Shetland Arts announced today that Mareel will be opening Tuesday – Sunday from Tuesday 10 May, thanks to support from the Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas, part of a package of support established by the Scottish Government. The purpose of this Fund is to help stabilise, rebuild and revitalise independent cinemas in Scotland, by supporting new activity and initiatives that help address the fundamental shifts to the industry brought about by COVID-19.

Mareel reopening on a Tuesday sees the return of Bring Your Own Baby screenings on a Tuesday morning, which allow parents and carers to feel comfortable attending the cinema in a relaxed environment with their baby, or very young child, without having to find a babysitter. The Subtitled screenings will move from Wednesday evening to a Tuesday evening slot, these screenings are captioned with subtitles, following not only dialogue but also any significant music or sound effects. Bring Your Own Baby and our Relaxed Screenings (on Sunday mornings) remain socially distanced to allow those who may be vulnerable to return more confidently to the cinema and to create a more relaxed environment to spread out in with changing bags and equipment.

The current ticket prices will remain, with Tuesday replacing Wednesday in the all-day cheap ticket slot:

Tuesday - £5.50 all day

Wednesday & Thursday - £5.50 daytime, £7.50/£5.50 after 5pm

Friday - £7.50/£5.50 daytime, £10/£7.50 after 5pm

Weekends – £5.50 mornings, £10/£7.50 after 12pm

Under 16s - £5.50 for all screenings.

As the cinema industry begins to recover from the pandemic, Shetland Arts is looking forward to more big releases coming to Mareel next month, including Downton Abbey: A New Era, Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Lost City and The Northman!

Jenny Leask, Film Programme Manager at Shetland Arts, said: "We're so grateful for this funding, and that it allows us to reopen on Tuesdays. It's obviously been a really tough time for cinemas and continues to be so, even though some aspects like film release schedules have settled down at last. Many of our customers have simply got out of the habit of going to the cinema, so we hope that Mareel being open an extra day a week, and more people perhaps being back in the office rather than working from home, means that we'll have more folk taking advantage of those cheap weekday tickets!"

Tickets and further information can be found online or by calling the Shetland Arts box office during opening hours, (currently Wednesday – Sunday 10am – 9pm) on 01595 745500.