Some of the north’s coolest events in recent years have seen some unusual spaces transformed into incredible pop-up cinemas, and it’s all the work of one small events team at The Village Screen.
The Village Screen has taken over everything from a Peak District cave to an Edwardian swimming pool, filling these sometimes-forgotten spaces with light, sound, street food and entertainment.
The business was first created in 2015 by Claire Atkinson and Eamonn Hunt, who already ran the Village Green Events company and saw a gap in the market for experiential cinema events up north.
The very first Village Screen event was up on top of a Q-Park car park in the centre of Sheffield. After that, they screened The Little Mermaid at an outdoor swimming pool in Hathersage.
A previous Village Screen event at Hathersage swimming pool in the Peak District. Credit: The Village Screen
Pop-up cinemas have appeared everywhere from The Monastery in Gorton, the Park Hill Flats in Sheffield, the Winter Gardens glasshouse, the grounds of stately homes and several woodland areas.
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Their time spent at Manchester’s Victoria Baths, over in Chorlton-on-Medlock, has been particularly special though.
Emily Dexter, production manager at The Village Screen, said: “Our first event there was a screening of Jaws in 2016 and since then we have organised over 30 events inside this hidden gem. It was built in 1906 and was known as the ‘most splendid municipal bathing institution in the country’.
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The Village Screen at Victoria Baths. Credit: Supplied
“It underwent renovation in 2007 and they have restored lots of its original features; tiled walls, stained glass windows and they even kept the original changing rooms – it’s such a unique and special place to many people.”
She added: “Our most memorable venue has to be the Peak Cavern cave. We’ve done over sixty events there since 2017 and it still blows us away every time we go.
“It’s such an incredible location and being able to experience the beautiful surroundings of Castleton makes the experience that much better. We also love the fact that it’s half way between Sheffield and Manchester, meaning that our audiences from both cities can enjoy the events there.
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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)
“Although it’s a stunning place, it is a challenging set up to say the least. It takes around two-to-three days to load all of our cinema equipment, chairs, bar and décor inside the cave, which we do using a small buggy that fits up the very narrow path leading up to the cave. It’s hard work but seeing our customers’ reactions as they enter the cave makes it all worth it!”
As well as the film screenings themselves, the Village Screen has dozens of added details that make it so much more special than a regular trip to the cinema.
The incredible venues help, of course, but they also roll in live bands, street food, themed decor, state-of-the-art lighting set ups and friendly staff to make for a memorable day out.
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: Supplied
The small team behind the pop-up cinemas have done everything from hanging hundreds of floating candles to rigging fake bodies from the ceiling to set the right atmosphere for each screening, even recreating the iconic toilet scene from Jurassic Park.
Emily said: “People who haven’t been to our events before might think we are like a standard chain cinema, but really we’re creating experiential and imaginative events that people can enjoy with their friends and family.
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“As we’re a local independent business, we love to use local suppliers, staff, vendors, freelancers and entertainment as much as possible. So each time we run an event we’re supporting businesses and people in the local area, which I think our customers really love to see as well.”
She added: “Our ethos has remained the same since 2015. We are still about creating exceptional events in quirky locations, but we’ve grown from two to five members of staff and we work on all kinds of creative events, including weddings and experiential events like Secret Supper Clubs for charity clients.”
Although The Village Screen has built up an impressive schedule of events – they’re about to take over the Peak Cavern again – they’re not stopping here.
Emily said: “We’d love to do more events in an outdoor swimming pool with people lounging on inflatable chairs while in the pool, but we love any quirky location. The quirkier the better.
“We’d like to keep doing our events in the north of England, so if anyone has any venue suggestions, feel free to drop us an email or message on our socials.
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“We’re always on the look out for new and exciting places and if we love the venue, then we’ll do everything we can to do a cinema event there.”
Upcoming events with The Village Screen
Thursday 27 October – Scream (1996), doors at 6pm, film at 8pm Friday 28 October – Ghostbusters (1984), doors at 6pm, film at 8pm Saturday 29 October – The Dark Knight, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm Sunday 30 October – Hocus Pocus, doors at 2.30pm, film at 4pm Sunday 30 October – The Lost Boys doors at 6.45pm, film at 8.45pm Monday 31 October – Poltergeist, doors at 6pm, film at 8pm
Friday 18 November – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm Saturday 19 November – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, doors at 5.30pm, film at 7.30pm Sunday 20 November – The Goonies, doors at 2.20pm, film at 3:50pm Sunday 20 November – The Lost Boys doors at 7.00pm, film at 8.50pm
The Village Screen team can also organise smaller garden party cinemas as well as private parties and weddings, with a treasure trove of hire items.
You can get in touch with them here to find out more.
What's On
The Oldham Man and The Sea: the documentary about the Latics owner’s record-breaking Atlantic voyage
Danny Jones
It doesn’t matter if you’re not an Athletic fan or native to the borough; we think everyone should go along to watch the much-anticipated documentary about football club owner Frank Rothwell and his record-breaking journey across the Atlantic Ocean: The Oldham Man And The Sea.
One of the simplest and most satisfying names for a film we’ve heard in a long time.
For anyone who doesn’t know about the Oldham Athletic FC chairman turned OBE’s incredible story, Frank Rothwell has set multiple records with his impressive sea-faring feats in recent times.
This new doc, which just premiered at this year’s Manchester Film Festival, charts his latest trip across one of the biggest bodies of water on the planet in March 2024.
As you can see from the recent trailer, it’s almost as arduous a tale as the original Hemingway story.
This movie – produced by Journeyman Pictures and Chief Productions – made its full debut at the Odeon in Great Northern Warehouse for MFF 2026, and is set to have a number of other screenings in and around Greater Manchester in the coming weeks and months.
One of those is happening rather soon, in fact, over at Saddleworth’s Millgate Arts Centre on Saturday, 28 March, which is ideal for those local to the region; grab your tickets now.
ln fact, there’s also one happening even closer to his hometown the following month, with Oldham’s very own Queen Elizabeth Hall also hosting a special screening of Rothwell’s incredible achievement.
You can reserve your seats for that one right HERE.
Having not only become the eldest (70) Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge finisher back in 2021, but now holding the Guinness World Record for the oldest person to ever complete the crossing while rowing solo at 73 years old, he’s become nothing short of a local hero – and that’s just his stewardship of the Latics…
The film does, obviously, touch on his time at the helm of the League Two side, who finally returned to the EFL last June, but the heart and soul of this inspiring watch is the sail itself.
More importantly, it also documents not just the gruelling nature of the 64-day, seven-hour and 53-minute trek, but also how Frank has now helped raise more than £1.4 million on behalf of Alzheimer’s Research UK.
What an absolute icon.
Hopefully, this should be just about all the reason you need to watch The Oldham Man And The Sea the very next opportunity you get to do so – and, of course, all proceeds from ticket sales will also be going to charity, because just the kind of bloke he is.
And here’s hoping we get a streaming version sometime soon.
MOBOs 2026 in Manchester – all the award winners and iconic performances
Thomas Melia
Manchester had its second major music award show visit of the year courtesy of the MOBOs, and here’s all the awards, winners and iconic performances from the night.
We knew 0161 was known for its impact on the music industry, but it’s recently become a place for music celebration on multiple occasions with the BRITs and, most recently, with the MOBOs.
As expected, this was a night full of A-listers, rising stars and incredible music makers, who all united for an award show dedicated to celebrating one aspect of the industry in particular – Music of Black Origin.
Created by Kanya King back in 1996, Manchester had the pleasure of hosting the MOBOs as the award show celebrated its 30-year anniversary right here at the 23,500 seater Co-op Live.
MOBOs 2026 – all the highlights from the night
Get ready to find out everything that happened during the MOBO Awards 2026, including the awards, winners and iconic performances.
All the awards and winners from MOBOs 2026 in Manchester
MOBO Global Songwriter Award – Pharrell Williams
MOBO Lifetime Achievement Award – Slick Rick
Album of the Year – The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean
Song of the Year – Olivia Dean, ‘Man I Need’
Best Male act – Jim Legxacy
Best Female act – Olivia Dean
Best Newcomer – DC3
Video of the Year – Raye, ‘Where Is My Husband!’
Best R&B/ Soul Act – Flo
Best Alternative Music Act – Nova Twins
Best Grime Act – Chip
Best Hip-Hop act – Central Cee
Best Drill Act – Twin S
Best International Act – Ayra Starr
Best African Music Act – Wizkid
Best Caribbean Music Act – Vybz Kartel
Best Jazz Act – Ezra Collective
Best Electronic/ Dance Act – Sherelle
Best Gospel Act – DC3
Best Media Personality – Niko Omilana
Best Performance in a TV Show/Film – Stephen Graham, Adolescence
Best Producer – P2J
Pharrell Williams receiving his ‘MOBO Global Songwriter Award’ and Flo accepting the ‘Best R&B/ Soul Act’ / Credit: The Manc Group
Who performed at the MOBOs 2026 in Manchester at Co-op Live?
Flo opened the show with their iconic silhouettes, just like on their Access All Areas Tour, which we had the privilege of witnessing live at Manchester Academy last Autumn.
If you’re worried you’ve lost a backstage pass to all things Flo, think again. Their latest single continues the unrestricted theme with its aptly-fitting title ‘Leak It’, and they set standards high.
A variety of grime acts dominated the stage as curated by DJ Target with Chip, D Double E, Wiley, Nolay and Scorcher with staple hits like ‘Legend’, ‘Street Fighter Riddim’ and ‘Wot U Call It?’
Slick Rick treated Co-op Live and the MOBOs audience to a medley of hits like’Children’s Story’ and ‘Landlord’ while bringing out the wonderful Estelle to sing ‘Mona Lisa’ alongside the respected rapper.
Flo opened the show with a live debut of new single ‘Leak It’ / Credit: MOBO Organisation (supplied)
Folk-pop star Miles Smith had the crowd in the palm of his hand as they all sang ‘Stargazing’ in unison, almost as though it was their own performance. This singer-songwriter returns to Manchester and Co-op Live this winter.
When Tiwa Savage walked onto the stage, this Manchester indoor venue knew they were in the presence of royalty, the Queen of Afrobeats to be exact. She performed ‘You 4 Me’ and dropped a preview of her new hit ‘Energy’.
The multi-MOBO winner Olivia Dean showed off her vocal prowess with an exclusive live performance of ‘A Couple Minutes’ accompanied by a beautiful orchestra arrangement.
Ms Dean blew our minds with her ‘Man I Need’ performance at the BRITs just last month, and she can’t keep away from Manchester, returning to Co-op Live next month for ‘The Art of Loving Tour‘.
Credit: MOBO Organisation (supplied)
Moston’s own Aitch had the crowd going crazy with his The Stone Roses-sampling track ‘1989’ and one of his biggest hits to date, and Ashanti-sampling record ‘Baby’.
Dancehall diva Shenseea closed the night with not one but four of her cathartic bangers like ‘Hit & Run’, the empowering ‘Shenyeng Anthem’, UK Top 20 single ‘Shake It To The Max (Remix)’ and newest effort ‘Talk To Me Nuh’.
Which stars attended the MOBOs red carpet in Manchester?
Manchester is the music capital of the North, so it makes a lot of sense that some of music’s biggest names decided to pop over to this city for a visit.
Alongside all the nominees and performers, there was a whole host of acts in attendance from the music, film, TV and social media industries.
Everyone from former Little Mix member turned independent artist Leigh-Anne and Bemi Orojuogun, more widely recognised by her digital moniker ‘Bus Aunty’, strutted their stuff on the MOBOs red carpet.
Audio North had the incredible opportunity of chatting with a whole host of talented artists and creatives straight from the red carpet, including shaking hands with legendary multi-hyphenate Nile Rodgers.
This was a truly beautiful night which celebrated the contributions and impact made within the music industry across the past 12 months and beyond, soundtracked by some class live performances.
Daisy Jackson -
26th April 2022 
