Kerb crawling the Kaikoura seafront, it comes as a visual shock to see this superb little cinema. The Mayfair Theatre was built in 1935, and is now run by the local community. Art Deco it certainly is right down to its signwriting which is a letter form derived from ‘fat faces’ such as Braggadocio designed in 1930. One wonders whether the inspiration for the Mayfair came from the Art Deco reconstruction of Napier, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island after its devastating earthquake.
They still use the original projectors at the Mayfair lighted by those carbon arcs that require constant vigilance for fear of their gaps widening and the picture fading. (I remember as a boy how the audience used to catcall if the picture started to disappear because the projectionist might have popped out for a quick smoke!)
How astute of the local community not only to recognize the historical value of Art Deco but to maintain the theatre in such good nick.
© DON DONOVAN
donovan@ihug.co.nz
.
No comments:
Post a Comment