Coliseum Cinema

Gurnos Road,
Ystalyfera, SA9

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A small variety hall and later cinema that was above the the printing works of "The South Wales Voice" newspaper. The hall and print works were built by Ebenezer Rees some time around 1897.

The Coliseum Cinema was opened on 24th December 1913 with “Psyche”. In 1944, it was listed as (Closed).

Contributed by Editha Pearce

Recent comments (view all 4 comments)

edithapearce
edithapearce on October 24, 2009 at 9:23 pm

I spent much of my childhood, during the late 1940s / early 1950s, at Ynysmeadwy a village near to Ystalyfera. I knew the South Wales Voice offices and printing works quite well but at that time never associated it with having been a former cinema. I last saw the building in 1970 and even then it looked like an old fashioned print works , giving no hint of its former use.
Local legend has it that Ebenezer Rees was the grandfather of Donald Peers the well known 1950s singer of “Babbling Brook” fame. Several people have claimed that the young Donald Peers worked at the print shop and in the cinema on Saturdays and during his school holidays.

Capelmawr
Capelmawr on November 30, 2009 at 6:15 am

An R.C.A. Photophone sound system provided the sound for the 550 patrons the cinema could seat at prices ranging from 6d to 1/3d. The propreitors were Ystalyfera Kinema Ltd.

BrianMorgan
BrianMorgan on November 28, 2017 at 10:23 am

I worked briefly as Copy Boy for South Wales Voice – taking typed copy to the printers by bus from the Swansea editorial office, waiting for proofs to take back for checking. I could see the building was a former theatre, I was able to explore the main upper floor, but didn’t go into the printing lower section – this was in 1955. Every now and again it pops up in my memory – I can’t remember what the building looked like externally – nor even exactly where it was. I’ve worked out it was in Gurnos Road – but is it still there? What was the actual street address for it?

undercurrents
undercurrents on October 12, 2022 at 8:30 am

Coliseum Cinema was opened on Christmas eve 1913 by William Coutts. The first film shown was Psyche a coloured film from Pathe

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