Film
Screen gems: 12 utterly unique UK cinemas
Don't settle for your local multiplex – check out this list of the most offbeat and wonderful places to catch a movie across the land.
"Streaming’s the future," they say. "Pick n'mix may as well be priced in gold Bullion," they cry.
Both valid points, granted, but few can deny that the true power of cinema – to make us run a gamut of emotions, to give us licence to stuff our faces with popcorn, to sit back and viewing a film exactly how it was intended to be. Some of life's simplest pleasures indeed.
But did you know just how diverse the UK’s cinematic landscape is? Dodging your run-of-the-mill multiplex, here we present the most offbeat and wonderful cinemas worth checking out.
1. The Olympic, London
The Olympic has seating fit for a rockstar
© The Olympic
117-123 Church Road, London, SW13 9HL
Between 1966 and 2009, everyone from The Rolling Stones to Prince to The Beatles laid down tracks inside the padded walls of London’s hallowed Olympic Studios, making the music you were probably conceived to. Now converted into a luxe cinema strewn with deluxe seating and mini drinks tables fit for a rock god, the Olympic is even staffed by many former employees of the original studio, and aptly enough, the Dolby Atmos Surround will knock your socks off.
2. Cinema & Co., Swansea
Fiercely independent: Cinema and co.
© Cinema & Co.
17 Castle St, Swansea, SA1 1JF
The frontage of Cinema & Co has a café selling Welsh produce and locally roasted speciality coffee, so you know what you’re getting before you even buy a ticket: it’s a cool place. Refreshments come from a fully licenced bar, seating comes in the shape of wooden crates clad with cushions, its film slate is as eclectic as the crowd. and it's only shy of a fixie bike projector and ethically sourced popcorn to being called the hipster epicentre of Wales. For now, though, join the ranks and visit one of the greatest independent cinemas going.
3. Mareel, Shetland Islands
The northerly most cinema in the UK
© Mareel
Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0WQ
A thousand years have passed since Norsemen ran the rule in the Shetlands, but such is the Scandi-like architecture involved in Mareel, the region’s super sleek arts and cinema centre, it’s as though they never left. Nestled on the edge of the North Sea, visiting this beautiful minimalist landmark feels like you’re walking into some windswept location from your favourite Jo Nesbo adaptation. Offering the best of the box office along with stunning views of seals and seabirds from its mighty glass windows, it turns out the most northerly cinema in the UK might also be the best of all.
4. The Horse Hospital, London
A cultural kick up the backside
© The Horse Hospital
Colonnade, Bloomsbury, London, WC1N 1JD
Traipse down the cobbled side streets of Bloomsbury and you might stumble upon this former 18th century two-tiered stables, presently operating as an experimental cinema and arts space. Cinema to make you think – Blitzed, a recent three film season, focused on British men and masculinity in the 1950s – the handpicked specials will make you feel as if you’ve stumbled out of a media studies lecture given by Professor Stanley Kubrick. Where thought-provoking cinema is concerned, Horse Hospital really is in a field of its own.
5. Celluloid Sail, Nationwide
It beats walking the plank
© Celluloid Sail
Docking everywhere from Belfast to Plymouth, the Kaskelot – a tall ship which itself has racked up IMDB credits in everything from 1993’s The Three Musketeers to 1995’s Cutthroat Island – had The Life Aquatic beamed onto its masts as part of a BFI initiative over summer. Few outdoor cinemas have captured public interest as this one has. It’s not expected to return for another year at least, but given the rapturous reception for it, watch this space.
6. Cube Microplex, Bristol
Bristol's Cube is small but packs a punch
© Cube Microplex
Dove Street South, Kingsdown, Bristol, BS2 8JD
Billing itself as an "art venue, adult crèche and progressive social wellbeing enterprise", you’ll find an awful lot more inside Cube than simply cinema: orchestral evenings, game nights and art exhibitions, to name but a few. Film-wise, the cosy 108-seat theatre hosts film festivals, short of feature length, and has ran film competitions. Chiefly staffed by volunteers, it says much about the loveliness surrounding Cube that the group once sent people over to Haiti to screen films for earthquake survivors. All hail the microplex.
7. The Barn Cinema, Totnes
You'll find few more novel cinemas than this one
© The Barn Cinema
Hall Trust, Dartington, Totnes, TQ9 6EL
Situated inside a grand renovated 15th century barn deep within the ground of the Dartington Hall estate in Totnes, Devon, the Barn Cinema runs an extensive programme of films including mainstream hits, live event cinema and arthouse fodder. Older than Hollywood, and let’s be honest, America, it’s unmatched by any cinema the world over. Besides, in these picturesque surroundings, you wouldn’t even begrudge having to sit through another Transformer movie.
8. Broadway, Nottingham
Nottingham's vibrant Broadway cinema
© Nottingham Council
14-18 Broad St, Nottingham, NG1 3AL
A couple of obvious foibles aside – namely, not dedicating an entire screen to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; and not playing Bryan Adams’s Everything I Do, I Do It For You, in the foyer on repeat – credit must go to the makers of this Nottingham landmark of culture for enlisting the help of Nottingham native Paul Smith to design one of its theatres. The great man’s signature prints even extend to the popcorn-besieged upholstery. A genuine treat for the senses.
9. The Station, Richmond
Richmond's picturesque Station space
© Tripadvisor
Station Yard, Richmond, North Yorkshire, DL10 4LD
Whether it’s the taut romance in 1945’s A Brief Encounter or the likes of Bourne and Bond beating people senseless from train carriage to carriage, cinema truly has much to thank the railways for. Not least at Richmond’s Station Yard, which, like something you’d expect to see on a postcard, has managed to turn a defunct North Yorkshire railway building into a thriving picturehouse and major art space. Alight here for a tremendous time and some shopping with your mum.
10. The Cameo, Edinburgh
Edinburgh's Cameo is now a city staple
© Flickr; Angus Mcdiarmid
38 Home St, Edinburgh, EH3 9LZ
Reportedly a fond favourite of Mr Quentin Tarantino, this Edinburgh filmgoing palace is just aching with rich cinematic history, having been one of the first places in the city to initially show post-war audiences with foreign cinema. Decades on, in the safe hands of the good folk of Picturehouse, it’s still doing a similar job, bringing audiences the very best in worldwide cinema every day of the week. Word to the wise: its bustling café is a good spot for a post-film debrief.
11. The Hippodrome, Bo’ness
Hippodrome: Scotland's oldest purpose-built cinema
© Scottish Historic Buildings Trust
10 Hope Street, Bo'ness, Central Lowlands, EH51 0AA
Fact: this is Scotland’s oldest purpose-built cinema. Another fact: you’ll find this sublime Art Deco building propped up in the town of Bo’ness (sub-fact: Falkirk). Opened in 1912, it was named a world heritage site in 1979, and later faithfully restored in 2008. By way of tribute to its own heritage, it hosts its own annual silent cinema festival. Looking part planetarium, part opera house, the main theatre itself can surely rival even Weinstein's loftiest Oscar-bait for pure drama and spectacle.
12. The Rex, Berkhamsted
Even Jason Statham films look classy in here
© The Rex
High St, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP4 2FG
Sometimes in life it’s about the small details. Those trivial little bits that others may miss. Those behind The Rex know this too well. The website alone performs the tasks of transporting you to a bygone era of sequins and jazz hands, but nothing prepares you for the stunning 1938 art-deco arch that meets you IRL. Then there's the crispest of crisp projection and some of the “clearest non-booming sound anywhere in the world”. But if anything will make you feel as though you've travelled in time, it's the prices – with adult tickets starting from a fiver, it’s a bargain.