SHOW HOURS
Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday
3:00pm and 7:00pm
Thursday 7:00pm
Friday 3:00 pm - film shown with captions
The Peterborough Community Theatre is an independent theater owned by Peterborough residents Vanessa Amsbury-Bonilla and Kevin Goohs and happens to be the oldest movie theater in New Hampshire; celebrating its 108th anniversary in September 2022. Peterborough’s first and only
movie theater opened September 26, 1914 as the Gem Theatre and was built by local residents Charles, Warren, and Lester Nichols. The theater had a seating capacity of 500; admission was five cents for children, ten cents for adults, and balcony seats were fifteen cents. In the early years, both movies and stage productions were regularly featured at the Gem. The theater has undergone a number of updates and renovations, including in 1945 when it nearly burnt to the ground. In 1977, when a stage was added, not surprisingly many artists from the Folkway also performed at the Peterborough Community Theatre, including Odetta, Tom Rush, Jonathan Edwards, and Merle and Doc Watson. For those of you not familiar with the Folkway, it was a legendary coffeehouse just down the street from the Theatre, and was the stomping ground for many folk artists between 1975 and 1996. In 1984, the building was reconfigured into a 95-seat theater with an appropriately named restaurant next door called Hollywood Cafe. In April of 2013, a Kickstarter campaign was launched to convert the Theatre from 35mm film to digital to keep it from being shuttered forever. In just 23 days, over $50,000 was raised and the Peterborough Community Theatre converted to digital technology in May 2013. Carol Nelson purchased the theater in September 2014 and made numerous updates, including all new seats, GMO-free popcorn, a new web site and weekly newsletter, a new popcorn machine, healthy concession options, installation of a History Wall in the lobby, and most recently the addition of a DVS (Descriptive Video Service) system so that blind and visually impaired patrons can enjoy movies too. Peterborough Community Theatre is only the fourth theater in all of New Hampshire to offer this service. In addition to featuring newly released movies, the theater is often used for one-time film screenings and by community groups to hold special meetings. Peterborough Community Theatre has been voted one of the top 3 movie theaters in the Monadnock Region in the Monadnock Shopper News “Best of Monadnock – Readers’ Choice Awards” and one of the Best Local Movie Theaters by the Keene Sentinel Readers’ Choice Awards. In addition to featuring newly released movies, the theater is often used for one-time film screenings, by community groups to hold special meetings, and as a fundraising venue for local school groups. The Theatre supports local non-profits, including:
Be the Change
Fresh Air Fund
Peterborough Woman’s Club
Monadnock Chorus
Children and The Arts
The Cornucopia Project
The Place to Go
The Grapevine Family & Community Resource Center
Project Shakespeare
Pierce School PTO
The Well School
Peterborough Players
Andy’s Summer Playhouse
Jaffrey PTO
The River Center
