The owner of the Mayfair Theatre, the last independent theatre in Ottawa, says they need significant public support to continue if the Mayfair is to survive the rest of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With changing pandemic restrictions, movie theatres have seen box office revenue come to a standstill, with audience attendance limited and sometimes prohibited by lockdown measures.
In a press release, Cineplex Entertainment Inc., Canada’s largest theatre chain company, has experienced a loss of approximately $15 million to $20 million per month since March last year as their operating costs surpass profits.
For independent cinemas such as the Mayfair, pandemic-imposed shutdowns have posed an even greater challenge.
The Mayfair, located on Bank Street near Colonel By Drive, is now the only remaining art house theatre in the city after the ByTowne Cinema on Rideau Street announced its permanent closure at the end of last year.
“The cinema has been losing money every day since the pandemic hit,” wrote Bruce White, owner of the ByTowne, in a letter.
“We’re the last cinema standing now,” said Josh Stafford, co-owner of the Mayfair.
The repertory theatre has been operating from its Bank Street location since 1932, earning its status as Ottawa’s oldest active cinema.
Throughout its existence, the Mayfair has developed a reputation among local cinephiles for showing independent international and local films and cult classics. The theatre’s annual Halloween programming is a favourite among its patrons as a result of scheduled screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Now the theatre is facing its fourth lockdown in the wake of Ottawa’s move into the red zone restriction tier of Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework March 19.
Ottawa’s medical officer of health, Vera Etches, said the move from the orange zone to the progressively restrictive red zone was motivated by the rising COVID-19 incidences within the city.
“The goal of moving into the red zone is to move us from a situation where [COVID-19] levels are rising and put us back into a more stable state,” she told reporters the day prior to the onset of red zone measures.
Though movie theatres were able to welcome a maximum of 50 people under the orange zone tier, they are required to close under the current red zone.
The Mayfair, however, has continued to survive amid the fluctuating restrictions.
With in-person screenings unavailable during the closure, the theatre took to selling seat nameplates which quickly filled its 325 seats before expanding to furniture nameplates to be installed throughout the building. Patrons could also leave their tangible mark on the theatre through marquee message rentals.
The theatre was also able to continue to provide film screenings in a virtual format during their initial lockdown by sharing streaming links from independent film distributors. The initiative has since stopped, but Mayfair staff said it significantly helped the theatre.
The virtual screenings were initiated by distributors with whom the theatre had previously collaborated on their programming. Without charging a distribution fee, the participating film distributors gave a portion of streaming ticket profits to the Mayfair.
“It was a real double dip because you’re helping out both independent distributors and us, so it was a nice thing all around for everybody,” Stafford said.
These efforts were met with support from the loyal community the theatre has developed throughout its operation.
“The patrons have been amazing,” Stafford said. “Everybody went that extra mile and were very concerned for us … an independent business—whether it be a coffee shop or a bookstore—[can] really only survive because they have patrons who care about them very much.”
Stafford said when the theatre was open during lower restriction tiers, community support remained strong.
As the theatre’s fourth lockdown ensues, Stafford said staff at the cinema are continuing to take it one day at a time.
The theatre has been sharing archival schedules on their social media platforms to stay engaged with their community.
Even with the current state-of-the-art house cinema’s closed doors, its future remains promising. After all, there is something about the theatre-going experience that the Mayfair’s patrons still crave over watching movies on popular streaming platforms.
“In our city of one million people, there’s enough people who want to see a movie on the big screen of their favourite filmmaker or of a buzzworthy movie,” Stafford said.
Still, the fate of Ottawa’s pioneer of independent cinema relies upon the public’s support. White emphasized this in his letter announcing the ByTowne’s closure.
“Support the in-cinema experience in any way that you can,” White said. “When post-pandemic life improves, attend any cinema, see any movie. Take chances; take friends; take a night off from Netflix.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
