Behind the Scenes at the Cinema

Six rooms stacked three high keep an old picture house running. In the top left, an audience sits in plush chairs facing a screen with a lighthouse and a ship, framed by curtains, comedy and tragedy masks and stars. Next door is a cafe with a pastry case, a waiter with an apron and two tables of talkers beneath a strip of film. In the middle row, a projection room has a huge grey projector with a control desk and two men tending reels, and a film repair room has a light table where two men inspect frames. At the bottom, a ticket office has a curved wooden counter, an old crank ticket machine and posters, and a film vault has round tins on shelves and a circular table where two workers handle reels. Chequered, tiled and carpeted floors label every room like a different reel.