Final reel at famous cinema

John Cleese once walked past the Labia Theatre in Cape Town, saw that a Monty Python movie was showing, and went inside to watch it.

He probably shifted uncomfortably in one of the theatre's 65-year-old seats as he watched his younger self on celluloid.

The theatre, opened by the Italian Princess Labia in 1949, has become a landmark over the years. But because the theatre is unable to get the parts necessary to maintain its projectors (the oldest dates back to 1960), it will be forced to cease rolling celluloid and will turn to crowd-funding to stay in business.

Owner Ludi Kraus said he had sourced two second-hand digital projectors from Singapore and was hiring a third, but still needed to pay for them.

Using local website Thundafund, the sourcing initiative kicked off yesterday.

The minimum target is R150000, but Kraus hopes to raise R2-million. By yesterday R30000 had been raised.

Kraus said the plan was to keep the theatre's "old world charm, but with new world equipment".

Part of the Labia's charm includes serving beer, wine and alcohol-spiked slushies.

In fact, said Kraus, at a recent screening of The Great Gatsby the audience had a party to rival the one on screen.