The Ritz Cinema in Hythe, Kent — latterly known as the Vogue, Mecca, and Classic Cinema — was one of the venues used by the Folkestone-Hythe Operatic and Dramatic Society (FHODS) for large-scale productions in the years following the demolition of the Pleasure Gardens Theatre in the 1960s. Situated in Hythe itself rather than Folkestone, the Ritz held particular symbolic resonance for a society that had incorporated Hythe into its name and identity in 1947, and its use as a performance venue by FHODS reflected both the geographic breadth of the society's ambitions and the practical scarcity of large auditoria in the area during this period.

Background

The Ritz Cinema was located at the corner of East Street and Prospect Road, Hythe. It was built for the Union Cinemas chain and opened on 12 June 1937 with a screening of Keep Your Seats Please starring George Formby. Designed by architect Eric Norman Bailey in the Art Deco style, the exterior was finished in red brick with a plain façade — the design had originally allowed for a café to be built behind it, though this was never realised. Inside, seating was arranged across stalls and a small circle, giving the cinema a total capacity of 858.

The Union Cinemas chain was taken over by Associated British Cinemas (ABC) in October 1937 — just months after the Ritz opened — and ABC operated the cinema until March 1953, when it passed to an independent operator. The Ritz closed as a full-time cinema in 1965, at which point the main auditorium converted to bingo use while Classic Cinemas took control of the building. Classic divided off the circle level and converted it into a small 275-seat cinema, which reopened on 27 April 1971 under the new name the Vogue Cinema. Mecca Ltd. took over the bingo operation from 15 November 1973 and continued to operate the cinema section as the Mecca Cinema. Classic Cinemas had resumed control by 1980 and renamed it the Classic Cinema. It closed on 7 August 1984 with a screening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and was subsequently demolished. A block of flats named Blythe Court — named in honour of the last manager of the Classic, Don Blythe, who later served as both a Hythe town councillor and a member of Shepway District Council — was built on the site.

Hythe itself had four purpose-built cinemas over the years: the Hythe Picture Palace, the Grove Cinema, the Ritz, and the Embassy. The Ritz was by some distance the largest, and the only one to survive in any form into the 1980s.

FHODS at the Ritz

The Hythe Connection

The incorporation of Hythe into FHODS's name in 1947 was not merely nominal. It reflected a genuine broadening of the society's membership base and audience reach beyond central Folkestone to encompass the surrounding area, including Hythe, Sandgate, and Shorncliffe. The use of the Ritz as a performance venue was consistent with this expanded identity: by staging productions in Hythe itself, FHODS was demonstrating its commitment to serving its Hythe constituency, not only those audiences able to travel to Folkestone.

The Ritz, with a full capacity of 858 and a plain but functional auditorium, was one of the larger indoor spaces available in Hythe and made a practical venue for operatic and musical productions that required a substantial audience to be economically viable. For FHODS members and supporters based in and around Hythe, seeing a major society production at a local venue rather than having to travel to Folkestone would have been a significant advantage.

Timing and the Bingo Conversion

The timing of the Ritz's conversion to partial bingo use in 1965 is notable in the context of FHODS history. The Pleasure Gardens Theatre in Folkestone closed and was demolished in the mid-1960s — at almost exactly the same moment that the Ritz ceased full-time cinema operation. When FHODS subsequently used the Ritz as a performance venue, they made use of the reduced-capacity cinema section — the Vogue, from its reopening in 1971 — rather than the full 858-seat auditorium, which was by then devoted to bingo. The 275-seat Vogue configuration was considerably more modest than what the Pleasure Gardens had offered, but it represented a serviceable space in Hythe at a time when options were scarce.

This distinction matters for understanding the nature of FHODS's use of the Ritz. Unlike the Odeon in Folkestone — which retained a large stage and substantial auditorium throughout its operational life — the Ritz in its post-1965 form was a significantly reduced venue. FHODS's use of it speaks to the genuine difficulty of finding appropriate large-scale spaces in the area during this period, and to the society's willingness to adapt to whatever was available in order to maintain its programme.

A Hythe Audience

The Ritz's location in Hythe was not simply a practical matter but carried cultural meaning for a society explicitly committed to both Folkestone and Hythe. Productions staged at the Ritz could draw on a local Hythe audience in a way that performances in Folkestone could not, reinforcing FHODS's status as a genuinely bi-town organisation rather than a Folkestone society that merely acknowledged Hythe in its name. This reflected the broader ethos of FHODS in the post-war decades: expanding its reach, serving a wider community, and maintaining an ambitious programme under difficult institutional circumstances.

Legacy

The Ritz was demolished in 1984, removing the last dedicated large-screen cinema from Hythe — the town would not have another cinema until the Silver Screen opened in Folkestone's Town Hall in 1990 and later expanded. FHODS, which by the early 1980s was based primarily at the Little Theatre in Sandgate, continued to seek large external venues for its grandest productions until the acquisition of The Tower Theatre in Shorncliffe in 2001 finally gave the society a permanent home capable of hosting all its work under one roof. The Ritz, along with the Odeon in Folkestone and Folkestone Town Hall, belongs to the chapter of FHODS history in which the society's ambition consistently outpaced the venues available to it — a challenge that ultimately drove it towards creating its own dedicated theatrical home.

References

Ritz Cinema

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