Town theatre hosts 'public premiere' of festive film

An amateur theatre company in a North Yorkshire market town has hosted the "public premiere" of a festive film starring Kiefer Sutherland, Rebel Wilson and Danny Dyer.

Sky Cinema's Tinsel Town was partly filmed in Knaresborough, with scenes also shot in Wetherby and at Versa Studios in Leeds.

Ahead of its release on Friday, it was unveiled at Knaresborough's 127-seat Frazer Theatre, with free tickets for two exclusive screenings selling out "within seconds".

Local resident Matt, who obtained permission to show the film after sending a Sky commissioning editor a message on networking platform LinkedIn, said: "Obviously being cheeky on the day worked."

He continued: "I'm not entirely sure how far up the Sky hierarchy this got in terms of authorising Knaresborough to host what is effectively the public premiere.

"They had a red carpet premiere in London last week, but this is the one and only public premiere of this film for the people of Knaresborough."

Tinsel Town tells the story of a failed Hollywood action star, portrayed by Sutherland, whose last chance of success is "theatre in England".

After travelling to the UK, he finds out the job he has signed up for is a pantomime production of Cinderella in a small Yorkshire town.

Sian Pearce, secretary of the Knaresborough Players, which owns the Frazer Theatre, said she was "really, really proud" to host the Tuesday and Thursday screenings.

"We can definitely tell from the reaction we've had that everybody wants to see this film and the chance to see it in a theatre, rather than sitting at home on your sofa, is just fantastic," she said.

"The audience started cheering the first time we saw Knaresborough. I think there were a couple of boos the first time we saw Wetherby!"

Coincidentally, the amateur theatre group's pantomime this year is also Cinderella.

Mrs Pearce added: "The film's celebration of regional theatre made the screening, in a regional theatre, just that little bit more special.

"There were a lot of things that did ring very true."

Those who managed to gain a ticket were welcomed to the theatre on Tuesday by John Pearce, Knaresborough Players vice-chair.

He told those gathered: "Well done on being one of the 127 people who made it, and not one of the 10,000 or so people who've been shouting at us on social media all week.

"Most of Knaresborough hates you right now!"

After the screening, he said: "There was a nice little moment where - without giving any spoilers - some people ran down a street to escape from somebody and ran into what we all know is a dead end.

"There was a laugh in this theatre that I suspect you wouldn't get with any other audience in the country."

Matt, who volunteers on various projects in the town, said the screening was "all a little bit rigged together with gaffer tape".

Another Knaresborough resident, Kelly Young, was given the go-ahead from Sky to run her own screenings of Tinsel Town on Friday in local pubs.

The local scenes were filmed at the beginning of the year, with the town "all revved up again" with excitement in time for the release, Ms Young said.

Filming had taken place outside her hair salon, she told BBC Radio York.

"We've got a beautiful, little quaint town," she said.

"With the castle ruin right in the town centre, they used it as the backdrop of the Christmas market in the film.

"It just sheds Knaresborough in such a beautiful light."

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