New Olympus

The Picturedrome, later the ABC Ritz, then the Ritz, now the New Olympus was built by MR ECJ Palmer as a 700-seater on the site of three shops in Barton Street and opened in 1923. Originally owned by the Gloucester Cinema Corporation, in 1943 it was acquired by ABC who installed CinemaScope and a new canopy in 1955 and renamed it the Ritz. First-run films arrived at the Ritz after they'd been shown at the ABC Cheltenham until ABC opened the Regal in Kings Square in 1956. The Ritz was now last in the pecking order and unsurprisingly the sudden lack of new films, coupled with dwindling cinema audiences everywhere, led to the announcement of its impending closure in 1961. It limped along until 1962 then became a bingo hall until 1984.

The Gloucester Operatic and Dramatic Society, at that time outgrowing their HQ in the Olympus Theatre in Kingsbarton Street, bought the Ritz, built a stage and a lighting box, renamed it the New Olympus and opened it in 1986 with a production of Fiddler on the Roof. Since then projection equipment has been installed and it once again operates as a cinema between stage shows.