by Vicky Halliday
For a while now I have been concerned with the demise of culture in the UK. Music venues have closed, pubs have gone out of business, people seem to favour sitting in their bedroom listening to Spotify rather than seeing a band live. What has happened to society? It is true that the internet cannot take sole responsibility for this. Increasingly, local councils (with their ever stringent licensing and planning regulations) and budget cuts will put a stop to some ventures and the old addage “where there’s a will, there’s a way” seems to be thrown out of the window.
As an example, in the Portsmouth of 1939 there were 27 c inemas in the city. Today there are just two, with many former picture houses lying derelict, demolished or converted to bingo halls or (miniature) duplex apartments. Our swimming pools lie in ruins or in a state of disrepair, with any leisure funding being diverted to the monolithic Mountbatten Centre. Our pubs and clubs have been forced to close due to “redevelopment” (which rarely, if ever, happens) and most people can only afford to sit in their sparsely-furnished bedsit, watching banal re-runs on Sky (for which they pay through the nose), wondering what happened to the good old days!
This ongoing feature will provide an insight to the Portsmouth of today and, undoubtedly, will prove that there is far less in the way of leisure opportunities and culture than the Portsmouth of 30 years ago.
All true. If only we could turn these neglected cinemas and pubs into theater spaces perhaps student or community group run? We could provide a place for young actors, playwrights and directors to develop. Would be good for the community all round.