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Remember The Red Shed?
The recent revival of cinema in Usk has prompted memories of The Red
Shed at Llanbadoc, the local picture-house for Usk residents of the
1950s and ‘60s. As we recall, the film of the Coronation in 1953 was
the first to be shown when Mel Lewison and his family started their
operation which ran until the 1960s.
Films were shown on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday
evenings with a riotously popular children’s matinee on Saturday
afternoons. Youngsters paid 6d each for the matinee, adults in the
evening paid 1/9d to sit downstairs, or 2/3d if you went upstairs
(up 3 stairs in fact!)
As those who spent their hormonal teenage Saturday nights in the
back row will remember, the seating at the Red Shed consisted
entirely of bus seats. Queues for those enticingly wide back seats
started early!
The Red Shed, or Llanbadoc Cinema, was very much a family affair
with Mrs Lewison tucked away in her cubby hole dispensing tickets,
while Mel and son David were in the projection booth. While
cinema-goers enjoyed “The 39 Steps “ and “The Tommy Steele Story”,
Edna Woods kept order in the back rows with the powerful beam of her
torch and the even more powerful threat “You behave or I’ll tell
your mother”.
For one contingent of out-of-towners the end of every film was a
continual mystery: ten minutes before the end they had to shuffle
out to catch the last bus home!
Silver Screen Usk have a great inheritance to live up to! Why not
share your memories of movies at The Red Shed? Contact us at
silverscreenusk@googlemail.com or Tel: 01291 673035.
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