A CARMARTHENSHIRE theatre will be hosting special screenings later this month to celebrate 30 years of its unconventional premiere of a cult classic film.

In 1993, there were plans to close Carmarthen’s Lyric Theatre so that Carmarthen Town Council could demolish it and build a shopping centre in its place.

Liz Evans of Carmarthen Youth Opera and then-mayor Richard Goodridge led a campaign which convinced famed director Steven Spielberg to stage a premiere of blockbuster Jurassic Park at The Lyric Theatre as part of their fight to save the venue.

This story was immortalised in film recently, with Save The Cinema – starring Samantha Morton, Tom Felton and Jonathan Pryce. It was released and screened at the cinema in January 2022.

To mark 30 years of the Jurassic Park premiere, The Lyric will be hosting a screening of Jurassic Park as well as Save The Cinema in its art deco auditorium this month.

The screening of Jurassic Park will be for one day only and will include a visit from Dinomania reptiles, which were seen on Britain’s Got Talent.

Local businesses are also getting involved in conjunction with Theatrau Sir Gâr.

There will be a chance to win four tickets to the Jurassic Park screening and a Sloppy Joe’s Streetfood voucher as well as a meet and greet with a baby dinosaur from Dinomania.

There will be a dinosaur trail hosted by the shops and businesses on King Street, with prizes for those who complete the trail.

The Lyric Theatre will screen Jurassic Park (1993) on Sunday, July 16 at 2pm.

Save The Cinema can be seen at the Lyric Theatre between July 17-19. There will be a captioned screening on July 17 at 7pm and a matinee screening at 2.30pm on July 18. There will also be screenings on July 18 and 19 at 7pm.

Tickets cost £5 for Jurassic Park and £5.50 for Save The Cinema and can be bought at www.theatrausirgar.co.uk or by calling 0345 2263510.