Mountbatten Theatre

Located in Southampton, the Mountbatten Theatre opened in 1970 as part of the College of Technology, later the College of Higher Education. Although used for lectures and examinations, it was available for extensive public use. There were 400 seats in the stalls, which could be removed for events such as dances, concerts and fashion shows, and 125 in the balcony.

The theatre was very well equipped, with 16mm and 35mm projection facilities and a Rank Strand Satellite Memory lighting system. Scenery could be flown over the 34ft deep stage. The proscenium was 31ft wide. Unfortunately, backstage facilities were not so ideal, being rather cramped, and with only two dressing rooms.

Meanwhile, Southampton Film Society had been founded back in October 1931, and had presented screenings in a number of halls and cinemas.

Then, in 1967, the British Film Institute set up a Regional Film Theatre in Southampton under the name Southampton Film Theatre. This was jointly sponsored by the BFI with the City of Southampton and Hampshire County Council, with the active support of the Film Society.

Initially, screenings were presented at the Classic Cinema (see separate Cinema Treasures entry) but, on 13th October 1970, the Film Theatre moved its part-time screenings to the Mountbatten Theatre.

Unfortunately, in the late-1970’s, central government funding for the BFI was reduced, which in turn led to it reducing its support for regional film theatres, such as Southampton, which could not present a full time programme. Nevertheless, screenings did continue for a while until, by the middle of 1984, with costs at the theatre rising, the situation became too difficult, and the autumn programme was cancelled. The Society resumed its peripatetic existence, eventually merging into other local film societies.

Although it is unclear who presented them, film shows did continue at the Mountbatten Theatre. When it closed, in April 1990, it was reported that 60 films had been screened in the previous year, not including those shown during the annual Southampton Film Festival. (In fact, the Film Festival screening of “Secret Weapon”, presumably the biographical drama starring Griffin Dunne and Karen Allen, in April 1990, was the final film at the Mountbatten.)

The closure was controversial. Governors at Southampton Institute for Higher Education saw a need for an enlarged library, and they had determined it would ‘only’ cost £500,000 to convert the theatre, as opposed to £2 million for a brand new library. In addition, it was claimed that the theatre was losing about £63,000 each year.

After some re-building, the Mountbatten Library opened in 1994. It is now part of Solent University.

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