(ParkdaleLiberty, June 2006)
The house lights will go down on a Roncesvalles icon this month unless drastic
measures are taken to save the Revue Cinema.
The 244-seat theatre, which has operated at 400 Roncesvalles for almost a century, is slated to close on June 30 as part of the Festival Cinemas chain’s citywide shutdown. Four other historic repertory theatres across Toronto will also cease operations.
Kate McQuillan is one of three siblings who inherited the historic chain when their father, Peter McQuillan, passed away in 2004. The closing of the theatres was a business decision, she said.
“
It’s just a very tight industry to work in,” said McQuillan,
who cited the popularity of HDTV, DVDs and the internet as factors that had
negatively impacted the chain’s bottom line.
The neighbourhood anchor will be remembered for its long contribution
to the Roncesvalles strip, from the newsreels and usherettes of old
to the
classic, foreign and underground movies it showcased in recent years—an
alternative to the modern multiplex.
But local residents who love the theatre are refusing to take news
of the closure lying down.
“
I can’t just let this go, because it’s such an integral part
of the neighbourhood,” said area resident Susan Flanagan. “It’s
such a beautiful feature of such a booming neighbourhood as Roncesvalles.
How many neighbourhoods can boast such a unique thing as a great rep
theatre with great access to TTC and restaurants?”
Upon hearing the news of the closure, Flanagan decided to take
action. She has called upon Councillor Sylvia Watson and MP
Peggy Nash for
support in
preserving what many see as a cultural stronghold of the community.
Flanagan has also reached out to other cinema companies like
Rainbow Cinemas,
based in Edmonton, in an effort to solicit someone—anyone—to
take over stewardship of the historic cinema.
But the fear that the theatre’s doors will close for good—or
worse, become a dollar store—still looms large. McQuillan’s
group owns the building itself, and has not yet made a decision as to
its future.
“
Whether we’ll entertain somebody else trying to operate it as a theatre,
whether it will be leased to an unrelated business has not been decided,” said
McQuillan.
Staff at the Revue are similarly dismayed at the news of
its closing. They, like everyone else, found out of the
closings only when signs
went up on
the doors on May 16th.
Midori Myamoto, manager of the Revue, sees the loss of
the chain as reaching beyond the neighbourhood.
“
This is a huge blow to Toronto as a film town,” said Myamoto. She
and others at the Revue are attempting, like Flanagan, to raise community
awareness
in hopes that someone will step in and save the movie house.
”
The fact that this is the third oldest theatre in Ontario is pulling the
heartstrings of some,” said Myamoto of the huge outpouring of local
support. She has received up to twenty emails an hour from distraught cinemagoers
since the news was announced—a response McQuillan called “shocking”.
Screenings at the Revue are still well-attended, and
with numerous condo developments slated to open soon
only minutes — in some cases metres — from
the venue, it seems curious to many that the theatre would not be considered
sustainable.
“
The reasons cited have been tough market conditions, which we feel is somewhat
of an empty statement. We really feel that we can be competitive, we are
viable, we are profitable,” said the manager.
Flanagan and others can only hope that someone else—with money—agrees.
“
I’d really like to see the revue be part of the future instead of
part of the past”
For more information about what can be done to
save the Revue, visit savetherevue.com and
savetorontoreps.wordpress.com