Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle
Lights, camera . . . the Oliver Theatre is back in “action!”
“We’re super excited . . . it’s been a challenge for the past 18 months (being closed),” said Lyle Miller, who operates the theatre with his wife Kandise.
Provincial restrictions on movie theatres have been partially lifted, allowing the Millers to open their doors once again, with a maximum of 50 people permitted per show.
The Millers recently had a Zoom meeting with MLA Roly Russell and Health Minister Adrian Dix to express their concerns about the ongoing restrictions against theatres. Lyle said it didn’t make sense that bars were allowed to have more than 50 people sitting four feet apart while theatres remained closed. He noted their theatre has 300 seats and can easily accommodate 100 people safely under social distancing guidelines.
“The whole time we were fighting with Interior Health to give us a little edge, but there was no room.”
Lyle said they weren’t even allowed to open for private family gatherings anymore.
“To keep paying the bills at the theatre has been tough” he said, noting it cost $1,800 to heat the building for two months during the winter.
“We were getting to the point that something had to happen. We love the theatre, we love the nostalgia, but we were just about at the end.”
However, with a big sigh of relief, the popcorn is popping and the silver screen is coming to life again with action, adventure, romance and suspense.
Tonight and this weekend the theatre is showing Godzilla vs. Kong. But remember, it’s first come-first serve as only 50 people are allowed per show.
Lyle said while studios are holding some movies back during the pandemic, there will be some blockbusters coming, such as Mortal Kombat (next week), Top Gun (the remake) and a Quite Place 2.
At some point Lyle hopes to offer a short run of film club movies as well.
