The East Van Vodville Theatre is a literal “hole in the wall” cinema, screening a selection of curated film clips based on a weekly theme. However, although it may be small in size, it’s big on entertainment!

Designed at 1:55 scale, East Van Vodville is based on Vancouver’s first Pantages Theatre, which stood at 152 East Hastings for 104 years. Built in 1907, the original theatre was designed by architect Edward Evans Blackmore, and officially opened on January 6th, 1908. The Pantages was the second in a chain of North American theatres built by renowned vaudeville impresario, Alexander Pantages. Initially constructed as a vaudeville theatre, the Pantages was converted into a film cinema in 1920. The theatre operated under a variety of names over the years, “surviving through economic depressions, bombings, children sneaking in the back door, and the Hays Code”. It eventually closed in 1994 and, despite concerted efforts by heritage advocates, the Pantages Theatre was demolished in 2011 to make way for a new housing project.

Until its demise in 2011, the local venue held several distinctions: the oldest remaining Pantages Theatre in North America; the oldest vaudeville theatre that survived intact in Western Canada; and the oldest surviving theatre in the city of Vancouver.

The first time I visited the East Van Vodville Theatre, there appeared to be a projectionist walkout, as the house lights dimmed but the film didn’t play. (Sadly, I wasn’t able to see any of the Studio Ghibli films screening that week.) I later received a message on Bluesky from the people behind the East Van Vodville (special effects technicians, Janet Mader and David Bynoe), telling me that the screening issue was due to a loose cable. When I heard they were screening cat movies this week (December 1-7, 2024), I couldn’t resist a second visit. I was not disappointed!

Peering through the screening peep hole I spent several thoroughly enjoyable minutes watching cat videos. Some of them were familiar old friends, and some were new to me – kudos to the programmer!

The cat-related movie clips playing during my visit included:

A Cat in Paris, 2010
The Cat Returns, 2002
My Neighbour Totoro, 1988
The Muppet Show, 1981
The Cat From Outer Space, 1978
That Darn Cat, 1965
The Cassandra Cat, 1963
The Wizard of Oz, 1939
La Petite Fille et Son Chat, 1900

Open rain or shine, with films available at any time, the East Van Vodville is free for everyone; but if you would like to make a donation to support their work, you can do so on Ko-Fi. If you want to check out East Van Vodvillefor yourself, you can find the tiny theatre in the fourth window from the alley, on the Woodland Drive side of the Vancouver Hack Space (VHS), located at 1601 Venables Street. The grand opening of the East Van Vodville Cinema, with its new facade and accessibility stumps (for height challenged viewers), was held on November 9th, 2024.

You may be asking yourself why is it “vodville” and not “vaudeville”? As you can see from the 1922 Vancouver Sun newspaper clipping below, “vodville” (or “vod’ville”) was an accepted spelling at the time, presumably to save on lettering. The folks at Vancouver Hack Space also said that since they “are serving up Video on Demand [aka VOD], the opportunity was too good to pass up.”

Curious about how all of this fabulousness was created? You can check out behind the scenes photos from the construction of the cinema on East Van Vodville Cinema’s Instagram (@littlefreecinema).

Fun Fact: Pantages Theatre owner Alexander Pantages was actually born Pericles Pantages. He preferred to call himself Alexander, after Alexander the Great. Alexander was the uncle of Peter Pantages, of Polar Bear Swim fame.

East Van Vodville Cinema

Neighbourhood: Strathcona

1601 Venables St. (4th window from the Alley)

WEBSITE