Dubbed ‘Britain’s meanest landlord’, Asif Aziz is fighting it out with a tiny cinema that counts Christopher Nolan, Paul Mescal and other Hollywood heroes as fans. How did the capital’s cultural landmarks end up under the thumb of the super-rich elite?
When London’s Prince Charles Cinema has something to say, it declares it with large black lettering across its marquee. Once, during a summer heatwave, it beckoned punters with a blunt: SOD THE SUNSHINE COME SIT IN THE DARK. When its doors were boarded up during the first Covid lockdown it went for a rousing: WE’LL BE BACK. And after the coronation of King Charles: NO, WE ARE NOT CHANGING OUR NAME.
As is clear from the repertory of films on show – David Lynch classics in 35mm, all-night Japanese horror marathons, Sing-a-long-a-Sound of Music and screenings of The Room (frequently with a live Q&A from director Tommy Wiseau) – the cult Leicester Square spot (Quentin Tarantino’s favourite UK cinema) has a unique place in London’s West End. When the cinema found itself facing an existential crisis following a prolonged period of fraught negotiations with its new landlord, passersby only needed to look up to learn that the venue had a fight on its hands. Just three words were pinned to the board: SAVE THE PCC.
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