A TikTok urban explorer has filmed inside Ayr’s abandoned former Playhouse cinema site, offering a glimpse of the Boswell Park building that was later used as a cannabis farm.
The user, who posts under the name LBanos, shared the footage earlier this month. He claimed it was the “first documented entry in years” to the building, which still retains many of its original features.
Former cinema and bingo hall
The Art Deco building is category B-listed and has been vacant since Mecca ceased trading from the site. Before its later life as a bingo hall, the building was known as the Playhouse cinema.
The site originally housed the Boswell Park roller-skating rink, which opened in 1911 before being converted into a cinema. When the Playhouse opened, it had 3,104 seats, making it the third-largest cinema ever built in Scotland.
Although the building has not operated as a cinema since the 1960s, it remained a familiar Ayr landmark through its subsequent use as a bingo hall.
Cannabis farm convictions
The building was also the scene of a criminal investigation after it was used for cannabis production between August 21 and September 18, 2025.
Earlier in August, two Vietnamese nationals were jailed for more than two years for their roles in the drug farm. Dat Nugent Tien, 30, and Phan Trieu, 34, pleaded guilty to charges connected with the cannabis haul.
During an earlier court hearing, Tien admitted producing cannabis at the Boswell Park building during the period stated. Trieu also pleaded guilty to producing cannabis, while not-guilty pleas to other charges were accepted.
The new footage brings renewed attention to a prominent but unused Ayr building with a long public history, from roller skating and cinema to bingo and, most recently, the cannabis farm investigation.
The video was posted by LBanos on TikTok. The source report does not state whether the building’s owner has announced plans for the vacant site or whether any further access is planned.