Scala Cinema

Yes, the Scala is old-​fashioned it celebrates its centenary in 2013, is the second-​oldest continuously-​used picture house in the UK, and has never been partitioned off into stuffy mini-​screening rooms. Local lad D.H. Lawrence probably queued up under the canopy for a seat in the stalls before success went to his head and he left his humble roots behind him
Yes, it’s a bit shabby super-​low ticket prices and high labour costs mean the idiosyncratic and proudly independent Reel Cinemas group must have a job keeping it watertight and heated, let alone freshly decorated. But it’s got great character, from the Edwardian façade and ticket booth to the faded red plush ‘snogging seats’ at the back.
A limited choice of first-​run films are shown each week we’ve seen half a dozen of 2012’s best mainstream movies here recently and never paid more than £10 for two tickets and a bag of sweeties and sometimes a lot less. The projection equipment and sound are fine (and they show 3D versions from time to time, too).
The Scala is the kind of place where the lady in the ticket booth remembers you from your last visit. It can’t be compared with glitzy multi-​plexes with their choice of six or eight movies and their over-​priced popcorn that costs more than an evening at the Scala but Britain really needs affordable town centre neighbourhood cinemas like this. Pity it doesn’t do foreign films, art-​house or all-​nighters, but after all it is in Ilkeston, not Islington!
And there’s an added bonus: the cinema was apparently built on the site of a former chapel graveyard, and there are reports of paranormal activity, including the apparition of a Mr Brailsford, one of the cinema’s former proprietors. We saw The Woman in Black there but have yet to see Mr Brailsford

Cheap, not very friendly, cold and not that clean.

Great alternative to the expensive and busy cinemas. I have often been in and been the only person in the cinema, so its really not very busy. The films it shows are very limited. The building itself is dated but that said, it has alot of charm. It is an old victorian building so you shouldnt go in expecting up to date furnishings. I love how they give you an old fashioned ticket for your viewing! Nibbles are not expensive but not dirt cheap, which is fine because for the cinema viewing itself it is alot less than the out of town ones.
It has double seats!

Not bad but seriously out of date. But as a local alternative to those packed, characterless, out-​of-​town multiscreens this is not so bad. Just wish they were a bit more adventurous with the films they show (but then who in Ilkeston would go see them?).

Victorian cinema, great historic building! Nice cinema, not as fancy as out of town but ideal if you just want to meet with friends!