Inception at Victoria Tower Gardens, Westminster...
I’m not one to repeat experiences (something to do with a short attention span… I don’t know, I lost interest) but less than a week after my first Nomad cinema experience I’m back in front of their inflatable screen for a different film in another amazing location.
The film in question is Christopher Nolan’s Inception (already subject to a fierce debate on Beehive City), and tonight’s location? Victoria Tower Gardens – a thin promenade of park on the north bank of the Thames, shielded from the river and Millbank by two lines of towering trees, with, most importantly, the Houses of Parliament towering over its eastern end.
It’s here, with the impressive architecture of Westminster looming over the not-quite-so-impressive-but-still-pretty-cool Nomad pop-up screen, that a sell-out crowd has amassed to watch a film that deals with the architecture of the mind. Indeed, during the sequence in which Ellen Page’s dream architect messes with the physics of her dreamworld to contort a Parisian street back onto itself, you can’t help but wonder at the magnificent building, ablaze in artificial light, that provides the backdrop for the evening’s entertainment.
An impressive setting to wait for sunset...
I thought an open air strip of park sandwiched between a busy road and a busy river, only yards from one of the capital’s biggest tourist attractions, might prove a little noisy. But even with the sounds of a Friday night echoing around us, The Nomad’s screening was virtually perfect. And while the beginning may have been a little too quiet – The Nomad is very respectful of their neighbours and this was a new venue for them- soon the sound levels were perfect and even the chimes of Big Ben failed to ruin the movie experience
The Nomad has the run of the Royal Parks this summer, with more events across other South East venues to boot. But Victoria Tower Gardens is possibly the most charming location to stretch out in front of the silver screen in the whole of the capital. With The Talented Mr. Ripley and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind playing tonight and tomorrow (and with tickets still available), you should check it out befre you have to wait another year.
Tickets and screening info for all The Nomad’s screenings can be found on The Nomad cinema website.
