The Riverside Rink

This short documentary tells the story of Durham City's ice rink from its opening in 1940 to its closure in 1996. The rink once stood just below the Gala Theatre, on the riverbank. It was home to one of the most important teams in British ice hockey history: The Durham Wasps, but also hosted world class figure and speed skaters, skating exhibitions, discos and many other events that were hugely important parts of Durham's culture. Over the past year, CYAN CIC has held a series of exhibitions which have attempted to bring together this rich, but somehow untold history with the help of the community.

There will be a Q&A after the documentary with the organiser (Lewis Hobson), film maker (Carl Joyce) and Ice Rink history buff (Rich Endean).

The Riverside Rink has been made possible as part of Durham City Place Lab, an Into the Light project - County Durham's place-based creative collaboration designed to cultivate talent, widen access to creative education, enhance the skills of the cultural workforce and break down barriers to working in the creative industries. For more information see Into the Light - Culture Durham.

Tickets: Free (£2 transaction fee applies when booking over the phone or online)

Our lift is currently out of order due to essential works being carried out to install a new customer lift which means our cinema is only accessible via stairs. Thanks for your understanding.

As part of our work to make Gala Durham as accessible as possible for all, audio description headsets will be offered on every film screening for those who are visually impaired.