THROWLEY YARD CINEMA TO OPEN ITS DOORS ON FRIDAY 21ST JUNE
THROWLEY YARD CINEMA TO OPEN ITS DOORS ON FRIDAY 21ST JUNE
Throwley Yard Cinema, a brand-new 4-screen cinema, live event space, bar, café, DJ academy and community hub will officially open its doors to the public on Friday 21st June. Formally the site of Chicago’s nightclub, the building has been fully re-purposed in a joint project with Sutton Council, after standing empty since 2013.
To celebrate the opening, Throwley Yard Cinema will launch with a ticket offer during its first month of £6 film tickets, all day, every day, for everyone. Films programmed for the opening are Pixar’s Inside Out 2, motorcycle crime thriller The Bikeriders starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy, action comedy Bad Boys: Ride or Die, archaeological indie drama La Chamira starring Josh O’Connor and Freud’s Last Session starring Anthony Hopkins as Freud and Matthew Goode as C.S. Lewis, based on the book of the same name by Mark St. Germain.
Founder and CEO of Really Local Group, Preston Benson, comments “Throwley Yard Cinema has been in the works for a number of years, so we are excited to be able to open our doors next week.
Built on the site of the former Chicago’s nightclub, the venue has undergone a huge amount of renovation to reinvigorate the space as a cultural hub in the heart of the high street, bringing a wide range of film and entertainment to the local community. We’re very proud of the space we’ve created and we look forward to Sutton locals enjoying the new venue and rich programme of films and events that it will offer.”
The venue is a partnership between Sutton Council and independent operator, Really Local Group, the team behind Catford Mews, Reading Biscuit Factory, Ealing Project, Sidcup Storyteller and Peckham Levels. Similarly to Really Local Group’s other venues, Throwley Yard Cinema will be more than your usual high street cinema. The space will available for a wide range of live events, grabbing a coffee in the spacious café or sitting on the sun terrace with a drink, catching up with friends or for local groups to use as they need, as well as a DJ Academy hosting lessons and workshops.
The Really Local Group was selected as the delivery partner and operator by Sutton Council after an open bidding process in 2021-22. The Council owns the building and the project is funded by the Council using money won from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund, and Council investment. The Council has promoted this scheme after residents and visitors said that they wanted more culture and leisure activities in Sutton. It also supports the Council’s plans to diversify the offer to residents, businesses and visitors in the borough’s main town centre, as well as boost the evening economy.
In December 2020, the London Borough of Sutton won £11.35m of government grant (Future High Streets Fund) to regenerate Sutton High Street. The Future High Streets Fund is part of the Government’s Levelling Up programme aimed at making the economy stronger, more equal and more resilient.
Throwley Yard Cinema is one of four projects in Sutton Town Centre supported by the Future High Streets Fund. The programme, which involves bringing vacant buildings back to life with new uses, is a key part of the Council’s plans for Strong and Fair Economic Growth in Sutton by improving the physical environment for residents, creating business opportunities and new jobs and skills for local residents.
Carolyn Dwyer, Director of Development, Growth and Regeneration at the London Borough of Sutton comments: “We’re proud to support our long-standing and new local businesses by bringing vacant buildings back into use to attract even more people into our Town Centre, adding more attractions to the incredible offer we have already in our high street with a wide range of shops, cafe’s, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues.
“Throwley Yard is the latest in an exciting line-up of thriving cultural venues opening in Sutton town centre following the successful launches of The Sound Lounge and Oru Sutton. We have listened to our residents and businesses who have asked for more things to do locally, especially in the evenings and we know they will love the cinema and DJ school at Throwley Yard.
“Our ambitious plans make Sutton town centre a destination that will encourage more people from across the borough and outside to visit during the day and in the evenings. We are bringing empty buildings back into use and creating new jobs for local residents.
“We’re excited to see our plans to create a sustainable and vibrant Sutton town centre really come to life this year. We will be celebrating by joining the London Festival of Architecture in June, with events run by businesses in the Town Centre for everyone to enjoy.”
The opening of Throwley Yard Cinema also hails the launch of a permanent home for Headliners DJ Academy, nestled in its own purpose-built studio space. Founded by KISS FMs Dixon Brothers and powered by Dixon Brothers Media, their talent-led creative studio will cultivate a wide range of content creation, from podcasting to social media development, DJ-ing, graphic design, music production and more, creating new opportunities for local young people to develop their skills and contribute to Sutton’s booming local music scene.
Founder Adrian Dixon comments: “I can attribute a lot of my early career inspiration to my childhood growing up in Sutton and its surrounding area. My brother and I would regularly attend Sutton Youth Centre, play basketball in Collingwood Rec and meet up on Sutton High Street with like-minded creatives to build a collective called G.N.E. The essence of community and creativity in Sutton has been ingrained in me since my youth and I’m excited to be working with the Really Local Group and Sutton Council to provide a hub for the next generation of Sutton-based creatives.”
Throwley Yard Cinema has already confirmed its involvement in the London Festival of Architecture this June, with two events set to be hosted in the brand-new high-street venue. ‘Award winning film at Sutton’s independent cinema – experience Throwley Yard” will take place on Monday 17th June and will feature a tour of the venue as well as a screening of the short film “We Dance For Life”, an exploration and powerful creative interpretation of the pioneering research into cancer treatment taking place at the London Cancer Hub in Sutton. “How do we reimagine our High Street Spaces?” will feature a talk from Really Local Group Founder Preston Benson, as well as an open discussion on how we reimagine and revitalise our high street spaces, taking place on Thursday 20th June.
The festival, running from 1 June to 30 June, celebrates architectural excellence, community regeneration and innovative urban development. Sutton has been chosen for the first time as one of the host boroughs.
Prior to opening, Throwley Yard Cinema has launched a special early-bird membership offer for only £35 (for an adult membership). The annual membership includes 3 free film tickets, 15% off film tickets, 15% off cinema food and drink, a free popcorn on your first visit, invites to free member events, 1-month free trial of film streaming service MUBI, plus other great perks throughout the year. The early-bird price for a membership is £35 for an adult and £28 for a concession membership, set to increase at midnight on Friday 21st June.
Memberships are available to purchase at throwleyyardcinema.co.uk. Locals can also head to the website to sign-up to Throwley Yard Cinema’s newsletter, to stay notified on the latest film release updates, special events and offers. They can also follow Throwley Yard Cinema on Instagram (@throwleyyard), Facebook (Throwley Yard Cinema) and Twitter/X (@ThrowleyYard), where all announcements will be posted.
