Travel through time: Heritage activities at the Tyneside
Imagine a world before the internet, before TV and when newspapers barely had any pictures printed in them. Back in the 1930s a phenomenon swept the UK as News Theatres were set up to show newsreel films to the public.
People flocked to these cinemas to see world events as moving images for the very first time. The Tyneside Cinema was originally built as Newcastle’s News Theatre in 1937 and today is the finest surviving news reel cinema in Britain.
Every day of the week our new permanent exhibit describes the history of the building and how the news was filmed and screened in the days of the newsreels. You can hear the stories of the people who made the news and what the newsreels meant to local people, you can even experience the thrill of making a projector whirr into life – first hand!
Photo: Allan Mushen
Self Guided Tours
Everyday, 10.00am-10.00pm
The building and the exhibits are open everyday for you to explore from 10.00am to 10.00pm, and you can pick up a free guide to the building from the Box Office. In the mornings you can also take a look around the Classic screen and be transported back in time with a free screening of an archive Newsreel.
Photo: Keith Pattison
Free Guided Tours
Every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10.15am & 11.30am
Saturday and Sunday at 11.30am
Our Tour Guides will take you through the fascinating story of the Tyneside Cinema and give you an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes of this unique building. Guided tours are free but must be booked in advance by calling 0845 217 9909.
Archive Newsreel
1937, British Pathé.
Daily until Sunday 13 July, 11.30am - FREE SCREENINGS
See the shocking original footage of this legendary disaster as reported back in 1937. Please pick up your free tickets from the Box Office.
Archive Newsreel
1936, British Pathé.
Daily from Monday 14 July, 11.30am - FREE SCREENINGS
Huge sporting events were a newsreel staple, and the 1936 Olympic Games had audiences flocking to cinema screens. Only three years before the outbreak of World War II, Hitler’s Nazi Party attempted to use the games as a propaganda tool to project an image of a successful Germany. Then a young African-American athlete named Jesse Owens proceeded to steal the show, taking four gold medals, a feat not equalled until 1984.
