LIGHTS, camera, action - a series of outdoor evening film screenings is coming to Town Gardens this summer.

Cult Screens will be showing a collection of classics and new flicks in the Old Town venue’s Bowl with the audience, of up to 300 people, having a choice of deck chairs and bean bags to sit on.

The company is coming to Swindon after enjoying success in Reading and Oxford with similar projects. The Swindon programme, featuring 12 films, will kick off with a showing of Top Gun on Thursday, June 5 followed by Dirty Dancing on Friday, June 6 and Anchorman on Saturday, June 7.

The other screenings will take place on three consecutive nights in July, August and September.

Phil Cottle, Cult Screens’ head of ideas, said: “We are really excited about coming to Swindon and offering something different to the summer scene in the town. It’s such a fantastic venue and we just couldn’t say no.

“We have been running events in Reading and Oxford for two years and the cinema has become a feature of the summer in both locations and hopefully everyone will really enjoy the experience here too so we are back in Swindon every year.”

Cult Screens, based in Reading, will announce the rest of their film offering in the coming weeks and they have promised a selection equally as iconic as their opening trio.

Phil said: “We are really pleased with the films that we are offering and are looking forward to letting the people of Swindon know our full line up.”

The events will feature music before the films with cocktails and a selection of food on sale. If the weather gets chilly blankets will be available so that visitors’ enjoyment of the films isn’t hampered.

Phil said: “Everyone is looking forward to welcoming the people of Swindon to the Town Gardens’ Bowl and the Cult Screens experience as we think it is a fantastic location with great potential.

“The whole experience is a lot of fun, as we put on some good music before the films and we tend to attract big fans of the films. This makes it a really good atmosphere as the audience really savour being sat in the sun watching their favourite films.

“Things like Dirty Dancing tend to get people showing us a few of their dance moves after they’ve had a few cocktails which all adds to the fun.”

Tickets for Cult Screens’ events go on sale on April 24 and for more information visit www.cultscreens.co.uk.

  • THE new open air cinema in the Town Gardens will not mean the end of the summer Bowl concerts which annually take place in the Old Town park.

Swindon Council is currently working on plans for this year’s gigs with a line-up expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Previous headliners of the Bowl gigs have included Billy Ocean, 10CC, 5ive and Sandi Thom. When the line up is announced tickets will be available from www.swindon.gov.uk.