Accessibility at Picturehouse
Plan your visit and learn more about our facilities.
Plan your visit and learn more about our facilities.
Here you can find an outline of all the accessibility facilities and services we offer at Picturehouse. For details about what's available at each cinema, scroll down to the bottom of the page. If you need help booking tickets, can't find what you're looking for here, or have a question about anything accessibility-related, call us!
Text Relay call 18001 02072 947908. Check out the Relay UK app for more details.
The helpline is open Monday to Sunday, 10.00 to 18.00, every day except Christmas Day.
We offer free entry for accompanying carers and accept the CEA card – a national initiative that offers a free ticket to carers/companions accompanying disabled guests to the cinema.
To find out more about the CEA card scheme and register for a card, visit www.ceacard.co.uk, or contact them via telephone: 0124 452 6016, minicom: 0845 123 1292, textphone: 0845 123 1297 or email: info@ceacard.co.uk. The card is personal to you, and may not be used by other people.
Once you've chosen the screening you wish to attend, enter your unique CEA card number in the Ticket Voucher field on the 'Select Tickets' page. Select 'Add to Order' and complete your booking as normal.
Enter your CEA card number in the Voucher Barcode field when selecting tickets.
Simply present your CEA card to the attending member of staff.
Call 0207 294 7908 and quote your CEA card number.
Advance booking is always a good idea so that our staff can readily provide any help you need. Accompanying carers are eligible for a free ticket. We'll happily reserve wheelchair spaces or seats in any particular part of the auditorium if this is helpful.
You can book wheelchair spaces and carer tickets online or by phone (0207 294 7908; Text Relay call 18001 02072 947908). Please see the carers section above for more details about carer tickets.
For guests with vision impairment, we have an Audio Description (AD) system. Like a narrator telling a story, AD is an additional commentary describing body language, expressions and movements taking place and is delivered via a wireless headset, which you can borrow from the Box Office when you collect your ticket. The AD soundtrack is undetectable to anyone not wearing a headset and fits within the silent gaps in a film so it doesn't interfere with the dialogue.
For more details about the headsets and Audio Description, check the accessibility page for your local Picturehouse. To find out if a screening is audio-described, check the film listings on our website (look for the 'AD' tag), ask a member of staff at the cinema, or call our accessibility helpline.
Most of our cinemas have hearing loop facilities and/or infrared systems. Hearing loops are generally found in the public area of the cinema, such as at the ticket office and refreshment counter, as well as in some cinema screens. A hearing loop sends sound from a source – such as a microphone at a counter – straight to hearing aids on the hearing loop setting (this used to be called the 'T' setting). Most hearing aids have a hearing loop setting.
Infrared systems are generally used within the screens to amplify the film's soundtrack. The cinema provides an infrared neck loop receiver and all you have to do is turn on the hearing loop setting on your hearing aid. For details about the equipment available at each cinema and how to use it, check the accessibility page for your local Picturehouse.
We offer regular subtitled (captioned) screenings, which provide a transcription of the audio from a film, displayed at the bottom of the cinema screen. Along with the dialogue from the film, the subtitles include non-dialogue audio such as "(sighs)" or "(door creaks)" to ensure people who are deaf or hard of hearing can enjoy the full film plot. These screenings may also benefit those with English as a second language. Subtitled screenings are programmed on a weekly basis, but not all films are provided with a captioned track, so some weeks we may have fewer subtitled screenings as a result.
Guide dogs are welcome at our cinemas. If you wish to take a dog into a performance, please let us know when booking so we can arrange an aisle seat. Alternatively, a member of staff can look after them for the duration of the performance (as long as no one in the manager's office has an allergy that could be affected). We'll be happy to provide drinking water for your dog, too.
Relaxed screenings are specially designed to make cinema-going easier and more accessible to those who may need additional support when they visit.
These screenings are ideal for neurodivergent audiences of all ages, those living with dementia, and their families, friends, and carers, but all are welcome.
Relaxed screenings will show films without adverts or trailers. Lights are left on low, the volume is reduced, and the audience is free to move around and take breaks from the screen whenever needed.
You'll find the following options for Relaxed screenings at select Picturehouse cinemas:
Whilst we do our best to ensure these screenings happen consistently, please note that on occasion the regular slot may change. Make sure you check local listings ahead of your screening.
All relaxed screenings can be found at picturehouses.com/relaxed.
Please note that Relaxed Screenings are our new format for the previously separate strands of Autism Friendly and Dementia Friendly screenings. We're very proud that we were the first cinema group to introduce Autism-Friendly screenings, all the way back in 2009, and have been running our Dementia Friendly screenings since 2015. We're excited to bring accessible cinema to all the audiences who benefit from the Relaxed Screening format.
