Drive-in movie is a first for Suffolk

AN AMERICAN-style “drive-in” movie is to be shown at a Suffolk airfield next month - thought to be the first of its kind in the county.

Rougham Airfield, near Bury St Edmunds, will stage a big screen showing of the blockbuster musical Grease, marking 30 years since its release.

Movie-goers will be able to pull up their cars, tune in their radio to the sound signal being used by the films' screeners, then sit back and watch the movie classic on the big screen under the stars.

Claire Davies, of organisers Events UK, said: “Most people have seen Grease and love it but this event will be extra special, the whole drive-in experience is new for Bury St Edmunds.”

John Agnew, the owner of the Rougham estate, has high hopes for the event, set for September 20, as the airfield seeks to offer an increasingly diverse set of events.

He said “We are always looking to put on a bigger variety of entertainment sources. This is a tremendous facility that we want to be utilised.

“We've been thinking about a drive-in cinema night for a while and we're very pleased that Events UK has come in and made it happen”

Built in 1942, the airfield has previously been the backdrop for many events including the Suffolk kite festival, classic car and agriculture shows along with the regular air displays.

The venue was the centre of controversy in 2007 when it had to cancel the Human Zoo festival after St Edmundsbury Borough Council served a noise abatement order.

It is thought there will be no issues of that sort at the Grease screening due to the sound being broadcast straight into movie-goers' car radios.

The film, which is the original 1978 version directed by Randal Kleiser , is set in a late 1950s high school, following the romance of greaser Danny and wholesome girl Sandy with an all-singing, all-dancing soundtrack that has reached legendary status three decades on.

Tickets cost £5 with gates opening at 7.30pm on September 20.