The Thousands

I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but we no longer have any mainstream cinemas in the centre of Adelaide. One turned into a church; another, a block of apartments; and, above the Regent Arcade on Rundle Mall, the old Regent Cinemas lie dormant and unused. This sucks, for with their grandiose chandeliers and wide open spaces, those cinemas were by far the most extravagant we had. One time, a friend of mine found a quiet corner in which he frantically attempted to fix the fly of his trousers; it turned out that corner was a staff entrance, and through just one open door his dignity was lost forever.

During the Fringe, two of the old Regent cinemas are going to be reopened as real theatres. This is all part of a ‘pop-up bar’ project in the laneway next to the Regent Arcade: Arcade Lane. Yes, that dingy, destitute little alley off Rundle Mall will turn into a hub of festive excitement, from Feb 18 til the middle of March. People are beginning to pay attention to Adelaide’s laneways and unique underutilised spaces, so who knows? This may be the start of a revolution.