Independent Cinema for Everyone

Everyone is welcome to Relaxed screenings, but we have made them especially suitable to those with Dementia, Autism, and anyone who finds standard screenings overwhelming:

• The house lights are left on low and the sound turned down a little.
• There are no pre-feature adverts or trailers and the film starts at the time advertised.
• Maximum capacity in the cinema will be reduced to 50% (50 people).
• All tickets are £4. You can book in advance online or from our Box Office. Or you can buy your ticket from the Box Office on the day of the screening.
• Seating is allocated on our booking system, which means if you book in advance, you will be asked to select a seat. But if on the day you would like to sit somewhere else, talk to a member of the team, and we will do our best to transfer your ticket to another available seat. During the screening, you can also move around, stretch your legs, and change seats, but we ask you to be mindful of other people’s personal space. For safety reasons, please note that running isn’t allowed in the cinema.
• Information to help you choose your seat: air circulation in the cinema is feeding from each side of the auditorium. It should feel cooler near the aisles on the front rows, warmer at the back.
• You can take your own soft drinks and snacks into the cinema. You can also buy drinks and snacks from our Box Office and take them in with you in the cinema. Click here to view the current menu.
• You are welcome to bring personal items such as blankets, ear defenders, that will help you enjoy the film but do not disrupt other people’s cinematic experience.

To prepare your visit, you can take a virtual tour of our venue on Arts University Plymouth’s website here. Click on the pin marked “Tavistock Place” to start a tour from the main entrance, or click on the pin marked “Plymouth Arts Cinema” for a 360-degree view of our auditorium. Or feel free to pop in during our opening hours (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 5-8.30pm; Wednesday: 1-8.30pm; Saturday: 1-8pm): a member of our team will be happy to give you a tour of our spaces, including the cinema if it is not in use.

For more information, visit our dedicated access page.


Dir. Ernst Lubitsch, US, 1940, 99 mins. Cast. James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan.

Deftly directed by Ernst Lubitsch from a smart, funny script by Samson Raphaelson, The Shop Around the Corner is a romantic comedy in the finest sense of the term. Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) are employees at Matuschek and Company, a general store in Budapest. They are constantly at odds with each other, butting heads and disagreeing on almost everything. Both are enamoured of their respective pen pals, who serve as welcome distractions in their lives. Little do they know, they are each the other's pen pal and, despite outward differences, have unwittingly fallen in love through their letters. Sound familiar? It is the film remade as You’ve Got Mail (with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) - but the original is better! The perfect film to relax with in the hectic run-up to Christmas.

For detailed information about the film's age rating and potential triggering contents, you can visit the BBFC website and search the film title, then scroll down to the “ratings info” section: www.bbfc.co.uk