An Isle of Dogs floating arts centre is creating an enthusiastic and invigorated following with its free mystery cinema nights.
Theatreship boasts a 100-seat theatre aboard a former Dutch cargo ship, where they screen carefully-selected films on Wednesday evenings to an audience who are unaware of what they will be watching until the film starts.
As the wealth of choice available on streaming platforms continues to increase, mystery cinema takes the decision out of viewers’ hands in an effort to make film engaging, accessible and social.
Theatreship director Inigo Lapwood said: “At the moment, we can be overwhelmed with choice.
“There’s something really special in the mystery.
“You don’t know what you’re going to watch, all you know is that some other people think it’s worth watching.”
Attendees said surrendering choice in the place of trusted curation is what draws them in.
A regular to the nights, Nadia, said: “I want to be taken on a journey and out of my usual routine choices.
“It’s reignited my love of film.”
Others say the element of surprise keeps them more engaged with the film.
There for the first time, Mike said: “I’ve been thinking about it all day.
“That’s really brought back some of the excitement for cinema.”
Films screened have ranged from old to new, from all over the world and many in different languages.
Theatreship run the nights for free in an effort to make them more accessible.
A 2024 BFI report found that high ticket price is the main barrier to cinema attendance.
Lapwood said: “So many people are priced out of access to high quality arts.
“It shouldn’t be audiences that are bearing the cost of the stuff that we’re doing.”
But Lapwood says not charging for tickets also gives the organisation creative licence to be more experimental with their screenings.
“We use this as an opportunity to show stuff that people might not have chosen to see if they’d paid for a ticket.”
Local resident and mystery cinema regular Emil said: “It’s not just your regular Netflix movies that you watch here – it’s the type of movies that really make you think.”
Attendees have the chance of winning a round of drinks if they guess the film correctly based on clues released by the Theatreship team ahead of the screening.
The mystery involved spurs conversation and discussion onboard the ship, which many say is what makes the nights special.
Regular attendee Jemima said: “I keep coming back to free mystery cinema night because it feels like a community.”
Theatreship have received funding from Tower Hamlets council to keep mystery cinema nights running at least until mid-July, and vow to keep them going beyond that for as long as they can afford.
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