Editing Leatherhead (section)

===Theatres and cinemas===
The first presentation of a [[cinematograph]] film in the town took place at the Leatherhead Institute in October 1898. The following year, a second screening took place at the Victoria Hall in the High Street, which had been built in 1890.<ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|1988|p=194}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Vardey|2001|p=89}}</ref> By 1914, the Victoria Hall was renamed to become the Grand Theatre and was operating as a cinema with a capacity of 550. Further name changes took place before 1946, around which time the venue became known as the Ace Cinema.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/30782 |title= Ace Cinema, Leatherhead |last= Roe |first= Ken |year= 2021 |publisher= Cinema Treasures |access-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211116131555/http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/30782 |url-status= live }}</ref>

In 1949, the Ace Cinema was converted to a 300-seat theatre and a year later, the Leatherhead Theatre was established at the venue.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131>{{harvnb|Turnbull|2008|pp=129–131}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Leatherhead Theatre was founded by Hazel Vincent Wallace and Michael Marriott as a permanent home for the Under Thirty Theatre Club, which had been established in London in 1948 by the actor, [[Oscar Quitak]].<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/history-centre/researchers/guides/archives-of-20th-century-repertory-theatre |title= Archives of 20th century repertory theatre |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 24 March 2015 |publisher= Surrey Heritage |access-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211116131556/https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/history-centre/researchers/guides/archives-of-20th-century-repertory-theatre |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://leatherheadhistoryarchive.org/wallace-hazel-vincent/ |title= Wallace, Hazel Vincent |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= 23 April 2019 |publisher= Leatherhead & District Local History Archive |access-date= 16 November 2021 }}</ref>|group=n}} The theatre operated until 1969, but as its popularity increased, its size became restrictive and there was a need for a new and better-equipped performing arts venue in the town.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/>

The [[Thorndike Theatre]], in Church Street, was designed by [[Roderick Ham]] in the [[modern architecture|modernist style]]<ref name=C20_Thorndike>{{cite web |url= https://c20society.org.uk/building-of-the-month/thorndike-theatre-leatherhead |title= Thorndike Theatre, Leatherhead: Building of the Month |last= Calder |first= Barnabas |date= June 2004 |publisher= 20th Century Society |access-date= 27 August 2021 |archive-date= 27 August 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210827153416/https://c20society.org.uk/building-of-the-month/thorndike-theatre-leatherhead |url-status= live }}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Thorndike Theatre was rebuilt from the former Crescent Cinema, which was originally constructed in 1939 and which was run by a local family until the 1960s.<ref name=Vardey_2001_pp123-124>{{harvnb|Vardey|2001|pp=123–124}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-30.pdf |title= The Crescent Cinema, Church Street, Leatherhead |last= Powell |first= Goff |publisher= Leatherhead & District Local History Society |access-date= 3 November 2021 |archive-date= 3 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211103125437/https://www.leatherheadlocalhistory.org.uk/miscellany/potted-history-30.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref> Although the exterior walls of the Crescent were retained, the interior, including the 526-seat auditorium and lobby, was built anew for the Thorndike Theatre.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/>|group=n}} and was opened in 1969 by [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]].<ref name=Vardey_2001_pp123-124/> Named for the actor [[Sybil Thorndike]], its construction was primarily paid for by private donations, with some additional funding from the Leatherhead UDC and the [[Arts Council England|Arts Council]].<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/> Although it was initially popular, the theatre regularly ran operating deficits and, following several years of cuts in public subsidy, it closed in 1997 with a total debt of almost £1.2 million.<ref name=Turnbull_2008_pp129-131/><ref name=Lhead_Theatre>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-theatre.org/history.php |title= History |publisher= Leatherhead Theatre |access-date= 16 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911144255/http://www.the-theatre.org/history.php |archive-date=11 September 2009 }}</ref> It reopened in 2001 as a part-time theatre,<ref name=Lhead_Theatre/> cinema, community space and meeting place for the [[Evangelicalism|evangelical group]], Pioneer People.<ref name=Vardey_2001_pp123-124/><ref name=C20_Thorndike/> The annual Leatherhead Drama Festival, for amateur theatre groups, was launched at the theatre in 2004 and ran for 16 years.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.leatherheaddramafestival.co.uk |title= Leatherhead Drama Festival |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= October 2021 |publisher= Leatherhead Drama Festival |access-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-date= 16 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211116110523/https://www.leatherheaddramafestival.co.uk/ |url-status= live }}</ref>