It was one of my most memorable nights out in Aberdeen; a visit to the Belmont Filmhouse to talk to the esteemed film critic, Barry Norman.
Back in 2013, the weather outside was atrocious, but that didn’t matter once we had been ushered into the venue and introduced to the star attraction.
He was terrific value, speaking passionately about his love for Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero, and his belief that the director was “a truly unique talent” in the industry.
As others congregated at the arena, Norman looked around him with a smile on his face and remarked: “This is a wonderful place, isn’t it? You can dream of anything in here.”
That’s one of the reasons why so many people are sad at the news that the Belmont and its parent company in Edinburgh have ceased trading, with the loss of more than 100 jobs. A fifth of these are in Aberdeen, and it’s yet another blow to the arts and cultural sector which is struggling to recover in a post-Covid environment.
There are plenty of reasons for this malaise. Most of us have less disposable income than we did three years ago, and are grappling with rising inflation and spiralling energy bills.
Trips to concerts or the cinema tend to be regarded as luxuries, and these are the first things to go when the mortgage and other bills need paying.
But, I’ve noticed there is also a reluctance by many to walk back into busy venues, even though the audience members have been offered vaccines. Something has changed, and it might help explain why so many older people in the north-east are wary of returning to life as it used to be.
Audience numbers have dwindled
The Belmont offered so much for residents in the Granite City. Yet, in the last year, the crowds haven’t turned up in the numbers they did in the past.
Here is fresh evidence that the arts can’t survive without audiences
I watched Stan & Ollie there, and detected a warm buzz among the audience at the end of Peterhead director Jon S Baird’s lovely movie.
I caught up with a few friends and acquaintances at the Doric Film Festival, and we all agreed the Filmhouse was a special building which was one of the city’s jewels. But I haven’t been back recently, for several reasons, including the rank rotten night-time transport links in Aberdeen, and a lack of films I actually want to watch.
This is just brutal. Outside the cinema, I met a man from the administrators. A workman is here changing the locks. pic.twitter.com/KEf7wYh7oa
— Craig Munro (@crunro) October 6, 2022
So, to some extent, it’s my fault the Belmont is closing. If we don’t use these places, we’ll lose them, and here is fresh evidence that the arts can’t survive without audiences.
Barry Norman was right all those years ago. But you can’t afford to dream if customers aren’t coming through the door.
Neil Drysdale writes features for DC Thomson and is also an author
Conversation