Inside Theatr Elli: Llanelli's lost Odeon in pictures

The projectors are still standing. The film reels are still stacked to the ceiling. And on a stand by a doorway, an Odeon usher’s uniform still waits for a shift that ended decades ago.

New photographs from inside Theatr Elli, Llanelli’s Grade II listed former Odeon, show a building frozen mid-performance, 14 years after it closed.

The images were published this week by B&R Urban Explorers UK, working with fellow explorers JJB explore and Uk urbex explorer, whose photographs of Swansea’s abandoned Manselton School were featured by Swansea Bay News last month.

A film projector with large reels in the green-walled projection room of the derelict cinema — The projection room, where the projectors and reels were left in place (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

A vintage cinema projector on a stand inside the derelict Theatr Elli — The projection room, where the projectors and reels were left in place (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

The explorers said the highlight of the visit was finding the old projection equipment still inside, surrounded by film reels and cinema machinery.

“Standing in the projection area surrounded by the huge film reels and old cinema machinery really brought home just how different going to the pictures once was,” the group said.

“These machines would have been responsible for sending films onto the big screen for generations of Llanelli cinema-goers.”

A room inside the derelict cinema stacked from floor to ceiling with film reels and cans — A store room stacked with film reels (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

A film spooling machine with a large metal reel inside the derelict cinema — A store room stacked with film reels (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

The group also found an Odeon-era uniform, which they described as “another little reminder of the people who once worked behind the scenes to keep this place running”.

Elsewhere their photographs show the auditorium’s rows of red seats, a wooden Cinema Tickets kiosk sign, a brass cash register from the box office, and the carved relief panels of the building’s Art Deco scheme.

A maroon Odeon-era usher's uniform on a stand beside a doorway inside the derelict cinema — An Odeon-era uniform still stands by a doorway (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

An illuminated red Odeon box sign beside a curtain inside the derelict cinema — An Odeon-era uniform still stands by a doorway (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

Harry Weedon’s 1938 picture palace, with seats for 1,450

The cinema opened on 18 June 1938 as an Odeon, designed by the circuit’s celebrated architect Harry Weedon with P.J. Price as assistant architect, and seating around 1,450.

Over the decades it traded under a run of names, becoming the Classic Cinema, the Llanelli Film Centre and the Llanelli Entertainment Centre, before taking the Theatr Elli name.

The auditorium was eventually split into three screens, and the building adapted for live theatre and performances alongside the films.

Rows of red cinema seats seen from the balcony inside the derelict auditorium — The auditorium’s rows of red seats, seen from the balcony (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

View through a small projection window down into a dark auditorium with red seats and curtains — The auditorium’s rows of red seats, seen from the balcony (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

The final curtain came down on 13 July 2012, as the town’s new Odeon multiplex opened at the East Gate development and the Ffwrnes theatre took on Llanelli’s live performances.

The cinema foyer with circular Art Deco ceiling details, red carpet and a kiosk counter — The foyer, with its Art Deco ceiling roundels and red carpet (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

A carved Art Deco relief panel of a figure, mounted above dark panelling inside the cinema — The foyer, with its Art Deco ceiling roundels and red carpet (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

A restoration approved, then stalled

The building is Grade II listed, and was described by conservation charity SAVE Britain’s Heritage as a rare surviving example in Wales of a 1938 Odeon by Weedon when it joined the UK’s buildings-at-risk register earlier this summer.

After closing, the building was stripped by vandals of copper and other materials, and was sold by the council in 2014 for £130,000.

A restoration scheme won planning approval after volunteers worked to improve the interior, but SAVE says the proposals ground to a halt through the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of funding.

An ornate vintage brass cash register on a wooden surface inside the derelict cinema — A brass cash register left from the box office (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

A wooden Cinema Tickets sign above a kiosk counter inside the derelict building — A brass cash register left from the box office (Image: B&R Urban Explorers UK)

“Walking through somewhere like this is what urban exploring is all about,” the explorers said. “Not just seeing an abandoned building, but discovering the stories, memories and forgotten pieces of history left behind.”

The group says this was part one of its explore, with more photographs to follow.