Since the early 2000s, Star and Shadow has been more than just a cinema for the people in their area. Community members, who previously joined together to form a Community Benefit Society (CBS) and redevelop a building on Stepney Bank in Ouseburn, secured a loan from Newcastle City Council to buy their new home in Newcastle’s East End.
In 2015, the community of volunteers running Star and Shadow cinema bought a derelict furniture warehouse. After three years of all hands on deck fundraising, building and developing, it opened its doors. “It was unbelievable when we finished it,” says volunteer Carmel McGrath. “So much work has gone into it. I can’t even begin to tell you.”
The community members of the CBS now own and run the building themselves. Their new power and autonomy allowed them to turn it into a bespoke multi-use DIY grassroots venue.
Star and Shadow Cinema is 100% volunteer-powered. It holds an 80-seat cinema alongside a 200-capacity music venue, cafe, library, dark room, and garden. Not to mention a whole host of arts and community group activities, from creative writing workshops to community kitchens.
McGrath has been volunteering there for 13 years. “It’s really cherished,” she says. “Everyone volunteering loves Star and Shadow and is very passionate about it. And because there’s no hierarchy, we are all on the same level. It’s everyone’s responsibility to look after and run the place. There’s a sense of pride and ownership.”
Breathing new life into Newcastle’s East End
Due to its location, the building is easily accessible to numerous neighbourhoods including Byker, Shieldfield, Sandyford, Jesmond, Ouseburn, Heaton and the city centre. “We’re in the middle of so many areas and we touch them all,” explains McGrath. Star and Shadow Cinema caters to an incredibly broad community. The venue offers a wide range of activities, including club nights with DJs, free children’s films and board game Saturdays. “It’s unbelievably mixed,” explains McGrath. “Every age group, every background. It’s lovely to see all the different generations mixing together.”
For 10 years previously, the building had been shuttered. There were no other businesses on the street until Star and Shadow opened. Now, within the building alone, Star and Shadow has two paying tenants: Flea Circus, a department store made up of local independent sellers and creatives, and Blank Studios, a music recording facility. Many grassroots organisations hire the space for meetings and events, and a run of neighbouring shops and businesses have since opened close by. “We’ve really livened up the street,” says McGrath.
As well as using local suppliers for the cafe and bar, Star and Shadow hosts around 600 public events a year. Many are free or pay-what-you-can, making them accessible to everyone. “That’s really important to us,” says McGrath. “That you don’t need to pay anything. You can come and there’s no compulsory transaction and no financial burden. It’s open to everyone.”
Nurturing the future of the grassroots music industry
While many music and entertainment venues are closing across the country, Star and Shadow’s multi-arts, community-focused offering is inspiring and upskilling a new generation for the entertainment industry. “It’s incredibly unique,” she says. “With so many grassroots venues closing down now, Star and Shadow feels even more important than ever. There’s no other place like it.”
Star and Shadow relies on around 1,500 volunteers to deliver its offer to the community in the East End. Around 100 active volunteers working shifts in numerous departments each month. But volunteering is also a vital pipeline for work experience. An open programming policy allows volunteers to access a budget to host an event, film screening, gig, or meeting.
Stuart Frazer first started coming to Star and Shadow as a student, benefiting from the system that allowed him to see film screenings cheaply. He began to volunteer with them while struggling with long COVID. He’s now a film programmer involved with curating and hosting events, poster design and social media. “I didn’t know how to do anything like that before,” he says. “It’s made me change what I want to do in life and move into programming, as volunteering here made me realise I could do this.”
Alyssa Wilby, now a sound engineer in the city, speaks fondly of where it all began. She had no experience when she started volunteering at gigs at Star and Shadow. She now looks forward to a career in the industry. “It’s a really significant place,” agrees Frazer. “I recently tried to think of somewhere like it as an alternative, but I couldn’t.”
