Beyond Brighton
The Dome: the back story
Town guide
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Richard Rogerson · CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout The Dome: the back story
The Dome on Marine Parade opened in 1911 and still shows films on four screens, in a Grade II* listed Edwardian building that has appeared on screen in Wish You Were Here, My Policeman and Black Mirror.
Few towns can say their cinema is older than the films of Charlie Chaplin. Worthing can. The Dome, on Marine Parade facing the sea, dates its first opening to April 1911, and it is still a working cinema today, one of the oldest in the country.
The Kursaal
The building was put up on the seafront in 1910 as the Kursaal, a German name for a place of entertainment that was fashionable in seaside resorts before the First World War. In 1915 it was renamed the Dome.
Check opening times and trains on the official sites before you travel.
A cinema since 1911
The Dome is a Grade II* listed Edwardian building, a rare survivor from the first years of cinema-going. It has outlasted two world wars and more than one plan to redevelop the site, and it has been restored and extended: today it has four screens, including the restored main auditorium, and a balcony bar.
It is independent, and its programme mixes the new releases with live broadcasts of opera, ballet and theatre, parent-and-baby, subtitled and SEND screenings, and morning shows for older audiences.
On screen
The Dome has been a film star itself. It appears in David Leland’s 1987 film Wish You Were Here. In 2021 it was turned into a concert hall for My Policeman, and it has been used for Netflix’s Black Mirror and the BBC.
Going to the Dome
The Dome is at 21–22 Marine Parade, a few minutes’ walk east of the pier. Book on its own site, where the full programme and prices are listed.
Our advice: choose a showing in the main auditorium, arrive early for a drink on the balcony as the sun goes down, then walk out onto the pier afterwards.
Why it's on our list
- The Kursaal
- A cinema since 1911
- On screen
- Going to the Dome
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with The Dome: the back story before you go.
What’s nearby
Distances from The Dome: the back story are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 15 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Hove Lawns8.9 miCar or taxi 43 min
- Brighton i3609.5 miCar or taxi 46 min
- Preston Park9.6 miCar or taxi 46 min
- The Lanes10 miCar or taxi 48 min
- Brighton Dome10 miCar or taxi 48 min
- The North Laine10 miCar or taxi 48 min
- Royal Pavilion10 miCar or taxi 48 min
- Palace Pier10 miCar or taxi 48 min
Railway stations
- Hove station8.8 miCar or taxi 43 min
- Preston Park station9.6 miCar or taxi 46 min
- Brighton station10 miCar or taxi 48 min
- London Road (Brighton) station10 miCar or taxi 49 min