- Cube Microplex
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Cube Microplex 
Front entrance to the Cube
Cube Microplex shown within BristolGeneral information Town or city Bristol Country England Coordinates 51°27′40″N 2°35′36″W / 51.461122°N 2.593355°W The Cube Microplex is a cinema and event venue in central Bristol, which operates as a non-profit volunteer-run cooperative. Since opening in 1998 it has hosted artistic and cultural events including films and music performances as well as providing a focal point for the local artistic community.[1] The building includes a 108-seat theatre/cinema as well as a bar serving local and ethical products.[2]
Contents
History
The Cube logo in neon
The wooden theatre at the heart of the Cube was built by volunteers for an Amateur Dramatics group in the 1950s.[1] The building served as an art centre in the 1970s and a Second Run Cinema in the 80s.[citation needed]
The Cube opened its doors in its present form in October 1998.[2] The only working piece of equipment at that time was a 35 mm film projector which is still in use. The team of four who started the Cube consisted of film maker/writer Jack Davies, screenwriter and film festival activist Julian Holman, and two stilt-walkers: Kevin Dennis and Graeme Hogg. Hogg (known as Hogge) and Dennis had been running an underground (as in mostly illegal and unlicenced) film screening event called Club Rombus for two years and this experience provided the foundation of what the Cube was to become. After acquiring a lease to the building, this small group managed to organise and recruit further volunteers.
In July 2001 the public entrance and the surrounding buildings were burnt to the ground. After extensive rebuilding work, the Cube re-opened in August 2002.[3]
Programme
The Cube's programme varies from night to night, including films, live music, burlesque, art exhibitions, performance art and guest speakers.[2][1][4] The film screenings include general and limited release mainstream films, art-house, cult films and work by local film makers. It offers special film screenings for mothers and babies.[2] Regular nights have included a movieoke evening, in which audience members act out their chosen film scenes on stage as they are played on the big screen.[4] Weekends often feature live music and performances. The building is also periodically hired to third parties to put on their own events. The Cube has played hosts to seasons and festivals, including the Venn Festival, Ladyfest Bristol, Bristol Radical History Group, Ausform Platform of Performance and Independent Heroine festivals.
Its anti-corporate ethos led to projects such as Kate Rich and Kayle Brandon's Cube Cola, based on an open source cola recipe,[5] and Feral Trade which supplies various products to its bar using only personal social networks, including fair trade coffee from a farming cooperative in El Salvador.[6] It has its own in-house improvising orchestra, the Orchestra Cube.
The Cube volunteers have a history of setting up temporary cinemas in exotic locations, including a tin mine in Cornwall.[7] In March 2010, a group travelled to the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake to stage an open-air cinema showing mainstream and specially-created films to children.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c Tims, Anna (22 January 2010). "10 of the best ... independent cinemas". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/gallery/2010/jan/22/10-best-independent-cinemas#/?picture=358359765&index=7. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d Bradshaw, Peter; Mark Butler (30 January 2008). "The smallest shows on earth". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/jan/30/1. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ Booth, Martin (28 October 2008). "Boxing Clever". Bristol Evening Post (Bristol United Press).
- ^ a b Berry, Mark (March 2007). "UK's Weirdest City is... Bristol". Bizarre magazine: p. 64.
- ^ Flint, James (28 July 2006). "The real thing. Or is it?". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/jul/28/foodanddrink.shopping. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ Morris, Steven (4 March 2005). "From slave trade to fair trade, Bristol's new image". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/mar/04/fairtrade.ethicalliving. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- ^ a b Morris, Steven (21 March 2010). "Bristol cinema sets up film shows for Haiti's earthquake children". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/21/bristol-cinema-haiti-earthquake-children. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
Further reading
- Saul Albert (2003) "Who Will Be Transformed? Community Art and Excellence"
- Rich, Kate; Heath Bunting, Graeme Hogg (31 March 2001). "The Cube Microplex FAQ". Mute Magazine. http://www.metamute.org/en/the_cube_microplex_faq. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- Hogg, Graeme; Chris Williams (2009). "Letter From...Desire in Action". Vertigo Magazine 4 (3). http://www.vertigomagazine.co.uk/showarticle.php?sel=cur&siz=1&id=1105. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
External links
Categories:- Theatres in Bristol
- Cinemas in Bristol
- Music venues in Bristol
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