Forum

Impressive cinema theatre on a rounded corner site of Lime Street and Elliot Street. The exterior, by A.E. Shennan, is three-storey, faced in Portland stone, with vertical windows grouped in twos and threes both horizontally and vertically and set in panels. The corner entrance has windows with pilasters, and a plinth for a flagstaff above. This was remodelled in 1970, removing the canopy, but adding mosaic to the entrance foyer. The interior, by W.R. Glen, is one of his best and was the main reason that the building was listed in 1981. The auditorium ceiling is flat, with central rosette feature, the sides are splayed with ornamental false boxes and the balcony front is curved. The proscenium is square, with a larger ante-proscenium of large vertical flutes within a square floral band. Full stage facilities. In spite of being tripled in 1982, most of the interior remains. The building closed in 1998 and the lease was sold by the local authority in December 2016. There are now proposals to turn the Forum into a major new music and live entertainment venue for the city.