By Charlie Trotman
Led in by the fairy lights, beer and salted snacks, I discovered Swansea’s most recent venue: an arty cinema located in a gutted out army recruitment centre.
Playing a mix of old films such from Casablanca to Gravity, Cinema and Co represents the regeneration of the city – which is attracting the likes of bars such as Gravity Station to set up branches on Wind Street.
Unlike Odeon or Vue, where you end up paying just as much (or more) for your hotdog as the film, Cinema and Co is reasonably priced at £5 for students and has given me the chance to see a whole range of movies while sitting on a well furnished crate. Very hipster, but also very cool for one of those nights where you want to go out around Wind Street.
On Halloween, the staff dressed up and played Ghostbusters, and the venue is always packed out. With only around 50 seats, Cinema and Co is a place where you have to plan ahead. I’ve already seen The Place Beyond The Pines, and I’m gearing up to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel on the big screen.
With the coming onslaught of nauseating Christmas films around the corner, I know where I’ll be spending the next month or so until the release of Star Wars:The Force Awakens. Cinema and Co also hosts ‘Pizza Tuesdays’, meaning I could practically live there as long as I eat enough cheese and meat to last the rest of the week.
The Swansea English Society has already hired the venue for its Great Gatsby Party later in November, and I’m hoping that it can get a few of the Harry Potter movies going to attract fellow members of the Hogwarts society to its cause.
Overall, as a regular movie goer with popcorn cavities and bad eyesight to prove it, someone has to limit my exposure to Cinema and Co or I’ll soon be found wandering around the area selling myself in return for tickets. Check it out. You won’t regret it.
