Kings royally rewarded

WITH a gratefully received grant of $35,000 from the TSB Community Trust, the Stratford District Theatre Trust is feeling even more confident heading into another busy summer at the TET King's Theatre.
Last month, movies at the King's came to an abrupt halt when the theatre's Dolby Sound Processor malfunctioned during a screening of the box office hit, 'Mamma Mia' - the breakdown being just one more in a long list of problems plaguing the aging cinema equipment.
Now, with the help of funding from the TSB Community Trust, not only will movies soon be back on the menu, they will be brighter and with better sound quality.
"We're using the funding to upgrade our projection booth," said theatre manager, Barry Milner, "we are getting brand new lamphouses and rectifiers."
The lamphouse holds the bright light that shines through the film, while the rectifier distributes the electricity required, and both pieces of specialist equipment are expensive to both obtain and maintain.
"Our present lamphouses are about 30-years-old. The company that made them no longer manufactures spare parts for them so if they go, they're beyond repair nowadays."
It is hoped that the new equipment will be in place by February next year and once in, moviegoers will definitely notice an improvement in quality.
"Films will appear much brighter, their colours will be stronger and there will be an improvement in overall picture quality."
As well as replacing the old equipment, the grant money will be put towards an extension of the projection booth itself, and the installation of other kinds of equipment that will help in the future playing of movies.
People wanting to see movies over the summer do not have to wait until February to see them though, as Barry and his team have managed to source quality used sound equipment to replace the processor that broke down last month.
"Right now we have professionals in fine-tuning the processor we've bought and we expect to have movies up and running before Christmas. Our old lamphouses are still going well so it will be business as usual soon."
With live shows from the Ashford Drama Company, Stepping Out Modelling and Dance Studio and Stratford Primary School scheduled to move into the theatre in the next few weeks, as well as a bodybuilding championship competition, the facility will certainly be far from idle and Barry is quite happy to use the time to address some of the problems cropping up with the equipment.
"We've had a lot of support and help from other small cinemas and film fans around the country - they appreciate what it is we're trying to do."
"With better sound in the next few weeks, and better pictures in a few months, things are shaping up for a strong future with the movies."