What is it?
One of London’s oldest surviving cinemas and a fixture on Dalston’s main thoroughfare for over a century, this legendary venue started life in 1909, when films were shown in a converted auction shop on the same site.
It has gone through countless iterations since first opening as the Kingsland Empire in 1915, including In 1915 it opened as the Kingsland Empire, and has gone through countless iterations since, from a 1960s art house venue to an ‘adult’ cinema with live burlesque in the seventies. Run as a not-for-profit charity since 1979, when an independent co-op formed to save it from closure, these days the Grade II-listed cinema is one of the last truly independent movie houses in the city.
The cinema’s main auditorium can host up to 400 guests, while recent building projects have seen a 30-capacity second screen and bar installed in the basement, and the main screen’s lobby and bar area refurbished.
And there are plenty more ambitious plans in the works to ensure the beloved community venue continues to thrive for decades to come, including a potential third screen and plans to turn the Rio into the first solar-powered cinema in the UK.
Why go?
To check out an unparalleled programme of independent cinema that dutifully caters to the local community.
It’s used as a venue for the London Short Film Festival, Doc’n’Roll, Fringe! Queer Film Festival, London Korean Film Festival and many more events in London’s cinematic social calendar. As well as the latest blockbusters, the day-to-day programming encompasses hotly anticipated indie releases, a great selection of classics and foreign flicks, and regular open caption and subtitled screenings.
And you get to watch all of this in the plush surroundings of its multi-storied Art Deco auditorium, designed by cult architect F. E. Bromige in the 1930s and largely unchanged since.
Don’t miss:
The Rio hosts a variety of film clubs aimed at fostering community. These include Classic Matinees for those aged 60 and over, a Carers and Babies club that meets every Monday morning, weekly queer film club Pink Palace and spine-tingling screenings for the horror-themed Category H Film Club.
When to visit:
Screenings take place between 3pm and 11pm on weeknights, 11am-12am on Saturdays and 1pm to 11pm on Sundays. The cinema opens 15 minutes before the first showing of the day.
Ticketing info:
Adult tickets cost £7- £14 depending on whether you’re visiting at off-peak or peak times, with concessions for under 18s, students, over 65s, NHS workers and people on income support. They can be booked online (with a small booking fee), on the phone or in person at the Box Office. For detailed information on the Rio’s ticket pricing structure, visit its FAQs page here.
Time Out tip:
Looking for a way to see the latest releases on the cheap? Sign up to be a Friend of the Rio for free, and you’ll be able to get £5 tickets on Tuesdays, and will also collect points for every £1 you spend at the cinema.
Or if you live locally and visit the cinema at least a few times a year, you can save even more money with a membership. For £15 a year you’ll get up to £3 off every ticket you buy, plus 20% off at the bar, £5 tickets on Tuesdays and before 5pm on Fridays, and a free +1 on Wednesdays. If a better membership offer exists in London, we don’t know about it.