The Electric is a cinema in Birmingham, England. It opened in Station Street in 1909, showing its first silent film on 27 December of that year. It was the first cinema in Birmingham, and is the oldest known working cinema in the country. The Electric has two screens, both able to show digitally-shot films and one also able to show films in 35 mm. Originally called the Electric Theatre, the cinema has undergone a number of name changes since its opening, but returned as The Electric in October 1993. It closed in December 2003 and was purchased by local film director and producer Tom Lawes, who initiated extensive renovations to the building in order to restore it to its 1930s Art Deco aesthetic. It reopened in December 2004. The cinema closed again at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, with most of its staff being made redundant. In January 2022 the cinema reopened under new ownership. History 1900s The Electric opened on the bank holiday of 27 December 1909 and was Birmingham's first film theatre. The architectural plans were designed by leading theatre architect of the time, Bertie Crewe (1860–1937) which are now a part of the Library of Birmingham's archives and collections. Excerpts from newspapers at the time: "There has been a further addition to the number of places of amusement in Birmingham. Electric Theatre (1908), Ltd., of London has taken a commodious shop in Station-Street, right in the centre of the city, and the interior has been transformed into a cosy and attractive entertainment hall with a capacity of 376, in red plush tip-up seats. The machines here are also of the latest Edison type, and brilliantly steady pictures are shown at a throw of about 55 ft. The operating room is similarly equipped, and is one of the finest in the city." "The pictures displayed, some of which are in colours, are of an historical, dramatic, educational, as well as of a humorous character, and the entertainment is proving a decided attraction with young and old alike. Pictures showing this week are To Save Her Soul, Piedmont, The Shell, A Box of Chocolates, The Cabbage, Making Plate Glass, A Workman's Revenge, and That Skating Carnival, with a complete change on Thursday. Mr. George Putnam, is the energetic manager, and Mr. A. Hart chief man at the wheel." "It is estimated that upwards of two thousand