These images explore the halted renovation of Uxbridge’s old Regal cinema, an Egyptian Revival gem resisting demolition after life as a cinema, discotheque, and nightclub.
Unauthorised work had begun to convert the Grade-II* listed building into flats. In 2023, the council issued a temporary stop notice – the Regal is one of the last surviving works of famed architect E. Norman Bailey. The order has now expired, leaving the fate of this forgotten star uncertain.
The Regal, getting ready for its close-up – an assertion of glamour and aspiration, despite more mundane neighbours.The unchanged parapet soars defiantly into the sky.A look behind the tarp reveals original art-deco doors.In the distance stands the peaking gable of another cinema in ruins. The Camp Cinema was built for RAF personnel, then repurposed as a theatre and gym after the end of WW2.
Here’s hoping the Regal meets a better end than Norma Desmond.
Richard Vitola-Jones talks to KINEMAG about how streaming platforms and shifts in the filmmaking industry are pushing audiences towards the indie cinema.
The 2020s have dealt a fair share of obstacles for London’s independent cinemas. Between the legacy of the pandemic, the rise of streaming platforms, and the soaring cost-of-living, it’s been a tricky period for businesses that rely on bums on seats.
In January, Prince Charles Cinema was threatened with imminent closure, prompting outrage in the film community. Soon after, a petition to #SAVETHEPCC swept through social media, garnering more than 100,000 signatures in 24 hours. It served as a stark reminder of how vulnerable our cultural institutions are in 2025.
If you want to experience true intimacy with film however, institutions like the BFI, Genesis, Rio, the PCC – and a newcomer – are your best bet. To better understand what’s driving this change, KINEMAG spoke to Richard Vitola-Jones, Director-of-Operations at The Garden Cinema, which opened in 2022 and has since cultivated a loyal base of film lovers.
“Viewing tendencies have changed,” he states definitively.
“I believe that the smaller theatrical exclusivity windows, along with fewer large-scale releases and more low-budget independent films have favoured cinemas with smaller screens.”
Factors like economic uncertainty and the actors’/writers’ strikes have meant Hollywood has had to massively revise its business model, resulting in less large-scale releases. Consequently, audiences are looking more and more to social media to cultivate their taste in film.
Vitola-Jones suggests this could explain the growing popularity of repertory cinema:
“Whether the film is new or old now makes little difference to its availability… It may also be that platforms such as Letterboxd have facilitated a greater interest in repertory cinema.”
Letterboxd, an app where people can catalogue and discuss films, saw its users grow from under 2 million in 2020 to 15 million in 2024. Half of its users are aged 16-24, and the platform is even used by legends like Martin Scorsese and Ayo Edebiri. The app is providing a generation with the vocabulary to refine and articulate their love of cinema, and institutions that regularly screen notable older movies (like the PCC) can directly benefit from this.
I asked if The Garden Cinema is popular with younger patrons, to which Vitola-Jones gave a frank reply:
“Younger demographics tend to spend more at the bar of course, which is helpful when ticket sales alone are not enough to cover our costs…”
“How we target different demographics is quite complex. I’d say we consider the demographics and likely audiences of screenings and events and try to offer variety in our programme that would be of interest across demographics.”
On a recent visit myself (to see The Wicker Man), I was impressed by the diversity of films in The Garden’s selection. Recently, the cinema hosted a retrospective of the ultra-chic auteur, Jacques Demy, and is currently holding a season named Noir International, which examines film noir’s influence across cultures.
What this demonstrates is the unique opportunity of the independent cinema to offer a highly-curated, communal filmic experience. This is something that simply cannot be rivalled by streaming or chains. When deciding what to show in a season, Vitola-Jones says:
“The most important factor: is this a season that I would like to see?”
“We try to keep variety across the programme. The individual seasons are driven by the passion and interests of our team as well as in response to audience feedback.”
“We have quite a young team, so we may be inadvertently targeting younger audiences through our own preferences.”
It’s not just screenings that are creating a communal experience. The Garden frequently hosts live entertainment adjacent to a particular screening. Before The Wicker Man, I was lucky enough to experience live Morris dancing and folk music. Vitola-Jones told me about how events were kept in mind when designing the building:
“We built two spacious bar areas with post-screening discussion in mind, and wherever we can we will bring these discussions into the auditoria in the shape of Q&As and panel discussions.”
“We wanted to establish The Garden Cinema as a place for cinephiles to meet and share great film, and our events reflect that.”
London’s independent movie-houses are stepping into their moment, and the new cinematic experience is one that champions culture, community, and of course, celluloid.
That’s something no streaming service can do.
“The reason to go to the cinema, in our opinion, is to share film with others.”
The social media exec and designer tells KINEMAG about how MASSIVE is collaborating with independent cinemas to bring meaningful experiences to more than just the ‘cinephile’ crowd.
