original art deco seat ends will be restored in project

A slice of Angus cinema history is to be brought back to life.

Seat ends from the original Angus Playhouse in Montrose will be refurbished as part of a £2.5 million cinema project.

The 10 art deco cast iron cinema seat ends and mid-sections from the original cinema were found in a garden and the Montrose Playhouse team wants to restore them as part of the community art centre and cinema project.

Chairman David Paton said: “A couple of weeks ago a local gentleman called Steven Maddock contacted us about some seat ends he had sitting in his garden from the old Angus Playhouse on John Street and wondered if we wanted them.

“What we found was well beyond what we had thought and we picked up 10 beautiful art deco cast iron cinema seat ends and mid sections – some still with elements of the maroon velvet seat covers on the arms.

“It was a fantastic piece of nostalgia and local history for us connecting back to the old playhouse.

“All Mr Maddock knew was that his father had them sitting in the garden for years and when they heard about our project, thought we could do something with them.

“We can only assume Mr Maddock’s father worked there or perhaps was part of the team who stripped out the building when it closed in 1977. Either way, we are glad he kept them.

“Our project has always been based on the community and now with the local history of the playhouse seat ends and also the former swimming pool memorabilia we have kept, we feel that the new playhouse will not just be a place to share new experiences but a place to revisit old ones.”

The aim of the project is to bring back a cinema to Montrose and create a cultural arts hub for the town and surrounding area.

The swimming pool was sold to the Angus Playhouse Project in 2017 for £1 and Mr Paton has given himself a goal of opening by December 2019.

The original playhouse opened in 1932 as a sister cinema to the playhouse in Elgin. Both were designed by AG Macdonald and shared several decorative similarities.

We feel that the new playhouse will not just be a place to share new experiences but a place to revisit old ones. CHAIRMAN DAVID PATON

Picture: Paul Smith. David Paton and Kristin Alexander of the Montrose Playhouse team are delighted to have the relics.