Brockley Jack Film Club
The Brockley Jack Theatre (which at one stage appeared at risk due to the refurbishment of the Brockley Jack pub) is due to reopen in June. The Theatre's original layout will be retained, allaying the fears of the theatre company and cementing the venue's future as an important part of the London fringe.
When it reopens, we can not only look forward to the return of live theatre and a better place to have a drink afterwards, but also Brockley's first proper film venue.
Film club orgniser Gregor Murbach explains:
"We are planning to launch a volunteer-based film club that would offer an enjoyable cinema experience for the local community. A venue has been found; the Brockley Jack Theatre. It's an intimate and comfortable venue, with cinema-style seating. Unlike most cinemas, the venue is licensed, so you can take a drink with you for the screening if you want. The team behind the theatre has been very supportive and now it's a question of letting the people know about our idea, finding out what they would like and getting a bit of funding to quick-start the project, hopefully by the early summer."
If you're interested in the film club, either as a prospective volunteer or viewer, please complete the online survey here.
In the absence of a full-time cinema, this seems an excellent way of providing a big-screen experience locally, while giving the Theatre a life beyond its own productions. Talk of parent-and-baby screenings and opportunities for local film-makers to showcase their work is also very encouraging.
Our only caveats to all of this are that we hope the film choices aren't too obscurant and that the film club will talk to the Rivoli management about the possibility of staging screenings at the Ballroom (an idea raised at the recent meeting of the Brockley Society). Finding events that the current management deem appropriate for them seems to be an increasingly tough challenge and, with the Rivoli only open a handful of times in the month, one of our greatest treasures is out of reach to most people, most of the time. If a way of screening films can be found, it would be a great addition to the Rivoli's limited repertoire.
