Central London’s open-air cinema returns this August with a line-up of classic, cult and contemporary cinema. Film4 Summer Screen takes place in the courtyard at Somerset House, a historic building between the Strand and the River Thames.
Once a Tudor Palace where the future Queen Elizabeth I lived as a princess, Somerset House was rebuilt by George III in the 1770s to house the Royal Academy. The building now houses a variety of cultural and artistic organisations as well as the Courtauld Gallery and Courtauld Institute of Art. It is also the venue for London Fashion Week.
When it is not being used as an open-air cinema, the courtyard features a ‘grove’ of 55 water jets specially choreographed and enhanced with fibre-optic lighting. In the Christmas season it is a popular skating rink.
Programme highlights for Film4 Summer Screen at Somerset House will be the British crime thriller Sexy Beast, starring Ray Winstone and Sir Ben Kingsley, and the multi-award winning war epic Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola. The rest of the programme is yet to be announced.
Films will be screened from 16 to 25 August. Tickets cost £14.50 (single bill) or £18 (double bill) plus booking fee.
The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Tel: +44 20 7845 4600
Website: www.somersethouse.org.uk
Facebook: Somerset House
Twitter: @SomersetHouse
YouTube: Somerset House London
Flickr: Somerset House
Author: Jonathan Thomas
Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile who launched Anglotopia.net in 2007 to channel his passion for Britain. Londontopia is its sister publication dedicated to everything London.