Following hot on the heels of this Summer’s festival sensation Silent Disco, comes a new vision in decibally-challenged entertainment... Silent Cinema.
Due for it’s red carpet premiere on October 31st this year at London’s Andaz Hotel, “Silent Cinema will be a world first” claims it’s creator Damian Barr – journalist for The Times and playwright for BBC Radio 4. Damian came up with the idea through the realisation of a personal conundrum – while he knew that he was passionate about movies, he often found himself irritated by what he descibes as the “extra soundtrack.”
The premise is fantastically simple; you love films on the big screen but can’t stand the noise from your neighbours? Then Silent Cinema may be the answer. Take classic films, add big fat wireless headphones, minus the noise pollution; the scrunching of wrappers, crunching of popcorn, slurping of drinks, the people behind you whispering, chatting, coughing, shhhhhhh!... and you have Silent Cinema.
Initial feedback on the idea has been overwhelmingly positive and now that the concept’s grand unveiling is imminent, Damian claims that “People are gagging for it to launch!” It could well be a coming of age for the cinematic experience, and it’s all about quality films (you are unlikely to catch the latest Scary Movie at a Silent Cinema screening). The very first film to be shown, fittingly on October 31st (Halloween) will be Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, one for the more discerning movie-goer.
By May next year, Silent Cinema will have travelled south for a series of public screenings in Brighton’s Jubilee Square to coincide with the advent of the Brighton Festival (the 2nd biggest arts festival in Europe – after Edinburgh) and whilst this is currently a leftfield venture, Damian believes that a move into the mainstream is a definate possibility for the future as he points out that “Most things that start off edgy, move toward the centre at some point,” so fingers crossed that a silent cinema will be popping-up in a public space near you soon.
- Silent Cinema uses a combination of tried and tested technology from cinema and Silent Disco.
- Just put on your wireless headphones, sit back and relax.
- Because there is no noise pollution, the cinema-sized screen can be projected on to a wall anywhere.
- If you need to run to the toilet, you can do so with your headphones on so you won’t miss any of the action.
Silent Cinema, Andaz Hotel, 40 Liverpool Street, London EC2 (020-7618 5061; http://www.ticketweb.com/). Programme: The Shining, Oct 31; Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving and The Ice Storm, Nov 23; It’s a Wonderful Life plus an unseasonal horror, Dec 14 2008
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