"The Critic" (15) ..........Note Friday 24th January

Period Drama, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
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Jimmy Erskine is the most feared theatre critic of the 1930s.

After his newspaper’s owner passes away, it’s taken over by the owner’s son, David Brooke, who stands for something a little different to his predecessor. 

Focused on patriotism and ‘family values’, it’s not long before Brooke fires Erskine for his outrageous behaviour and opinions, in particular a savage review of actor Nina Land.

Erskine sets out to get his job back by writing a glowing review for Nina, promising her a glittering career.

But in return, she must do him a favour by helping him catch Brooke out – a bargain that leads to devastating consequences.

‍Background to Hickling Barn Cinema

Having seen how popular rural cinema was in other communities, a group of volunteers set about gauging interest for our very own cinema in 2011. With support from Creative Arts East, we undertook some projectionist training and put on a trial screening of The King’s Speech at the Methodist Church Hall.

The evening was a great success and helped us obtain a grant from the Norfolk Community Foundation (Love Norfolk) and the Victory Housing Fund to part-fund our own equipment at Hickling Barn. Further fund raising by the Greyhound Pub and the Pleasure Boat Inn meant that we had close on £8000 to cover the cost of the equipment.

The cinema equipment installed at the Barn includes a 4m x 3m, electrically operated screen, a multi media projector with an ultra long lens, front and rear speakers and a hearing loop. The first public event to be held at the Barn was the cinema screening of Mr Popper’s Penguins in December 2011. It attracted an audience of more than 100 people. Since then, with the exception of Covid lockdowns, we have shown a film almost every month.

More recently, with a grant from the Phoenix Trust, we have installed acoustic panels to help with sound quality in the Barn.

Generally speaking, films are available to us around 10-12 weeks after cinema release. We are members of Film Bank Media which gives us access to over 15,000 titles under licence. We try to show a real mix of films to ensure that everyone is catered for, but please feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions. Subject to distributor requirements and licence fees, the cinema can also be privately hired to screen a film of your choice.

Our usual slot at the Barn is the third Friday of every month, with a break over August. However, please check our website for any changes to this. Doors open at 7pm with the film commencing at 7:30pm. We also run a limited bar selling wine, beer, soft drinks, teas, coffees and popcorn.

If you would like to help with the cinema, or would like further information, please contact Karen Baker 07399665164.

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