CRUISING: CULT FILMS & CONVERSATION

A weekly cinema social that pairs cult, curious and classic cinema with friendly film chat in the Theatreship bar.

• CRUISING #04: THE TEMPEST
• Director: Derek Jarman (1979 / UK / English / 95mins)
• Stars: Peter Bull, David Meyer, Neil Cunningham, Heathcote Williams, Toyah Willcox
• Event: Doors 5:00pm / Intro + film 6pm / Bar social afterwards / Adults 18+ only
• Shipwrecked survivors on an enchanted island encounter an exiled magician, his daughter, and their servants.

Starting out at sea – but never leaving its influence – Derek Jarman’s spellbinding adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s final solo works is a remarkable achievement. Words and images combine with an intoxicating mixture of high camp, Hollywood pastiche, casual homoeroticism, and gothic horror.

THE TEMPEST’s core conflict between coloniser and the colonised raises powerful issues that will resonate throughout London’s historic Docklands. In Jarman’s film, a god-like appearance by Black film and theatre icon Elisabeth Welch – singing her signature tune ‘Stormy Weather’ whilst wafting through a chorus line of hunky sailors – provides “one of the great scenes in contemporary British cinema” (Kino Lorber).

Visionary artist, activist and atheist Derek Jarman died from an AIDS-related illness 30 years ago on 19 February 1994. Join Token Homo in the bar after THE TEMPEST to celebrate Jarman’s outstanding cinematic legacy and the ongoing battle to halt the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Queer-led, CRUISING promotes inclusion through accessible programming, vibrant hosting, radical film histories, and a diverse lineup of guests with their own distinctive voices. All films are served with introductions by Token Homo and post-screening conversations in the venue bar. For adults aged 18+ only.