110 years ago somebody had the idea of building the first cinema in the then rather exclusive Spa town of Scarborough, on the pretty and sometimes dramatic eastern coastline of Northern England. That building, first called the North Bay Picturehouse, is still there situated atop a low cliff side which overlooks down to the sea, across one of the two great sea bays that make up the North and South sides of the town.
The black and white, silent picturehouse couldn’t last as it was and after years as a garage amongst other things, it became again a cinema in the late seventies. Surviving all that time, for a small regional cinema has not been easy. And now, the North Bay Playhouse, renamed in honour of that first cinema, is again reborn in a new presentation!
We are still the towns first port of call for the best blockbuster films and new releases. But now were adding a little bit of theatre too.. And we hope to soon re-open our adjacent mini cafe offering you something of a little better choice than just the multi-plex snack fare.
Watch out as well for a little live in-house entertainment and our mini shows to keep you smiling, when all the latest film releases look a bit boring 🙂
Please do keep an eye on our website from time to time, or click a link to our social media and we will send you a brief notice of good things you and a friend or family might be interested in.
Our Aims & Principles
Its very difficult to start or even keep a small business running in modern UK Plc. But we will always strive to give you a friendly, comfortable, safe and atmospheric experience when you come through our doors. We will try to keep our prices down as much as we are able and keep our family deal pricing as affordable as possible – so you can still have a nice family day or night out together.
We are committed to the long term values of family friendly entertainment which has been the ethos of the earlier cinema for decades. We are Scarborough based and North Riding orientated.
We most warmly welcome our fellow Scarborians to visit us all year round and look forward to introducing our Scarborian Discount and Loyalty card!