The team behind a new community cinema and arts centre in Montrose have been “blown away” by its early success.
More than 16,000 tickets have been sold for Montrose Playhouse since it opened at the start of October.
The new £3.5 million facility was a three-year fundraising and construction project.
The campaign, spearheaded by local volunteers, saw the former swimming pool transformed into a community arts hub.
With an annual projected sales line of over £1 million, the team are celebrating a successful launch.
Sales figures put them 6% ahead of target for the first two months of operation.
This is especially great news as the cafe and bar have only just opened, which will further boost sales in coming weeks and months.
‘We have been blown away’ by ticket sales
Venue manager Matt Buchanan said: “We knew from the support we received from the public and local media how much of a desire there was for a facility like ours in the region.
“However, we were wary about whether this would translate into sales.
“We have been blown away by the number of people who want to come and spend an evening with us – particularly the 1,200 people who have taken out paid memberships to support us long term.”
Mr Buchanan hopes the rush will continue over Christmas.
He added: “With our cafe and bar now open, we are looking forward to a busy period.”
To date, the Playhouse has hosted more than 500 screenings, with over 16,000 tickets sold.
The new James Bond film, No Time to Die, accounted for 50% of sales.
As well as being a cinema and arts centre, the Playhouse is a community facility with a number of local groups already taking residence.
Mr Buchanan added: “It is an exciting time for the Playhouse and the Montrose community.”
Huge community support for Playhouse project
The project began life as a regeneration idea for a community cinema in 2013.
It evolved following huge community interest and involvement.
The design concept of David Paton, director at Crawford Architecture, went viral on social media.
That resulted in a committee of local volunteers coming together to take forward the initiative.
In 2017 after four-and-a-half-years of hard work, the committee purchased the disused building from Angus Council for £1.
More than 80 volunteers then helped strip out the old building. That helped to save about £250,000 and around six months of time.
The conversion works were then scheduled to start in 2020 but were delayed until 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It now includes an adaptable three-screen cinema as well as education and exhibition space.
There is also retail space and a café bar.
