About
A cinema for the town, run by the town.
The Indy lives in an old picture house on the high street — a grand room that had shown films for the best part of a century before it went dark. From 2014 to 2023 it was the only cinema for twenty miles in any direction, then closed at the start of 2024.
After a two-year community campaign, the building came into community ownership in the spring of 2026. It now runs as a not-for-profit cinema and arts venue — a 250-seat auditorium and two smaller cinema screens, a small bar, a few paid staff and a long roster of volunteers.
The programme is mixed on purpose. New releases on Friday and Saturday, repertory on Sunday, kids’ films on weekend mornings, documentaries and one-offs through the week. Tickets stay affordable; surplus goes back into the building.
Three spaces
The Auditorium — 250 seats plus a pair of sofas at the back, the grand original room. Main releases and music nights. Cinema 1 — 40 seats with a couple of sofas, the more intimate room. Cinema 2 — 20 seats, where we show repertory, Sunday matinees and silver screenings. Hearing loops and wheelchair-accessible spaces throughout.
Free at the door
Silver screenings, sensory-friendly showings, carers’ cinema and the occasional hustings — mostly free, all open to the town. See the community programme for what’s coming up.
Become a Friend
Indy Friends is how we keep the doors open — £20 a month, unlimited cinema, every penny back into the building. Become a Friend →
The Indy · The Old Picture House, Eastgate · Community-owned, not-for-profit.