The lyricist Lorenz Hart’s collaborations with composer Richard Rodgers are the stuff of legend. Yet, in 1943, only months before he died from pneumonia, Hart’s partnership with Rodgers was on the rocks. Rodgers had first paired up with Oscar Hammerstein II, and their musical Oklahoma! had reinvigorated and reinvented narrative musical theatre.
Richard Linklater’s luminous, erudite drama imagines a loquacious Hart (an astonishing tour de force by Ethan Hawke) on the night of Oklahoma!’s premiere, holed up at Sardi’s and moving through various stages of grief and acceptance when faced with Broadway’s new world order. Also featuring stellar supporting work from Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannavale, Blue Moon is a surprising yet entirely fitting addition to the Linklater canon: a film about the inevitable passage of time and the feeling of being left behind by those stuck in its folds.
osh O’Connor is superb as a rudderless everyman out of step with his immediate environs and the country at large, in Kelly Reichardt’s funny, shaggy heist film.
1970s America has witnessed a generational chasm and a society torn apart by Vietnam. But JB is oblivious to these cultural changes as he bumbles towards a major art heist. Reichardt’s (First Cow, Wendy and Lucy) smartly crafted drama offers a sensitive political critique of our times, and a quietly thoughtful examination of what we owe ourselves, as well as our familial and social tribes. With its jazzy score, period detailing and nuanced performances, it’s a cinematic joy from the get-go.
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The magician Herr Drosselmeyer needs to save his nephew. Hans-Peter has been transformed into a Nutcracker; the only way to save him is for the Nutcracker to defeat the Mouse King and find a girl to love and care for him. A flicker of hope comes in the form of the young Clara, whom Drosselmeyer meets at a Christmas party. With some magic, a cosy Christmas gathering turns into a marvellous adventure.
Peter Wright’s The Nutcracker has enchanted audiences since its 1984 premiere by the Company. Featuring Tchaikovsky’s most familiar melodies and brought to life by Julia Trevelyan Oman’s exquisite designs, The Nutcracker is sure to be a festive firecracker for all ages.
Cast:
To be confirmed
Creatives:
Choreography PETER WRIGHT after LEV IVANOV
Music PYOTR IL’YICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Conductor KOEN KESSELS
Original Scenario MARIUS PETIPA after E.T.A. HOFFMANN
Production and Scenario PETER WRIGHT
Designer JULIA TREVELYAN OMAN
Lighting Designer MARK HENDERSON
Production Consultant ROLAND JOHN WILEY
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A new documentary by Suffolk-based filmmaker Tim Curtis delves into one of Britain's most enduring Second World War mysteries.
Backed by decades of research from James Hayward and Ron Clayton, the film examines rumours of a foiled German invasion attempt, burning seas, and bodies on the beach along the wartime Suffolk coast.
The film also features former East Anglian Daily Times reporter Henry Creagh, who recounts a 1992 call from a source claiming to have seen secret MOD files describing a deadly friendly fire incident. This gripping documentary takes viewers deep into Suffolk's wartime history, and attempts to unravel a mystery that refuses to fade.
Following the screenings there will be an on stage discussion with director Tim Curtis, former East Anglian Daily Times Reporter Henry Creagh and our manager, Neil.
Ralph Fiennes leads an excellent ensemble of new and established talent in this funny and moving First World War drama by beloved writer Alan Bennett.
A Yorkshire village’s choral society finds its ranks depleted as men head off to war. With the annual performance looming, the society is forced to change its entry rules to enlist some unlikely teens and the musically gifted but socially scandalous Dr. Guthrie. Brimming with humour and hope, Bennett and Nicholas Hytner’s (The Madness of King George, The Lady in the Van) latest triumph celebrates the power of community in the darkest of days.
Friend of The Riverside, Edgar Wright, and star Glen Powell team up for a spirited take on Stephen King’s dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller.
Edgar Wright’s film is a high-octane, fast-paced and thrilling adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian take on future TV entertainment. The Running Man is a top-rated show, attracting an audience of millions, who watch the spectacle of contestants running for their lives as they’re hunted down. Blue-collar worker Ben Richards signs on, hoping to raise the money for his sick daughter’s treatment, but it soon becomes clear the game is rigged and he must do all he can to survive.
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A young boy is at the age where he's beginning to doubt the existence of Santa Claus. However, one Christmas Eve he hears a thunderous noise outside and, on investigating, finds it's being made by a huge train - the Polar Express. A kindly conductor asks him aboard and soon he and some other children are on a rollercoaster ride north to see the big man himself. Director Robert Zemeckis honed the use of "motion capture" technology when filming The Polar Express, and the technique perfectly suits this charming, fantastical nature of a film about the magic of Christmas.
Screening as part of our "Six for £6 Christmas Films Season"
Benedict Cumberbatch gives a magnificent performance in the highly anticipated screen adaptation of Max Porter’s award-winning Grief Is the Thing with Feathers.
A mother dies, leaving two primary school-aged children and ‘Sad Dad’. Before long, ‘Crow’ emerges from the pages of the book Sad Dad is writing, to peck at the open wounds and shepherd them through their grief, in the only way it knows how. Dylan Southern employs great visual flair to soulfully explore the chaos, pain and redemption of our most-feared emotion.
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Todd Haynes’ homage to Douglas Sirk’s style of social critique by way of melodrama, masterfully tells the story of a well-to-do suburban couple in 1950s America, straitjacketed by convention, yet desperate to lead lives they are seemingly denied. In the autumn of 1957 in the affluent small town of Hartford, Connecticut, Cathy Whitaker (Julianne Moore) is a beautiful but sober mother of two, married to Frank (Dennis Quaid), a ruggedly handsome, former naval officer, now go-ahead executive at a television company. It is a blissfully happy family scene into which drama and tragedy have yet to intrude. It’s shattered when Cathy surprises Frank at work and finds him in the arms of another man. Unable to tell anyone in her social circle, she finds solace in their African-American gardener, Raymond (Dennis Haysbert). However, when they are seen alone together by Cathy's best friend - a social taboo in that era - the gossip begins, threatening to reveal all of the Whitaker's secret life.
The final film in our Melodrama Season.
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Joe Dante's hilariously overblown comedy horror cheerfully pits man against beast in a cosy suburban setting. Zach Galligan is the hapless teenager who receives the oh-so-loveable Mogwai, Gizmo, for Christmas, completely disregards the instructions not to get it wet or feed it after midnight, and watches, along with his girlfriend Phoebe Cates, the mayhem unfold when the goggle-eyed cutie starts birthing evil sprites as a result. Played almost totally for laughs (even Cates' monologue on how she found out there's no Santa Claus has a vein of pitch black humour in it), this serves as a delightfully offbeat reminder of how inventive and witty blockbusters seemed when you were a kid.
Dante’s critters-run-amok-in-snowbound-Spielberg-suburbia satire takes the Christmas milieu of It’s A Wonderful Life (Screening as part of this season on 18th December) and splatters it with cartoony carnage, anarchic comedy and a stripe of gleeful subversion a mile wide.
Screening as part of our 6 for £6 each Christmas Films Season
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Stanley's War (2018, Dir. Tim Curtis) dramatises stories of love, loss and sacrifice, following the lives of Suffolk people during WW1.The film recounts the true life-changing experiences at the Western Front of Stanley Banyard, a farm hand from Ramsholt, and how he saved the lives of his comrades lost in no-man's-land by using skills he learnt as a boy from a Suffolk gamekeeper. In contrast, the Pretty family of Ipswich (later of Sutton Hoo fame) suffer family tragedy.
The War Just Outside Ipswich (2020, Dir. Tim Curtis) For nearly two decades, Akenham’s purpose-built trench system has drawn filmmakers seeking to recreate the chaos of the First World War, from Downton Abbey and Journey’s End to Private Peaceful and the iconic Sainsbury’s Christmas advert. This fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary explores Suffolk’s own cinematic battlefield, where mud, history, and movie magic collide.
Tim Curtis joined forces with manager Neil to make the film during Covid, and it has been updated in 2025.
Following the screening there will be an on stage discussion with war historian Taff Gillingham of Khaki Devil and our manager, Neil.
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Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good.
Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award® nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity.
As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.
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Fire Over Shingle Street—Fact, Fiction, or Propaganda?
A new documentary by Suffolk-based filmmaker Tim Curtis (Life on the Deben, Stanley's War) delves into one of Britain’s most persistent Second World War mysteries, asking: Has this enduring enigma been fully accounted for, or are there still unanswered questions?
For decades the Shingle Street ‘Mystery’ has divided the views of locals, journalists and historians alike with incredible and unexplained stories of the sea being set on fire, dead soldiers bodies on the beach and strange happenings in the night.
Was this remote stretch of Suffolk’s coast the site of a German invasion attempt? Did British forces set fire to the sea with petroleum weapons to repel the enemy? Or could it have been part of an elaborate wartime deception, designed to maintain national morale?
The film examines how the Suffolk coast was a hub of military secrecy—home to radar development and experimental weapons testing. Did these classified operations (with some still under wraps) combined with wartime propaganda help create the perfect conditions for rumours to fuel a wartime mystery?
The Shingle Street ‘Mystery’ gained renewed attention in the 1990s when the East Anglian Daily Times was contacted by an ‘MOD Whistleblower’ claiming to have a file—soon to be destroyed—detailing a horrific accident in which British soldiers had been killed in a training exercise.
The ensuing media frenzy led to the early release of classified documents from the National Archives at Kew. However, the files revealed little, sparking claims of a cover-up.
This gripping documentary takes viewers deep into Suffolk’s wartime history, and attempts to unravel a mystery that refuses to fade.
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The Muppets perform the classic Christmas tale by Charles Dickens, the iconic Michael Caine playing Ebenezer Scrooge, with Kermit the Frog playing Bob Cratchit. Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Fozzie Bear take up supporting roles as Scrooge receives visits from the spirits of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future. The Spirits do everything in their power to show him the error of his ways and to help him find redemption and lasting happiness.
Screening as part of our 6 for £6 each Christmas Films Season
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There have been many contenders over the past twenty years, but ELF is clearly the first and best classic Christmas movie of the 21st century. Buddy, a human orphan raised by Santa’s elves at the North Pole, learns that his father is still alive and on the naughty list. Determined to save his father from such a fate, Buddy travels to New York City to meet him for the first time and inspire some Christmas spirit, but the Big Apple is very different from the North Pole. Can Buddy save his father from the naughty list, but more importantly, figure out where Buddy truly belongs?
Screening as part of our 6 for £6 Christmas Season
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Federico Fellini returned to the provincial landscape of his childhood with this carnivalesque reminiscence, recreating his hometown of Rimini in Cinecittà’s studios and rendering its daily life as a circus of social rituals, adolescent desires, male fantasies, and political subterfuge. Sketching a gallery of warmly observed comic caricatures, Fellini affectionately evokes a vanished world haloed with the glow of memory, even as he sends up authority figures representing church and state, satirizing a country stultified by Fascism. Winner of Fellini’s fourth Academy Award for best foreign-language film, Amarcord remains one of the director’s best-loved creations, beautifully weaving together Giuseppe Rottuno’s colourful Technicolor cinematography, Danilo Donati’s extravagant costumes and sets, and Nino Rota’s nostalgia-tinged score.
Screening as part of our Around the World in Technicolor Season
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Basel Adra, a young Palestinian activist from Masafer Yatta, has been fighting his community's mass expulsion by the Israeli occupation since childhood. Basel documents the gradual erasure of Masafer Yatta, as soldiers destroy the homes of families - the largest single act of forced transfer ever carried out in the occupied West Bank. He crosses paths with Yuval, an Israeli journalist, and for over half a decade they fight against the expulsion while growing closer.
This film, by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four young activists, was co-created during the darkest, most terrifying times in the region, as an act of creative resistance to Apartheid and a search for a path towards equality and justice.
????? "Powerful Israel-Palestine documentary is essential viewing" - The Guardian
Berlinale Documentary Award and Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary Film
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Spanning three decades, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. Originally produced on Broadway in 1981, then becoming an inventive cult-classic ahead of its time, the musical features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs.
The 2023-2024 Broadway production, directed by Maria Friedman, redefined the show for a new era,
bringing Stephen Sondheim’s intricate score and George Furth’s book to vivid life with extraordinary
depth and clarity. MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG shattered the Hudson Theatre’s house record on Broadway, solidifying its place as a landmark event in Broadway history. The critically acclaimed production wonthe 2024 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and Best Orchestrations.
Additionally, in London, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG garnered the most five-star reviews in West-End
history.
MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is produced by Sonia Friedman, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, F. Richard
Pappas, RadicalMedia’s Jon Kamen, and Dave Sirulnick. Executive Producers include Meredith Bennett, No Guarantees Productions, Scott Abrams, Jonathan Corr, Mary Maggio, Jeff Romley, Tony Yurgaitis, Andrew Cohen, Amanda Lipitz, Henry Tisch alongside Co-executive producer Stephanie P. McClelland. Karla Zambrano and Alec Sash serve as Supervising Producers
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Marion Cotillard brings a thrilling magnetism to the screen for this snowbound tale of obsession and wish fulfilment between an actress and a young runaway.
Crafted with the mesmerising visual and sonic language that we’ve come to expect from Lucile Hadžihalilović, this 1970s-set drama centres on a teenage orphan, played by exciting newcomer Clara Pacini, who absconds to the city and awakens to find herself on the set of ‘The Snow Queen’. Here, she takes root with a new found family and falls under the spell of the titular monarch.
French With English subtitles
Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn are fantastic in this unsettling social-realist thriller.
Neglected pensioner Elsie finds an unexpected ally in her younger neighbour Colleen. Over time, Elsie gains a friend, and the troubled Colleen finds a fresh purpose in life as she shops, cleans and cares for her. It brings brighter days for both of them, until Elsie’s son starts to resent the way Colleen has occupied his mother’s life. Simmering tensions bring shocking consequences in a gripping human story straight from the heart of broken Britain.
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Please note that this is a private screening for members of Woodbridge Film Society and not open to the public. If you wish to join the Film Society then please visit their page here
Last Swim follows Ziba (Deba Hekmat) as she holds her breath on A-level results day. Desperate to study astrophysics at university, she’s equally determined to make the first day of her adult life a day to remember. But when her tight-knit group of friends are joined in a cross-London all-day party by newcomer Malcolm (Denzel Baidoo), she must reckon with a darker truth that none of her friends have been brought into.
Last Swim’s plot has plenty of high-stakes elements, but it never strays into melodrama, aided by an impressive young cast – many of them new faces – who bring improvisational and lived-in quality to the performances. At the centre of this group is the wonderful Deba Hekmat, in a performance that makes her one to watch. As in her terrific supporting role as tearaway best friend in Luna Carmoon’s Hoard, Hekmat conveys a world of grand and petty frustrations in a single look. Giving specificity to Ziba’s Iranian-British roots (as well as crafting a genuine friendship group to surround her), first-time director Sasha Nathwani captures a day that will live on in nostalgia; at once quotidian and human-sized, but tinged with emotions that scream with galactic significance for those on the edge of adulthood.
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Late summer 1993. After stealing a stash of money and drugs, aging raver David flees a forest party and crashes his car deep in the woods. Trapped in the wreckage, injured and helpless, he hangs suspended between life and death. When a mysterious poacher discovers him, no rescue comes - only a watchful, unsettling presence that seems intent on letting nature finish the job. As the hours pass by, a tense battle of wills, and wits, unfolds - where survival hinges on outlasting both the wilderness and the predator at its edge.
A gripping thriller set against the backdrop of the British rave scene, Game features Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods in his first leading role, and was originated through a conversation between co-star Marc Bessant and Geoff Barrow of Portishead.
The cinematic return of the global phenomenon, follows the Crawley family and their staff as they enter the 1930s. When Mary finds herself at the center of a public scandal and the family faces financial trouble, the entire household grapples with the threat of social disgrace.
The Crawleys must embrace change as the staff prepares for a new chapter with the next generation leading Downton Abbey into the future in this final film in the series.
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Five-time Olivier Award winner Imelda Staunton (The Crown) joins forces with her real-life daughter Bessie Carter (Bridgerton) for the very first time, playing mother and daughter in Bernard Shaw’s incendiary moral classic.
Vivie Warren is a woman ahead of her time. Her mother, however, is a product of that old patriarchal order. Exploiting it has earned Mrs. Warren a fortune – but at what cost?
Filmed live from the West End, this new production reunites Staunton with director Dominic Cooke (Follies, Good), exploring the clash between morality and independence, traditions and progress.
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SPECIAL EVENT !
We are delighted that highly acclaimed British filmmaker Gerard Johnson, director of tonight's film, will be joining us this evening for our screening of ODYSSEY, along with his brother, Matt Johnson, who has scored this film and Gerard's previous films. Matt Johnson is perhaps better known to many as The The.
Fiery, sharp-tongued, and ambitious real estate agent Natasha Flynn lives every day on the verge of total success – or ruin. Her luxurious lifestyle is an unaffordable mask for the lonely void she’s tried to fill with the hustle for success. Then, when a shady lender forces her complicity in a criminal scheme to settle a debt, Natasha seeks out a dangerous old friend for help. As pressure from colleagues, collectors and criminals escalates, so begins a wild, neon-soaked ride through London’s dark underbelly.
This stylish, gritty, and darkly comedic thriller fearlessly confronting the contemporary housing crisis and corporate greed is led by a powerhouse performance from Polly Maberly (Muscle) who stars alongside Mikael Persbrandt (Sex Education, The Salvation, The Hobbit). The cast is rounded out by incredible British talent including Guy Burnet (Oppenheimer, Ray Donovan), Jasmine Blackborow (The Gentlemen, Marie Antoinette), Daniel De Bourg (MobLand, Fountain of Youth) and Peter Ferdinando (Ghost in the Shell, High-Rise).
A critical hit following its World Premiere at SXSW 2025, Odyssey is the latest feature from acclaimed director, Gerard Johnson, known for previous adrenaline-fuelled thrillers Tony, Hyena and Muscle.
“Heart-pounding” ★★★★ DREAD CENTRAL
“Riveting” ★★★★ THE HOLLYWOOD NEWS
“Wildly entertaining” ★★★★ THE MOVIE WAFFLER
“A new breed of antihero” DEADLINE
“Refreshingly dark” COLLIDER
“A masterclass” SCREEN ANARCHY
6:00pm Intro from Gerard and Matt Johnson
6:10pm Film
8pm - short break
8:10pm Q&A with Matt and Gerard
9:00pm End
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A cultural sensation from its inception in the early 2000s, Dateline NBC’s candid-camera investigative series To Catch a Predator ensnared sex offenders and lured them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and arrested while cameras rolled. The show was a hit and transformed its host Chris Hansen into a moral crusader and TV star, while spawning a worldwide industry of imitators and vigilantes. But why did we watch so voraciously — and why do we continue to devour its web-based, clickbait-driven offshoots?
Looking back on the show and the countless franchises it spawned, filmmaker David Osit turns his camera on journalists, actors, law enforcers, academics, and ultimately himself, to trace America's obsession with watching people at their lowest.
PREDATORS is a chilling, edge-of-your-seat film that delves into the murk of human nature to observe hunter, predator, subject and spectator alike, all ensnared in a complicated web of entertainment as far as the eye can see.
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At one of her lavish parties, celebrated Parisan courtesan Violetta is introduced to Alfredo Germont. The two fall madly in love, and though hesitant to leave behind her life of luxury and freedom, Violetta follows her heart. But the young couple’s happiness is short-lived, as the harsh realities of life soon come knocking.
As intimate as it is sumptuous, La traviata features some of opera’s most famous melodies, and is a star vehicle for its leading soprano role sung by Ermonela Jaho. In director Richard Eyre’s world of seductive grandeur, the tender and devastating beauty at the centre of Verdi’s opera shines bright.
Cast:
Violetta Valéry ERMONELA JAHO
Alfredo Germont GIOVANNI SALA
Giorgio Germont ALEKSEI ISAEV
Annina VEENA AKAMA-MAKIA
Doctor Grenvil BARNABY REA
Flora Bervoix ELLEN PEARSON
Baron Douphol SAM HIRD
Gastone de Letorières GIORGI GULIASHVILI
Marquis d’Obigny OSSIAN HUSKINSON
Creatives:
Music GIUSEPPE VERDI
Conductor ANTONELLO MANACORDA
Director RICHARD EYRE
Designer BOB CROWLEY
Lighting Designer JEAN KALMAN
Director of Movement JANE GIBSON
With Avatar: Fire and Ash, visionary director James Cameron takes audiences back to Pandora for an immersive new adventure. Beginning just two weeks after Avatar: The Way Of Water’s conclusion, the third chapter in the epic sci-fi saga finds the Sully family still living among the atolls of Pandora. Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their children are all struggling to come to terms with the loss of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), killed in the brutal battle with the RDA.
AVATAR: FIRE & ASH contains several sequences of bright lights which may affect customers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy or other photo sensitivities.
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Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) is joined by Emmy and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Responder) in the critically acclaimed and subversively funny new play by David Ireland.
After years in the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, James becomes a sponsor to newcomer Luka. The pair bond over black coffee, trade stories and build a fragile friendship out of their shared experiences. But as Luka approaches step five – the moment of confession – dangerous truths emerge, threatening the trust on which both of their recoveries depend.
Finn den Hertog directs the provocative and entertaining production filmed live from @sohoplace on London’s West End.
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“There was one small problem - neither of us wanted to be Paul Simon. To make it work one of us was going to have to get a hair cut. And that simply wasn’t going to happen. The novel solution…we decided to call ourselves The Garfunkels.”
Not many 20-year-old lads think of starting a Simon & Garfunkel tribute act — but Suffolk-based musicians Tom Mumford and Angelo Littler did exactly that.
The Garfunkels’ set is a celebration of Simon & Garfunkel’s music and story. With rich harmonies and engaging storytelling you can expect to hear the most iconic songs over the years - from their first album Wednesday Morning 3AM through to the bestselling, award winning Bridge Over Troubled Water.
This January, The Garfunkels are very excited to bring their show to The Riverside stage in their hometown of Woodbridge.
Doors Open: 7pm
On Stage: 7:30pm
Interval: 8:15pm
On Stage: 8:30pm
Ends: 9:15pm
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Acclaimed Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir’s most ambitious work to date is a powerful exploration of the events leading up to the Arab Revolt of 1936.
Palestine has been under British mandatory control since the 1920s, but tensions are flaring over the future of the territory. Chronicling the lives of local farmers, revolutionaries and business owners, Jacir’s drama is a gripping account of a critical moment in Palestinian history, conveyed by a stellar ensemble cast that includes Hiam Abbass, Jeremy Irons and Saleh Bakri.
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Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) is Hamlet in this fearless, contemporary take on Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.
Trapped between duty and doubt, surrounded by power and privilege, young Prince Hamlet dares to ask the ultimate question – you know the one.
National Theatre Deputy Artistic Director, Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Operation Mincemeat) directs this sharp, stylish and darkly funny reimagining.
Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel features mesmerising performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.
Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare, struggles to come to terms with the loss of their only son, Hamnet – the grief driving a wedge between the couple. Shakespeare channels the tragedy and his sorrow into his work, creating Hamlet. Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider) brings a rawness and honesty to this profound portrait of love, grief and the power of storytelling.
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Victoria Wood remains one of Britain’s most cherished entertainers – a comic genius whose work reshaped the landscape of British humour.
But behind the joyous persona – the singer, the satirist, the sharp-witted writer – lay a young woman navigating insecurity, anger, and self-doubt.
Told in her own words and through the voices of those who knew her best, Becoming Victoria Wood uncovers the formative experiences and personal battles that powered Victoria’s unmatched ability to make the nation laugh.
With appearances from DAWN FRENCH, JENNIFER SAUNDERS, MAXINE PEAKE, MICHAEL BALL, JOAN ARMATRADING & JASPER CARROTT Readings by JESSICA BARDEN
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Please note that this is a private screening for members of Woodbridge Film Society and not open to the public. If you wish to join the Film Society then please visit their page here
Wind, Tide & Oar is a compelling exploration of engineless sailing, shot on 16mm film over three years. The film delves into the experiences of those who travel solely by harnessing the natural elements alone, following a diverse array of traditional boats and uncovering the unique rhythms and motivations of engineless navigation.
Journeying through rivers, coastlines, and open seas, spanning the UK, the Netherlands, and France, Wind, Tide & Oar creates a contemplative space, addressing themes of ecology, heritage, traditional skills, and maritime history. Using a 1960s hand-wound camera, Wahl offers a poetic and intimate perspective on a millennia-old craft, upended by the invention of mechanised power.
Through the film’s reveries, sailing becomes a means to explore our interaction with and responsibility to the environment. It invites deep reflection on our relationship with nature, our understanding of and commitment to sustainability, and our care for the world around us.
The film is shot around Suffolk, Cornwall and Essex.
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A comedian, musician, actor and improviser, Rachel Parris is also an avid fan of Jane Austen. For 14 years she has been touring an improv comedy group called Austentatious and now she has written 'A Pride and Prejudice Novel'.
'Introducing Mrs Collins' imagines the life of Charlotte Lucas, the good friend of Elizabeth Bennet. In her marriage to Mr Collins, Charlotte chose stability over romance, but may she yet find her own happy ending?
This is a witty, warm, accomplished and entertaining novel and Rachel is a fabulous speaker whose enthusiasm for all things Austen is infectious!
A familiar face through her appearances on 'The Mash Report', 'Would I Lie to You?' and 'Mock the Week', Rachel is also a regular guest on BBC R4's 'The Now Show' and 'I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'. She will be in conversation with Catherine Larner and signing copies of her book.
Tickets are £20 (including a copy of 'Introducing Mrs Collins' RRP £18.99) and one further ticket may be purchased for £12 (without the book).
Please book at The Riverside in person or on the website www.theriverside.co.uk and be sure to include your name with your booking so that we can allocate your book on the night.
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Silents Synced pairs classic silent movies with epic rock music to bring audiences a unique big screen experience. Buster Keaton’s 1924 comedy classic is reimagined with R.E.M. 's alt-rock masterpieces Monster (1994) and New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996).
In this sublime comedy teetering between reality and illusion, Buster Keaton stars as a film projectionist who dreams of becoming a detective. He uses his limited skills when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend’s father’s pocket watch. Keaton reportedly broke his neck performing one of the many dangerous practical stunts in the film.
Whether you’re a movie lover or a rock music fan this is an experience you won’t want to miss!!
This event will now begin with a 22 minute Buster Keaton short, The Balloonatic (1923), which has music composed by renowned Brazilian electronic artist, Amon Tobin.
This will then be followed by a 3 minute intro by Josh Frank (creator of Silent Synced), before the R.E.M x Sherlock Jr. feature.
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Join us for an afternoon of fast moving, hard hitting, toe tapping contemporary jazz from a spectacular 18 piece big band that features soloists and ensemble players from around East Anglia.
Horn Factory perform an impressive and extensive range of contemporary big band jazz by composers such as Buddy Rich, Bob Mintzer, Quincy Jones, Oliver Nelson, Maynard Ferguson, James Morrison, Bobby Shew, Sammy Nestico and Gordon Goodwin, plus arrangements of music normally associated with smaller groups, including Thelonious Monk, Joe Henderson, Chuck Mangione, Chick Corea and Horace Silver.
“There is nothing quite like the sound of a Big Band up close . Not to be missed!”
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Virginia Woolf defied literary conventions to depict rich inner worlds – her heightened, startling and poignant reality. Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor leads a luminous artistic team to evoke Woolf’s signature stream of consciousness writing style in this immense work that rejects traditional narrative structures. Woolf Works is a collage of themes from Mrs Dalloway, Orlando, The Waves and Woolf’s other writings. Created in 2015 for The Royal Ballet, this Olivier-award winning ballet triptych captures the heart of Woolf’s uniquely artistic spirit.
Cast:
To be confirmed
Creatives:
Direction and Choreography WAYNE MCGREGOR
Music MAX RICHTER
Conductor KOEN KESSELS
Designer CIGUË, WE NOT I, WAYNE MCGREGOR
Costume Designer MORITZ JUNGE
Lighting Designer LUCY CARTER
Film Designer RAVI DEEPRES
Sound System Designer CHRIS EKERS
Make-up Designer KABUKI
Dramaturgy UZMA HAMEED
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Please note that this is a private screening for members of Woodbridge Film Society and not open to the public. If you wish to join the Film Society then please visit their page here
The lives of three women intersect and overlap in a haunting drama that sees the city of Mumbai play a central role. Prabha, Anu and Parvaty are employees at a hospital in Mumbai. They grapple daily with the opportunities and hardships of existence in the city. Balancing an immersive verité style with a touch of the surreal, Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix-winning drama captures the many shades of working-class life in Mumbai. The result is a profound and deeply humanist meditation on urban migration and dislocation.
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The peasant girl Giselle has fallen in love with Albrecht. When she discovers that he is actually a nobleman promised to another, she kills herself in despair. Her spirit joins the Wilis: the vengeful ghosts of women hell-bent on killing any man who crosses their path in a dance to the death. Wracked with guilt, Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, where he must face the Wilis – and Giselle’s ghost.
Peter Wright’s 1985 production of this quintessential Romantic ballet is a classic of The Royal Ballet repertory. Set to Adolphe Adam’s evocative score and with atmospheric designs by John Macfarlane, Giselle conjures up the earthly and otherworldly realms in a tale of love, betrayal and redemption.
Cast:
To be confirmed
Creatives:
Choreography MARIUS PETIPA after JEAN CORALLI and JULES PERROT
Music ADOLPHE ADAM Edited by LARS PAYNE
Conductor VELLO PAHN
Scenario THÉOPHILE GAUTIER after HEINRICH HEINE
Production and Additional Choreography PETER WRIGHT
Designer JOHN MACFARLANE
Original Lighting JENNIFER TIPTON Re-created by DAVID FINN
Shakespeare’s OTHELLO rages to life like never before in an explosive new production starring David Harewood OBE (Homeland, Best of Enemies), Toby Jones OBE (Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Detectorists), Caitlin FitzGerald (Succession, Masters of Sex), Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point) and Luke Treadaway (A Street Cat Named Bob). Directed by Tony Award-winner Tom Morris OBE (War Horse, Dr Semmelweis, The Grinning Man) with music by PJ Harvey, this epic story of manipulation, jealousy and toxic masculinity explores the darker side of power, rage and desire.
This brand-new production, directed by Tom Morris with music by PJ Harvey, has been hotly anticipated in the press as one of the top plays to see this year.
★★★★ ‘Toby Jones is a gleefully malicious Iago’ THE TELEGRAPH
★★★★ ‘Until you've seen him on stage, you can't appreciate what a class act Harewood really is’ DAILY MAIL
★★★★ ‘Caitlin Fitzgerald is a strong and charismatic Desdemona’ THE I
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Two of Britain’s greatest painters, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable were also the greatest of rivals. Born within a year of each other, both used landscape painting to reflect the changing world around them.
Tate Britain is bringing these two greats together for a groundbreaking exhibition, in London from November 2025 to April 2026, and Exhibition on Screen once again has exclusive and privileged access to bring their extraordinary art and remarkable stories to the big screen in March 2026 so that both can be enjoyed together. Don’t miss this opportunity to see these greats side-by-side, as they so often were in life, on the big screen for the first time.
Turner’s blazing sunsets and sublime scenes from his travels and Constable’s idealised depictions of beloved places from home whipped the public of the time into a frenzy of enthusiasm. Critics compared their starkly different styles to a clash of ‘fire and water’. Marking 250 years since their births, this unmissable new documentary explores Turner and Constable’s intertwined lives and legacies alongside the groundbreaking Tate exhibition. Discover unexpected sides to both artists with intimate views of sketchbooks and personal items and insights from leading experts. This is not to be missed.
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Raised by a scheming dwarf and unaware of his true family origins, a young man embarks on an epic journey. Soon, destiny brings him face-to-face with a shattered sword, a fearsome dragon and the cursed ring it guards, and a Valkyrie forced into enchanted slumber...
Moments of transcendent beauty and heroic triumph sparkle in the third chapter of Wagner’s Ring cycle, brought to life under Barrie Kosky’s inspired eye following his spectacular Das Rheingold (2023) and Die Walküre (2025). Andreas Schager, in his much-anticipated debut with The Royal Opera, stars as Siegfried’s titular hero, alongside Christopher Maltman’s towering Wanderer, Peter Hoare’s treacherous Mime and Elisabet Strid’s radiant Brünnhilde. Antonio Pappano conducts, drawing out the unspoken tensions and ethereal mysticism of Wagner’s dynamic score.
Cast:
Siegfried ANDREAS SCHAGER
Mime PETER HOARE
Der Wanderer CHRISTOPHER MALTMAN
Brünnhilde ELISABET STRID
Alberich CHRISTOPHER PURVES
Fafner SOLOMAN HOWARD
Erda WIEBKE LEHMKUHL
Woodbird SARAH DUFRESNE
Creatives:
Music RICHARD WAGNER
Conductor ANTONIO PAPPANO
Director BARRIE KOSKY
Set Designer RUFUS DIDWISZUS
Costume Designer VICTORIA BEHR
Lighting Designer ALESSANDRO CARLETTI
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Please note that this is a private screening for members of Woodbridge Film Society and not open to the public. If you wish to join the Film Society then please visit their page here
In rural France, 18-year-old Totone must face reality and take responsibility for his younger sister. His solution, to make the best Comté cheese in the region and bag the prize money.
Living a typical, wild life in the Jura region of South Eastern France, Totone deals with rural boredom and frustration, focusing on honing his craft to escape this pent-up isolation.
Working with local non-professionals and embedding herself in this often distrustful community, Holy Cow gives us a raw, unfiltered look at this world. Lead actor Clément Faveau is a poultry farmer in real life and gives a fantastically irate performance.
Winning the Un Certain Regard Youth Award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Louise Courvoisier balances her time as a director with working on her family farm. Her lived experience creates this rough, but golden hearted story about rural hooligans and marginalised community.
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Princess Pamina has been captured. Her mother, the Queen of the Night, tasks the young Prince Tamino with her daughter’s rescue. But when Tamino and his friendly sidekick, Papageno, embark on their adventure, they soon learn that when it comes to the quest for love, nothing is as it really seems. Guided by a magic flute, they encounter monsters, villains, and a mysterious brotherhood of men – but help, it turns out, comes when you least expect it.
Mozart’s fantastical opera glitters in David McVicar’s enchanting production. A star cast including Julia Bullock as Pamina, Amitai Pati as Tamino, Huw Montague Rendall as Papageno, Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, and Soloman Howard as Sarastro, led by French conductor Marie Jacquot in her Covent Garden debut.
Cast:
Pamina JULIA BULLOCK
Tamino AMITAI PATI
Papageno HUW MONTAGUE RENDALL
Queen of the Night KATHRYN LEWEK
Sarastro SOLOMAN HOWARD
Monostatos GERHARD SIEGEL
Creatives:
Music WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Conductor MARIE JACQUOT
Director DAVID MCVICAR
Designer JOHN MACFARLANE
Lighting Designer PAULE CONSTABLE
Movement Director LEAH HAUSMAN
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Please note that this is a private screening for members of Woodbridge Film Society and not open to the public. If you wish to join the Film Society then please visit their page here
It is 1985 in the run-up to Christmas in a small town in County Wexford, Ireland. Bill Furlong (Oppenheimer's Cillian Murphy) toils as a coal merchant to support himself, his wife and his five daughters. Early one morning while out delivering coal at the local convent, he makes a discovery that forces him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a town controlled by the Catholic Church.
Based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Claire Keegan.
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Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin. Baritone Igor Golovatenko reprises his portrayal of the urbane Onegin, who realizes his affection for her all too late. The Met’s evocative production, directed by Tony Award–winner Deborah Warner, “offers a beautifully detailed reading of … Tchaikovsky’s lyrical romance” (The Telegraph).
Cast:
Tatiana ASMIK GRIGORIAN
Olga MARIA BARAKOVA
Filippyevna STEPHANIE BLYTHE
Lenski STANISLAS DE BARBEYRAC
Eugene Onegin IGOR GOLOVATENKO
Prince Gremin ALEXANDER TSYMBALYUK
Creatives:
Music PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Conductor TIMUR ZANGIEV
Director DEBORAH WARNER
Set Designer TOM PYE
Costume Designer CHLOE OBOLENSKY
Lighting Designer JEAN KALMAN
Projection Designer IAN WILLIAM GALLOWAY and FINN ROSS
Choreographer KIM BRANDSTRUP
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Who was Frida Kahlo? Everyone knows her, but who was the woman behind the bright colours, the big brows, and the floral crowns? Take a journey through the life of a true icon, discover her art, and uncover the truth behind her often turbulent life.
Making use of the latest technology, we take an indepth look at key works throughout her career. Using letter Kahlo wrote to guide us, this definitive film reveals her deepest emotions and unlocks the secrets and symbolism contained within her art.
Exhibition on Screen's trademark combination of interviews, commentary, and a detailed exploration of her art delivers a treasure trove of colour and a feast of vibrancy. This personal and intimate film offers privileged access to her works, and highlights the source of her feverish creativity, her resilience, and her unmatched lust for life, politics, men, and women.
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Please note that this is a private screening for members of Woodbridge Film Society and not open to the public. If you wish to join the Film Society then please visit their page here
The impressive directorial feature debut of Laura Carreira is a powerful account of the gig economy and the loneliness of working-class immigrants caught up in it. Portuguese worker Aurora is employed by a Scottish fulfilment warehouse, endlessly pacing down aisles and pulling items from shelves to be shipped out to online shoppers. While her shifts are long and her productivity is constantly monitored, her wages are minimal and she can barely afford to eat. Her gruelling days are punctuated by a few precious moments of connection, especially when her busy lodgings welcomes a new Polish flatmate. Carreira’s skilfully directed and heartbreaking portrait of an isolated woman on the cusp of unravelling is gripping. With shades of Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman and the indelible spirit of Ken Loach, On Falling is a rage against the capitalist machine, and a very worthy winner of the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.
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Please note that this is a private screening for members of Woodbridge Film Society and not open to the public. If you wish to join the Film Society then please visit their page here
Etero, a 48-year-old woman living in a small village in Georgia, never wanted a husband. She cherishes her freedom as much as her cakes. But her choice to live alone is the cause of much gossip among her fellow villagers. Unexpectedly, she finds herself passionately falling for a man, and is suddenly faced with the decision to pursue a relationship or continue a life of independence. Etero must grapple with her feelings and decide how to find her own path to happiness.
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