NEW ROXY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 148, 25 June 1935, Page 8

NEW ROXY.

TO BE OPENED TO-MORROW. COMFORTABLE THEATRE. The New Roxy Theatre in Queen Street will have its opening to-tnoriow. Built for Amalgamated Theatres, Ltd., the new building embodies all the latest ideas in theatre construction to suit the modern ideas of taste and comfort. An era of ostentatious theatre building is just passing, and in nearly every part of the world it has become the fashion to cut down the number of large theatres with seating capacity of 1600 to 3000 and replace them by the smaller type of structure with accommodation for 650 to 800 patrons. Representative of this new era in theatre construction, it is simple in design, but its very simplicity gives it a warmth and comfort. The Roxy provides accommodation for approximately 800 patrons, and every seat commands an uninterrupted view of the screen, and the lighting, ventilation, general equipment and comfortable seating are all that could be desired. Adequate Visibility. The designer, Mr. George Tole, and the contractors, Messrs. Noel Cole, Ltd., have borne in mind throe main considerations in. carrying out their work. These are to ensure excellent sound, adequate lighting and ventilation, as well as comfortable seating. The floor of the theatre drops at a fairly sharp grade from the foyer to the proscenium. Thus all patrons are assured of adequate visibility. The seats, too, are so placed that .no one is staring directly into the back of the person in front. Twenty-one one-floor theatres have been successfully opened by Amalgamated Theatres, Ltd., in the last fifteen months, involving a capital expenditure of approximately £280,000. To inaugurate the opening to-morrow morning a programme of outstanding merit has been secured. This morning, Mr. M. J. Moodabe, governing director of Amalgamated Theatres, announced that the policy at the Roxy would be the same as that which prevailed at the old Roxy, "a family theatre at family prices." I