Westman theatres peeling back the curtains

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This article was published 09/03/2022 (1487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VIRDEN — Randy Slater can recall hosting a frenzy of sold-out shows at Virden’s Derrick Theatre when “Titanic” first hit the screen in 1997, and when “The Last Winter” and “A Dog’s Purpose” were first shown to a Virden audience after parts of each movie had been filmed in the community.

It’s part of the reason why his family ran the Derrick Theatre for the better part of three decades and is now hoping someone will step up to carry on the service for future movie-goers in town.

“We’ve ran it for 32 years, and it’s always been the best business I’ve ever owned,” Slater said.

Following a final matinee showing of “Sing 2” at the end of January, Slater has shut down the theatre for the foreseeable future. After having never lost money since running the theatre in 1990, the pandemic hampered many movie theatres across Manitoba, and Slater said they were only able to show a couple of movies since March 2020 due to public health restrictions.

Slater, 65, said his family had seriously considered putting the theatre up for sale over the last five years. He kept the theatre running based on their enjoyment of film, and the smiles it brought to Virden residents.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we’ve put in enough years.”

Slater said the 70-year-old theatre has a unique origin among the older establishments left in Virden as to how it came to be built. The story can be traced back to a farmer who had a bountiful crop in 1952 and set forth to open a theatre based on one night’s events.

“He [the farmer] went to the Aud Theatre, which actually used to show movies,” Slater said.

“When he went in there, he was inebriated, and the owner kicked him out. He got mad at the owner and said, ‘I’ll build my own theatre and put you out of business.’ Two weeks later, he opened up the theatre.”

Since then, the Derrick Theatre had been owned by a few different people and a corporation, according to Slater. After it closed in 1986, Slater’s family bought the property in 1989 and screened the first movie on Feb. 14, 1990.

In their first 10 years running the business, the family would play two movies a week and have showings Wednesday through Sunday. Slater, who has maintained the 244-seat theatre, wants to sell, but is open to leasing the business, as they are currently renting out two apartments and an office space attached to the theatre.

“The theatre is probably the easiest business you would ever learn to run,” Slater said.

“There’s not a whole lot to it, and the bookwork is fairly easy.”

Alternatively, Slater has suggested the Town of Virden step in to take over the theatre, much like the case for many smaller communities he noted in Westman, including Deloraine, Melita, and the Reston Memorial Theatre, which is run by a volunteer board.

The Reston Memorial Theatre, owned and operated by the RM of Pipestone, traces its history back to the 1940s, when it was decided to be built as a memorial to the First and Second World Wars.

Joanna Watt has served on the volunteer board for a decade in Reston and has overseen many renovations of the theatre in recent years, including new flooring, bathrooms, a canteen redesign and a switch to a digital projector. She explained how people in the community used to watch films out of an old grain elevator nearby, and the memorial theatre can trace its roots to the farm.

“Originally, people would get together at the end of Main Street in the old elevator and watch movies on these slates that were dropped down into this projector system,” Watt said.

“A woman would sit and play the piano and people would hang out and watch movies. When the elevator was torn down, they recycled the wood and put it into this building.”

The hardwood flooring and old vinyl seating are still intact as the 210-seat theatre has been the proud host of more than just movies, including Christmas concerts and dance recitals.

“The house that we’re sitting in now used to be mint green and white. Changing it to this nice navy blue with the red curtains and expanding it for the future has been fun,” Watt said.

The exterior colour used to be a mustard green, which was updated by board members. Inside the theatre, Reston residents have donated souvenirs from the war such as various medals and plaques now displayed on the walls.

Watt said the theatre was closed from March 2020 until November 2021. They are now able to show films every Friday and Saturday night. She is hoping to attract more people come summertime from the nearby campground with additional screenings as the theatre has a much-needed air conditioning system.

She said their ability to show current releases found in the major centres is a luxury for a small town, which has made attending films all the more enjoyable.

“We like our movies. We’ve had really good turnouts and we are really happy with that,” Watt said.

“We [the community] all know each other pretty well and kids show up here and meet up with their friends, as do adults. It’s very organic and village-like.”

For Slater and his family, he too is hoping the show can go on in Virden and thanked the support of those in town who bought tickets over the years.

» jbernacki@brandonsun.com

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