The Electric, Britain's oldest working cinema, turns 100

The Electric cinema on Station Street, the oldest working cinema in Britain, is celebrating its 100th birthday this month.

A centenary celebration is being held on 2 December, and local MPs have tabled a motion in the House of Commons marking the anniversary.

A century of films

The cinema opened as the Electric Theatre on the bank holiday of 27 December 1909, showing its first silent film. It was Birmingham's first cinema, designed by the leading theatre architect of the time, Bertie Crewe, whose plans are held in the city's archives.

Over the years, it has had several names and changed with the times, becoming a news theatre during the Second World War, when audiences came to watch newsreels about the progress of the fighting.

Saved from dereliction

The Electric's future looked bleak when it closed in December 2003 and was put up for sale. It was bought by the local film director and producer Tom Lawes, who carried out a £250,000 refurbishment, restoring the building to its 1930s art deco look using photographs from the period. It reopened in December 2004.

Today it has two screens, showing a mix of new releases, independent films and classics, and is known for its sofa seating and waiter service, which bring drinks and snacks to customers during films.

Recognition in Parliament

The Birmingham MPs Tom Watson, Khalid Mahmood and Richard Burden have tabled a Commons motion celebrating the continued success of "Britain's oldest working cinema" and recognising "the value of independent cinemas to the cultural and social life of local communities".

Surviving the multiplex

The Electric has survived at a time when many independent cinemas have closed, unable to compete with large multiplexes. Its supporters say its character, history and programme give it something that modern cinemas cannot match.

It sits opposite the Old Rep theatre, near New Street station, in a part of the city centre that has been changing fast, with new bars, restaurants and apartments.

Birmingham's cinema history

Birmingham once had dozens of cinemas, from grand picture palaces in the city centre to small local cinemas in the suburbs. Most have long since closed, been demolished or converted to other uses, making The Electric's survival all the more remarkable.

For film lovers in Birmingham, the centenary is a chance to celebrate a small cinema with a big history, and to hope that it will still be showing films when it reaches 200.

When it opened in 1909, cinema was still a novelty, and audiences watched short silent films with musical accompaniment. The Electric has seen the arrival of sound, colour, widescreen and now digital projection, and has outlasted almost every other cinema of its generation in the country.