An afternoon spent at Britain’s oldest cinema: A cultural cathedral for film fanatics, or an unprosperous venue on the brink of irrelevance?
The stroll to the Electric Cinema from Notting Hill Gate underground station guides you down a charming stretch of Portobello Road. Pastel-shaded houses line the street and the market stalls and colourful characters running them, occupy it. The patterned sequences of questionable trinkets across the stalls for some reason remind me of the works of Andreas Gursky. I half expect to see Hugh Grant, arm in arm with Julia Roberts in the crowd of the ‘yummy mummies’ taking their ‘daaarlings’ for a day of café hopping.
On arrival, you are greeted by the instantly recognisable red neon ‘Electric’ sign on its dark blue backdrop, which was inspired by the original signage. The building’s exterior stands from the others, and you can see why there are many taking Instagram photos in front of the foyer.
The Electric opened in 1911 and has since been an institution of British film and cinema and a Mecca for film fanatics.
The venue is now managed by private members club, restaurant and hotel group, Soho House & Co, and the group is known for its consistent quality in design, hospitality, and most importantly I think, the finer details. Mandy Kean, International Director of Cinema at Soho House & Co says on their website that the cinema “has and will always be a resolute and popular part of the very fabric of Portobello Road. The cinema has survived two world wars, a bombing, and a serious fire.” I must also update her statement to say it is currently surviving an economic balls-up during a global pandemic.
I’m here to watch a new François Ozon film, ‘Été 85.’ The doors are locked until 10 minutes before the advertised start time, so take a brolly if the weather is looking adverse. I learned the hard way. Once you are granted access, the old, stale smell is the first thing that hits you, and then the beauty and grandeur. It feels like a proper, opulent theatre that could be compared with those theatres in the West End, or on Broadway. Plush velvet red chairs are spread across the large auditorium, with large comfortable beds at the front, for cosy date nights. English Heritage describes the Electric as “the quintessential and most ravishingly pretty cinema of its period.” The seats are very comfortable, and the lavishness of the place makes you feel special.
There is a bar at the rear of the cinema. A barman stands there in his white shirt, apron and bow tie, with a wide choice of bottles behind him of different spirits and wine. After rushing across London, and standing out in the rain for 25 minutes, a gin and tonic was more than necessary. Sadly, the only alcoholic beverages the barman can prepare, is a glass of wine, a large bottle of pre-mixed cocktail (for £20), or a bottle of beer. Okay, quite a small offering in comparison to other ‘luxe-cinemas’ I have visited in the past. Oh well, this is the oldest cinema in Britain, that’s why I’m here, not for the G&T.
I now realise I needed that G&T when braving the loos. One of the cubicles had toilet rolls splayed across the floor, the bin upside down, the toilet brush dripping onto the wet clumps of loo roll, and a smell that I would describe as ‘haunting.’ Oh well, this is the oldest cinema in Britain, that’s why I’m here, not for the appalling loos.
At the top of the cinema screen itself, the two top corners were fraying away, wrinkling quite ironically with age. Oh well, this is the oldest cinema in Britain, that’s why I’m here, not for the screen to be intact.
Apologies if this is a hyper-millennial comment to make, but just because something is the oldest, it does not always transpire to be the best. While Electric Cinema, Notting Hill is impressive in architecture and has a broad cultural history, it has been let down by the fine details, execution, and upkeep. I worry that ‘luxe-cinema’s’ such as Everyman, Curzon, Showcase Deluxe, offer a service a cut above the Electric Cinema in everything but cultural history and architecture. I genuinely hope that the Electric is around for another 100 years and more, but this shining hope is hindered if the guest experience is subpar.
