Judith Schrut joins the Nomad for a cinematic trip across Australia’s outback.
Since 2010, the Nomad Cinema has been popping its outdoor screens up in Brompton Cemetery, Hyde Park Lido, St Paul’s Cathedral Gardens and other intriguing London locations, along with enticing add-ons like hot food, blankets and magic carpets. It has a unique tag as ‘the pop-up cinema that gives back’, as it’s run primarily by volunteers and donates 100% of profits to charity.
Last week we got to experience a full-on Nomad event for ourselves. The special Aussie-themed evening saw Nomad partner with the friendly folk from Australia’s Northern Territory and Singapore Airlines for a supersized screening of The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert in aptly-named Queen’s Park. Priscilla tells the story of two drag queens and a transsexual on their riotous journey from Sydney to Alice Springs in a gorgeous lavender bus.
As well as celebrating the great Australian outback and the colourful art of drag, the show raised vital funds for the Nomad-sponsored Lynedoch community project in southern Africa. The evening was enhanced by an Aussie-style bar and BBQ, a singalong with cabaret legend Paulus, free popcorn, goody bags and coffee.
In addition to enjoying this brilliant cult movie, we found ourselves getting pretty excited about Australia’s Northern Territory. It’s a huge area full of incredible natural sights like spectacular gorges, giant waterfalls and ancient sandstone plateaus, Aboriginal rock art sites, the mesmerising Red Centre (famous for Uluru/Ayers Rock) and the Yellow Water of Kakadu, a billabong brimming with birds and wildlife. Apparently its gateway city, Darwin, can be easily reached in 19 hours with Singapore Airlines from London.
The Nomad’s outdoor cinema screenings continue through September at various London locations. Tickets £12-18, concessions for kids, seniors, students. Find out more at Where is the Nomad?
