Wonderland Cinema Walk

Our own Ian Francis will lead a short but action-packed stroll through the city centre, visiting some key landmarks in Birmingham's picturegoing history.

Some of these picturehouses have vanished altogether, and some are hiding in plain sight as shopping arcades or shisha lounges. A couple are still actual cinemas, among them one resilient survivor which is still plugging away after 112 years.

We'll also touch on pre-cinema history, including the visit of Eadweard Muybridge with his 'magic lantern gone mad', and there will be space for walkers to add their own tales of mythical places like the Queensway, the Gaumont and the Futurist.

This event is part of Wonderland, a new project mapping the city's picture-palaces past and present and exploring the stories associated with them. Wonderland is presented by the Birmingham 2022 Festival, supported by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, produced by Flatpack Festival.