One of the Peak District’s most impressive landmarks is being turned into a pop-up cinema this spring.
The dramatic Peak Cavern will be kitted out with a full cinema set-up, plus cosy blankets and hot water bottles, for an unmissable film experience.
The next series of Village Screen events will begin later this month, with films on the bill including Dune, The Lost Boys, and Back to the Future.
Lovers of a horror film will also be able to watch The Descent – a critically-acclaimed thriller flick that’s actually set in a cave system – in the most eerily immersive setting possible.
The Village Screen at Peak Cavern in the Peak District. Credit: Nathan Dainty at It’s Nate (@itsnate.uk / www.itsnate.uk)
Visitors are greeted by live music, street food stalls, and pop-up bars before heading through to the cinema area, surrounded on all sides by stunning natural limestone walls.
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The Peak Cavern itself is one of the gems of the Peak District, with a fascinating history.
The rock formation used to be known as the ‘Devil’s arse’, because of the fart-like noises created by the water that flowed through it.
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The Village Screen at Peak Cavern in the Peak District. Credit: Nathan Dainty at It’s Nate (@itsnate.uk / www.itsnate.uk)
The Village Screen at Peak Cavern in the Peak District. Credit: Nathan Dainty at It’s Nate (@itsnate.uk / www.itsnate.uk)
The Village Screen at Peak Cavern in the Peak District. Credit: Nathan Dainty at It’s Nate (@itsnate.uk / www.itsnate.uk)
It also has the largest cave entrance in the British Isles, at 20m in height, 35m in width, and 100m in length.
Inside are the remains of a rope maker’s village – and in more modern times, it’s the Village Screen that keeps visitors flocking back here.
The full line-up of films will all be projected onto a 21ft screen, with state-of-the-art sound and lighting.
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Movie-goers can get drinks and snacks delivered to their seats during the film, and add on ‘Snuggle Packages’, which include blankets, hot water bottles, cushions, and a selection of sweets and chocolate.
The Village Screen is a small, independent events team that has been running cinema experiences at the Peak Cavern since 2017, with 60 cave events so far.
The company is also behind similar events at the Victoria Baths former swimming pool in Manchester itself.
The Village Screen was set up in 2015 to create a stunning cinema experience, showing classic films in unexpected locations – they’ve also made use of venues like Kenwood Hall in Sheffield and Hathersage Swimming Pool, plus a range of drive-in experiences.
The Village Screen’s Peak Cavern line-up for spring 2022.
Thursday 28 April – The Lost Boys, doors at 6pm, film at 8pm
Friday 29 April – The Goonies, doors at 6pm, film at 8pm
Saturday 30 April – The Descent, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm
Sunday 1 May – Back to the Future, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm
Thursday 5 May – Pulp Fiction, doors at 6pm, film at 8pm
Friday 6 May – The Lost Boys, doors at 6pm, film at 8pm
Saturday 7 May – The Rocky Horror Picture Show, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm
Sunday 8 May – Dune, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm
Friday 13 May – Alien, doors at 6pm, film at 8pm
Saturday 14 May – Princess Bride, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm
Sunday 15 May – The Goonies, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm
Featured image: Nathan Dainty at It’s Nate (@itsnate.uk / www.itsnate.uk)
Art & Culture
Manchester’s historic Portico Library secures £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s Portico Library has secured a whopping £6.4 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
In case you missed it, ambitious plans to transform the historic Grade II-listed building on Mosely Street were already unveiled last October… but now, The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced it is committing £6.4 million of funding towards the project, hoping that the building thrives as the UK’s most sustainable historic library for generations to come.
The grant is being described as a ‘major milestone’ in the approximately £12 million Portico Reunited project.
The Portico Reunited project will look to ‘reunite’ the historic building’s three floors for the first time in over a century, creating a fully-accessible and sustainable cultural library.
Founded all the way back in 1806, The Portico Library played a central role in Manchester’s rise as the world’s first modern city, and since then has been serving as a window into the past and a providing a place of inspiration for anyone who needs it.
The Portico Library has secured a £6.4m funding grant towards its transformation / Credit: Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Crucially, plans will see a step-free entrance and lift installed to make the library accessible to all.
There’ll also be new exhibition and event spaces introduced as part of the scheme to explore the stories of Manchester’s communities and the city’s heritage. There will a Northern Bookshop, showcasing regional and emerging writers, and independent publishers, as well as a creative Portico Kitchen, which will celebrate the city’s food culture, writing, and history.
A place for school groups, families, and all people to explore Portico’s collection and experiment creatively also forms part of the plans.
Dr Thom Keep, Librarian and CEO of The Portico Library, called the funding grant a ‘landmark moment’ in the Portico’s ‘rich and complex history’, and a ‘huge achievement’ for its staff, trustees, volunteers, and partners.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, we can reunite this extraordinary building and make room for people to discover, learn and create together,” he added.
“We have listened to thousands of people about what the Portico could become, and their ideas and experiences have helped shape these plans.
“Our ambition is a library that belongs to the whole city – a place to discover remarkable collections, question the stories we have inherited, and create new possibilities together.”
Manchester City Council has granted planning permission and listed building consent for the project, and the building is expected to close for construction in late spring 2028 and reopen once again in early March 2030.
Following reopening, the transformed library is expected to welcome around 95,000 visitors each year.
Featured Image – Purcell Architecture (Supplied)
Art & Culture
Iconic Manc movie 24 Hour Party People is set to return to cinemas for its anniversary
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most iconic movies is set to return to the big screen next month.
Remastered in 4K and returning to UK cinemas to mark 24 years since its original release, Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 biographical comedy drama film, 24 Hour Party People, tells the story of Manchester‘s popular music community from 1976 to 1992 – specifically about Factory Records‘ founder Tony Wilson.
The film begins with the punk rock era of the late 1970s, before moving through the 1980s into the rave and DJ culture, and of course, the ‘Madchester‘ scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The narrative largely follows the career of Tony Wilson, played by Middleton-born actor Steve Coogan, while also covering the careers of the major Factory Records artists – especially Joy Division and New Order, as well as A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, and Happy Mondays.
If you haven’t seen 24 Hour Party People before, it’s a dramatisation based on a combination of real events, rumours, and urban legends, as the film is sure to make clear.
Coogan is joined by a cast by a mixture of big names and, at the time, rising stars like Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson, Lennie James, John Simm, Ralf Little, Andy Serkis, Sean Harris, John Thomson, and even Peter Kay, alongside cameos from other figures connected to the Manchester music scene.
Before it returns to cinemas, the film will first open music and media festival/conference, Beyond The Music, at MediaCity in Salford on 6 October.
The screening at the festival will also be followed by a Q&A with Coogan, Winterbottom, and producer Andrew Eaton.
24 Hour Party People will then be re-released in UK cinemas from 9 October, and you can check your local cinema for screening times and book tickets online now.
Daisy Jackson -
10th April 2022 
