A theatre will soon be showing films following the demise of a city's only cinema.

The £14m Gala Theatre, at Durham, which is run by Durham City Council after the collapse of the management firm it hired, is planning a week of classic movies next month featuring more than 25 titles.

The Gala already has a large format cinema that shows films such as Disney's The Lion King and Sacred Journey, which tells the story of the city's history.

From Monday, April 11 to Wednesday, April 23, the main auditorium will show productions including Grease and Blade Runner.

The city's independently-run Robins Cinema closed in January after its landlords accepted an offer from a national pub chain to convert the building into an Australian theme bar.

The council had to abandon plans for a multiplex cinema on the Walkergate site, being developed with Amec, but announced that the Gala's role as a cinema would be expanded.

A theatre spokeswoman said: "Some of our younger patrons have never seen the likes of Grease or Blade Runner on the big screen.

"This is a great opportunity for others to re-live the time when they saw these films first time around."

She said that the £3 tickets are already selling well. "We hope it is going to be successful,'' she said.

She added the venue was trying to acquire a standard format projector for the big screen cinema so that mainstream films would be a regular feature in its programme.

For details call the box office on 0191-332 4041.

The Gala is hosting what it says will be its biggest conference. The auditorium's banks of seats can be taken out and a level floor created.

The British Society of Skeletal Radiologists is holding its annual seminar until Friday.