We’ll always have King’s Lynn’s Majestic, 90 years on

Lynn’s Majestic Cinema celebrates its 90th birthday next month, and how better than with a special screening of the classic, Casablanca.

Following the success of the 85th anniversary celebrations, the team at Lynn’s Majestic have decided to hold the black-tie event every five years.

General manager Tom Cundy said: “That night created such a great atmosphere and we wanted to recreate that as much as we could.

“There are so many people who have such wonderful memories of The Majestic and we want to create brand new ones.

“Every five years this will be a tradition where we can all come together and celebrate such a wonderful building.”

The vintage 1940’s-themed evening will take place on Friday, May 25, when those who join the celebrations will arrive in their finery, collecting their vintage theatre tickets and a welcome glass of prosecco.

Classic music from the era will play in the foyer, where old pictures of the Grade II listed cinema will be on display, as well as a range of memorabilia from over the years, and a photographer will be on hand to capture every moment.

After a selection of vintage adverts and trailers will be shown, these will be followed by a showing of the classic 1942 film Casablanca on the cinema’s 35mm film projector.

The American romantic drama was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid.

Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between “love and virtue” – he must choose between his love for a woman and helping her Czech Resistance leader husband escape the Vichy-controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.

A crowd of 300 packed out the cinema for the 85th anniversary, even enjoying a traditional intermission before the evening was rounded off with the broadcast of God Save The Queen.

With tickets on sale now and appearances from the likes of Glenn Miller, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, the black-tie celebration is set to be a star-studded evening.

It will be a perfect opportunity to enjoy a classic cinematic experience in a unique building.

The historic building opened on May 23, 1928, as Lynn’s first cinema and has been a favourite with movie-lovers ever since – showing all of the latest releases in a traditional theatre.

Staff at the cinema are looking forward to hearing about audiences’ experiences of the cinema from over the years, after last year’s event saw several former staff members in the audience.

There will also be a raffle on the night, with prizes including free admission tickets, wine and a hamper full of gifts.

More information and tickets are available from the website: https://majestic-cinema.co.uk or visit the box office at the cinema.

Just ahead of the 90th anniversary celebrations, staff resubmitted plans in December to build a 120-seat auditorium in a new extension and adapt the existing large main auditorium, on its ground floor, to accommodate a further 70-80 customers.

The plans were approved by councillors at West Norfolk Council and staff hope to start work on expanding Lynn’s Majestic by Christmas.