A Nottingham filmmaker is collaborating with the Malt Cross Historical Music Hall to produce a short film to run parallel to its Heritage-funded refurbishment.

“Under the Music Hall”, written and directed by Ellie Wake, is a historical fantasy-based drama set in the cave under the Malt Cross and within the historical buildings that lay under the café bar.

The short film tells the story of a local Nottingham girl, Annie, who is invited into the cave by a documentary film crew. When she is there, as well as the beauty of the cave, she discovers its history when she is visited by characters from the past.

The film will address three prominent time periods:
• The time of the Carmelite monks who built the cave
• The Victorian Music Hall Era
• The bombing of Nottingham in World War Two, on 8th May, 1941

The film – to be shot on location in Nottingham in October – aims to tell real stories of the cave and Nottingham’s history, showing the importance that the cities many famous caves have to the town and its residents. It will also show the transformation of the cave and the neglected rooms of the Music Hall as they are transformed by the upcoming renovation.

The filmmakers are in pre-production and are seeking to raise the funds needed to shoot the film through crowd funding website IndieGoGo. Attainment of the finances needed will help to bring the film – and the history of the caves – to life.

Go to the IndieGoGo campaign page https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/under-the-music-hall–2 or the Facebook page for information.

The filmmakers are aiming to create a short film that:

•Emphasises the importance of the Malt Cross cave in tying with historical events throughout history and especially those having occurred in Nottingham

• Acts as both a narrative story and a trailer for the caves renovation and the restoration of similar caves in Nottingham

• Shows the cave as it was used originally, as they stand in present day before any renovation work and the cave and the rooms above after the renovation work takes place.

• Shows the transition of the cave as coming ‘back to life’ once the renovation work has taken place and becoming a useful and importance space as it once was.

• Focuses on the idea that the caves and the rooms below are something ‘special’ and that it is a positive thing that they will no longer remain hidden and unused by the public

After “Under the Music Hall” has been completed, it is hoped that it will be screened as widely as possible within the local community and at film festivals both in the UK and internationally.