Bohemia Theatre

In Broadstairs, Kent, sources I have been able to consult agree that the the Bohemia Theatre was constructed around 1923. It was situated in a garden off the High Street where the Bohemia Concert Party had been performing during the summer months for some years.

The reason I am slightly equivocal in the opening sentence is that the 1914 Kinematograph Year Book lists a cinema called the Bohemia, but the only other information is that it was operated by James Avon. His name does not appear in relation to the Bohemia Theatre, so perhaps that was a completely separate venture, one of many that opened and closed fairly quickly in those early times for the new-fangled picture houses.

As it was, the Bohemia Theatre, which was originally intended to be presenting cine-variety, opened with live shows only, a policy that continued until the-then remaining cinemas in the town had closed down (the Royalty/Odeon in 1956, followed by the Picture House in 1962 - see separate Cinema Treasures entries).

Two 16mm projectors and a full-size CinemaScope screen were installed in the Bohemia Theatre, and it is presumed that the film shows were presented on a permanent basis. The Picture House had closed in February 1962, so presumably the shows at the Bohemia Theatre started soon afterwards. Unfortunately, a year or so later, in 1963, the Bohemia Theatre was destroyed by fire. So, in the end, the ‘film’ life of this building was exceedingly short.

The burned-out remains were cleared in late-1964 and the theatre’s site became a car park. However, for many years, the narrow High Street entrance, with the Bohemia nameboard and a small paybox, survived. These have since been demolished, and Terence Painter, estate agent, occupies new buildings on the site alongside Prospect Place.

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