backyardcinema.co.uk Reviews 20

I booked on the basis of an amazing magical experience in Wandsworth a few years ago. Very disappointed. No winter wonderland, you walk through a few trees. Only 2 bars, overpriced and no food. Cinema had wooden seats and not the bean bags/sofas of Wandsworth. No actors or winter display.

We went a few years ago in Wandsworth and it was magical, the new setting (Tanner Street) was awful…really disappointing compared to the previous time. Last time the conema itself was really well decorated and had comfy beanbag chairs - this time there were just two sad undecorated Xmas trees and hard cinema chairs. Not magical at all and not worth the money. The singers in bar were great, they were the only good thing. I recommended it to people on the last experience and am now really embarrassed that I did.

This is a real rip off. Asked to arrive 1 hour before the film starts for entertainment. Hardly any seats, poor entertainment, sitting round for an hour completely bored. Extortionate drinks prices, paid £5.50 for a sharing bag of chocolate. The bag contained 7 mini chocolates.
The winter wonder land is a few trees with lights on. The actual cinema area is poor, really uncomfortable seats far to close together.
Massive disappointment

We have been to two previous venues with Backyard Cinema and loved them both, we just visited Tanner Street and couldn’t have been more disappointed as well as being quite irritated at being ripped off. We have a six year old son and booked the 12 noon showing of Home Alone, he couldn’t see a thing unless he leaned heavily to the side and tbh neither could I or my husband as they haven’t bothered to tier the seating, chairs are uncomfortable and there’s a large number of people in a small space. The snow “was two seconds of foam sprayed at the beginning of the film”. The worst thing is the timing issue, the whole hour before the film is basically to shove you into an overpriced bar where you can’t get anything to eat. They “confiscated” the small snack pack I always have when we are out for the day incase my son gets hungry and all you can buy is their sweets or bags of popcorn. For us that meant no lunch between 11.45 and nearly 3pm. Where has all the magic gone! Charge me £10 for some sweets but at least make them sweetie cones with a bit of variety!! Overall this place has lost the plot, clearly now aimed at milking as much money as possible from adults with drinks and can’t even be bothered to make sure you can actually watch the film. So gutted.

If I could I will give 0 stars. I should have read the feedback before buying.
I used to go on the old place and it was lovely. This year it was the worst experience ever. So expensive, wood uncomfortable chair, horrible space, horrible location, it doesn't worth a penny.
Don't go, don't waste your money!

We used to go to the Wandsworth location (went multiple times it was so good) so had similar expectations for the new location on Tanner Street. It was AWFUL and not worth the money in the slightest.
So disappointed. The singers for pre entertainment were okay, and there was a lady spinning hula hoops and that's it. The enchanted forest had very sparse trees and nothing like the previous location.
The screening has a strong smell of fuel/diesel in the air which ended up giving me a headache. If a tall person sits in front of you then all you see is the back of their head - I felt sorry for the poor children because they couldn't see. Gone are the comfy beanbags there's now retro cinema chairs. You can hear the traffic outside - pretty sure police sirens don't feature regularly throughout Elf!
I don't know if the company has been sold from the original team because there was not intro video which how they started up the company.
It just feels like a gimmick event trying to get as many people in as possible for the money!
Do not go! What a scam.

Really shabby interior decorations. The experience was a few fairly lights, wood chips in the floor and some Christmas trees. The entertainers were average and there is deliberately not enough information on the website so people arrive with an hour to spend on nothing but overpriced drinks. The whole experience was so so disappointing. Not a patch on the Wandsworth experience. I would NOT recommend it - better to stay at home of go to a regular cinema. #rubbish - also gross toilets to cap the whole experience off badly.

We used to go to Wandsworth which was excellent. This location near Tower Bridge is truly underwhelming. You really do not need to turn up an hour before. The pre screening entertainment is awful and the enchanted wood utterly rubbish. The mulled wine was watered down. No hot chocolate. As for the actual cinema - gone are the bean bags and in place some retro cinema seats which are so uncomfortable not raked so when you are near the back you can’t see for heads. No atmosphere. You can also hear the traffic outside. Save your money. Would not recommend

I am absolutely furious with this cinema. When we bought our tickets, the time clearly said 12:00, and it was written that after 12:15 no one would be allowed in. There was no information about when the movie actually ends, and the movie duration was listed as 1 hour 30 minutes.

But when we arrived, we were suddenly told that the movie actually starts at 13:00. So before that, you’re expected to just sit at their tables where they try to sell you drinks. No food was available.

To make things worse, they confiscated our backpack, which had food for our kids. And of course, the kids got hungry.

Because of this ridiculous schedule change, we missed another event we had planned!

I am extremely angry. The whole day was ruined.

Overpriced! If someone tall sits in front of you, you will not see anything. Not much of a festive experience. Would not recommend

Went to london bridge tanner st last nite to watch Elf had the best experience was fantastic set up excellent singers friendly staff nice comfy seats nice and warm inside highly recommended defo will be back

Was really looking forward to seeing this production but unfortunately the sound quality and production were awful.

The narrator was also really terrible. His performance felt very amateur. I could also barely hear what he was saying.

At one point they showed his face in the main screen and most the audience laughed. He looked a bit like the demon headmaster at this point.

The staging was also pretty bad. Looked like a school production. The live performance and the film didn’t blend at all.

The band were quite good and I’m sure the singers were good but the sound quality made them hard to listen to.

Screen was dull, drum sound was awful, some of the actors were not lit so we couldn’t see the performers during their minimal monologues, seats were uncomfortable and overall a poor experience. would not recommend.

to improve this show the production needs to spend some money & stop scrimping, stop thinking about profits & improve their concepts. specifically the sound, audience interaction, theming etc.

Liverpool showing tonight so many people walked out. Seats were so uncomfortable, watching a movie on a dim screen with rubbish sound. It was not an immersive experience like expected. Begins with a handful of singers & musicians who do a round up of the famous songs at the start, whilst an actor recites some monologues from different areas of the auditorium. That's pretty much it until the interval when they come back to do another 2 songs and then people didn't even know if it was an interval or it had finished, everyone just sat for a moment looking at eachother and then got up and we heard numerous people saying is that the end? Just an announcement to say taking a short break would have sufficed. Found it so distracting when so many people were leaving found myself watching the doors more than the movie. Not worth the money. Expected the songs to accompany the film throughout, no special props or photo opportunities or even specialty cocktails. Paid 65 pound for 2 tickets to watch a 28 year old film on a terrible screen on a dining room chair basically. We left before the end as we were so disappointed. Partner went in search of backyard cinema staff to speak to to them but nowhere to be found. Even the venue staff couldn't locate anyone so have had to resort to online reviews as even the contact us part of the backyard cinema website link is broken.

I will just add, the singers and musicians were very talented and it's no reflection of them at all as I am not one to slate performers. Just the execution of the event was poor.

Terrible picture in Liverpool tonight. The screen was so dim you could hardly see it and was told that ‘it’s just the way it works’ by a member of the team. Shocking event and shocking attitude. Left early.

The company no longer operates a themed cinema experience at it's London and Manchester locations. It seems to have shut everything down for a live theatre experience of Romeo+Juliet and they're actively removing questions/comments about where their original locations have gone and if/when they are returning.

I took my niece to watch the Barbie movie here, and we were both captivated from start to finish. The venue's stunning decor and sandy floor transported us to another world, while the extensive drink selection at the bar catered to all ages. The lively actors added an extra layer of engagement, getting everyone dancing by the end. Simply put, this is Manchester's finest cinema experience, and it provided a day my niece and I will always cherish.

I fully agree with Adam and Julia. They've stolen £75 of my money and I'm having to set up a Police investigation as well as leads with Citizens Advice and Trading Standards. Their customer service unit is appalling and you can find the head of ticketing on Linkedin who makes promises she doesn't keep, so it starts from the type of people at the top. Broken Britain indeed. I'll get my money back as it was my reward night out after my Mum had a stroke.

Awful awful company do not book with these people you pay a lot of money and you cannot directly speak to anyone you have to go through there ticket provider who are awful also! They will not refund or exchange so Iv just gave them lots of money for nothing cowboys!

Does not provide any way of amending your booking. I emailed the customer service address to request to change my dates due to covid-19 and they have not even responded to acknowledge the email. I have since missed the show I had paid to see and have no idea if they have even seen my email. Don't waste your money!