After all the pre-showing publicity, Prima Facie, the first in our NT Live (Encore) showings is finally here. We’re thrilled to be linked up with the National Theatre’s brilliant initiative to make great theatre performances of the recent past available to those who weren’t able to be there in person. As NT’s website says, it’s "The best of British theatre, on a cinema screen near you". It’s a venture into different territory for No.6, but we’re very excited about it. Traditional cinematic fare of the highest quality remains our staple, though, and it doesn’t get much better than the all-time classic Chinatown.
Please keep an eye on our website for additional screenings of Trap and It Ends With Us.
Here is this week’s timetable. Bar opens at 6pm for the 7pm screenings.
NT Live (Encore): Prima Facie
Thursday 12th September at 7pm
We feel we’ve talked up NT Live (Encore) to the nth degree, so it only remains to recommend the amazing one-woman performance by Jodie (Killing Eve) Comer as a barrister who finds the workings of power, the law and patriarchy more complex than she might have expected. Prima Facie was written by Suzie Miller and the performance, recorded in 2022 at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End, was directed by Justin Martin.
No.6’s Greatest Films of All Time: Chinatown
Friday 13th September at 7pm
The pinnacle of the early 70’s ‘neo-noir’ cycle, Roman Polanski’s Chinatown is fully deserving of a slot as one of No.6’s Greatest Films of All Time. Featuring a career-high performance by Jack Nicholson as private eye Jake Gittes, a definitive femme fatale from Faye Dunaway, and an Oscar-winning script by Robert Towne, Polanski provides a hazy look akin to watching events through a film of gauze, the perfect analogy for the moral ambiguity and the slowly unfolding chain of events. A masterpiece in every sense of the word, and unmissable.
Thelma
Saturday 14th September at 7pm
Nonagenarian June Squibb plays the titular Thelma, a 93-year old grandmother tracking down a phone scammer in this unusual action-comedy directed by Josh Margolin. Much praised for its depiction of older characters doing more than meditating on death or providing comedy relief at their own expense, Rotten Tomatoes (99% rating) finds it, "a stellar showcase for Squibb". Also featuring the last performance by the great Richard (Shaft) Roundtree as Thelma’s companion on her quest, and (for those who find him irresistible) a rare outing for Malcolm McDowell.
Up Next Week:
It Ends With Us (matinee), Wilding, Cult Classic: Dr Strangelove, Starve Acre
Coming Soon:
No sooner have we presented our first NT Live (Encore) performance than its time to flag the next one. Thursday 10th October, with the performance starting promptly at 6.30pm, we’re pleased to be screening Noel Coward’s comedy Present Laughter, featuring Andrew Scott’s award-winning turn as filmed during a sold out run at the Old Vic in 2019, and directed by Matthew Warchus. Tickets will again be £15.50 for this showing, and it’s well worth getting in early given the speed at which tickets for Prima Facie sold.
