Funding boost to help preserve Worcester building's 'cinematic heritage' through new project
Scala Worcester has been awarded a £104,158 grant to help it bring together pieces of its past from when it was running as a cinema in the 20th century
Last updated 21st Oct 2026
Over £100,000 of funding has been given to a charity in Worcester to help it bring together pieces of a historic city building's past and keep it on show for future generations to see.
Scala Worcester's received a £104,158 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to preserve the memories and items from the Scala Theatre.
The theatre, which served as a cinema from 1922 being it closed in 1973, is currently undergoing regeneration work, with it due to reopen next year, with this new project titled Reel Memories: Scala Worcester – from Cinema Heritage to Digital Futures to run from this October up until May 2028.
Chief executive and artistic director of Scala Worcester, Dr Hannah Phillips, said: “Our project will collect memories and documentation about Scala when it operated as a cinema from 1922-1973, alongside contextualising Worcester’s cinemagoing during this time.
“The project will enable us to understand the role Scala played in bringing communities together when it was a cinema, memories of Scala as a cinema are still just in living memory and we want to capture people’s memories and memorabilia whilst we can.
"Tickets stubs found during the refurbishment of Scala Worcester have already generated a flurry of responses and we look forward to hearing more stories.”
The funding will allow Scala Worcester to appoint a new project manager for it, as well as an outreach and education co-ordinator, who will help deliver memory sharing events and archival research to form the collection.
Scala Worcester has confirmed it will work in partnership with the likes of schools and the University of Worcester on it, which will all build up to an immersive event in 2028 that'll present the theatre's heritage through new interpretations, including an interactive game, co-created film and exhibition, podcast plays and digital resources.