THE curtains came down for the last time at Barry's Theatre Royal last week.

Members of the Save Our Cinema group arranged a red carpet event, and dressed in tuxedos to give the last cinema-goers in Barry the VIP treatment last Thursday.

Chairman of the campaign, Bob Armstrong, welcomed the guests.

"We had a good turn-out," he said.

"There was ice cream for everyone, a red carpet and it was a good night.

And he added: "It is only just the beginning of our fight for a cinema in Barry."

More than 10,000 people signed the petition to protest against the closure of the cinema, and the Save Barry Cinema group on internet social networking site Facebook also has hundreds of members.

Many of the supporters showed up to the two-screen Theatre Royal on Thursday, and there were few empty seats for the last film as it showed The Smallest Show on Earth, starring Peter Sellers at 7.30pm, and 10,000BC at 8pm.

More supporters crowded outside.

Member of the Save Barry Cinema group, Steve Gunter, said: "For such a large town, Barry doesn't have many amenities.

"More than meets the eye takes place at this cinema - for many of Barry's pensioners it is their only outing of the week aside from collecting their pension.

"What we would like to do is completely restore it to its former art deco glory, and put in a bar. I think that would start bringing people back through the doors."

The lease on the cinema ends on April 20, and Circle Cinema boss Brian Bull, who owns the lease and used to own the Monaco Cinema in Cardiff (now redeveloped into flats), will hand the building back to landowner Bob Phillips.

Bob Armstrong of the Save the Cinema group added: "We have set up a watch - so there are volunteers watching the cinema all the time to make sure nothing happens to it."

The Theatre Royal was built as a theatre in 1909 and was converted to a cinema in the late 1920s. After a fire the cinema was reopened in 1944.

Keith Curtis, who worked at the cinema as a projectionist for its 1944 reopening, travelled back from Poole for the cinema's last event.

"It is very sad," he said.

"The cinema has a lot of special features, original features, and it has been such a central part of Barry for so long. "

Mr Curtis remembered how the cinema would provide entertainment for hours.

He said: "I would start work at 1pm in the afternoon and not finish until 11pm. People would come in and watch the first film and there would be a second film after."