REVIEW: EVERYMAN CINEMA, ST. JOHN’S, MANCHESTER
The Everyman Manchester St. John’s is quite possibly the most high end, fancy cinema I have ever been to and will ever go to in my life. It’s nothing like the Odeon or VUE.
From the start, the experience felt like more than just a movie night. When I arrived, I meandered down a long white corridor decorated with quotes and carefully selected pieces of art until I got to what I was sure was the entrance of one of Manchester’s finest restaurants. I was transported back to reality when I was asked to show my tickets for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
As I stepped through the big black doors of the sold-out screen, I was instantly greeted by the atmosphere of a lively bar. The room was loud and filled with people who had come for a night out. Meanwhile, my partner and I were shown to the luxurious ‘couch’ we would be sharing, and a smile spread across my face as I nestled into the red, plush velvet cushions.
For the first time in my life (and hopefully not the last), a waiter handed me a menu as I sat in the cinema anticipating the start of the film. The menu was impressive and put my local VUE to shame. I was served a house special ‘pretty in pink’ cocktail while my partner chose the Everyman G+T. The make your own ice cream sundae was also a bit hit, and I wasn’t disappointed by my glass jar of chocolate ice cream topped with mini-marshmallows, honeycomb bites and Oreo pieces.
The room itself was something out of a movie. With lights dimmed just enough so I could see my second cocktail discreetly placed by the staff, the cinema embodied a retro feel, the kind of cinema I imagined Marilyn Monroe at back in the day — a thought made vaguely real when I was handed a popcorn box with her face on it. It was so fancy that I took it home as souvenir of the evening.
A night at Everyman is more than a night at the flicks, and is highly recommended.
Adult tickets cost an average of £15 — an extremely reasonable price for the experience.
Words and images by Jasmine Grimshaw
(Article published on Northern Soul)
