BB, ‘before baby’ as we like to call it, my husband and I were frequent cinema goers. Not pretentious cinema goers might I add, we would watch the acclaimed to the trashy and we would never say no to a rom com. We used to live near Brixton and I had a little love affair with The Ritzy. Post arrival of baby I hadn’t been to the cinema once in seven months. If I’m honest I really missed the couple of hours of escapism (and the snacks of course).
So seven months in and I decided to try the Big Scream at the Picturehouse in East Dulwich. Now I can’t say I was excited given I expected I wouldn’t see much of the film and most of it would be spent appeasing a seven-month-old who wants to eat everything and throw himself around with careless abandon. We even went to see a film with subtitles. I know what you are thinking: idiot.
However, all-in-all it was a great experience. Given it was in subtitles and a fairly niche film (Icelandic film, Women at War) only four tickets had been sold. It basically meant we had the run of the cinema and we went straight for a sofa seat at the back. Baby had room to play on the floor (my friend brought a lightweight scarf which acted as a playmat) and I even managed to have a tea and sit back whilst watching the film. Given the timing (11am and genius in my opinion), nap time came part way through and given the room was so lovely and dark nap time was easy enough to do. Leaving me to sit back and enjoy the film! Believe it or not I followed the plot and felt relaxed afterwards. Not something I say much of now.
Now there were a couple of downsides – tiny in my opinion – but we want to point them out nonetheless. Prams weren’t allowed in and that brought on a mild panic as I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get him to nap. I needn’t have worried but this is a heads up to those with babies who only like to nap in prams (mine included). Secondly prams were to be left in the conservatory, not in itself an issue apart from the fact it was down some small steps and had it not been for my friend helping that would have been a total faff as I carry half my life in the pram. Finally, at £13.50 it doesn’t come cheap so it’s not an every week trip but all-in-all it was a great experience and I will certainly be back again.
Top tips: I think this would be brilliant for those with newborns who sleep and eat all the time; wish I had done it earlier. For those with six months plus babies, it’s worth going early and getting the sofa seats at the back. Plenty of room for play and a nice space for them to nap on. The excitement of the big screen will occupy them for a bit but given babies of that age mainly have short attention spans, have toys at the ready.
Coming soon, for those of you who are also avid cinema fans, we will be reviewing Peckham Plex given the very different price tag.
Picturehouse, East Dulwich in a nutshell:
Cost ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A little expensive given maternity leave isn’t when you are feeling at your most flush but a good treat every once in a while.
Accessibility ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Easy access – pram or sling. Just note – pram car park down a couple of steps!
Facilities ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Baby changing facilities easy to find, helpful staff if you need anything.
Feeding friendly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Easy to feed in comfortable cinema seats and it’s dark inside so if you are self-conscious, no need to be here!
General vibe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lovely relaxed cinema, helpful staff and a reminder that you can do what you used to but with baby by your side. Win win!
MotherCulture 