A UK cinema company that began with the Everyman in Hampstead in 2000 and runs sofa-style cinemas with bars and food in towns and cities across the country.
Everyman is a cinema group that tries to make a trip to the pictures feel like a night out. Its venues have a licensed bar, food, digital projection and surround sound, and the chain is known for comfortable sofa-style seating and waiter service. Alongside new films, programmes include special events, live screenings of Metropolitan Opera and National Theatre productions, question-and-answer sessions with filmmakers, and film festivals. Everyman Media Group plc is the company behind the brand, and its shares are traded on the AIM market.
The Hampstead building behind the brand has a long story. It opened in 1888 as a drill hall and assembly room, and in 1920 became The Everyman theatre under its first director, Norman MacDermott, who wanted experimental plays rather than West End shows. On Boxing Day 1933 a solicitor, James Fairfax-Jones, took over the building and turned it into an independent arthouse cinema, with the auditorium redesigned by the architect Alister Gladstone MacDonald. Daniel Broch bought it in 2000 and built the modern company, adding a second screen in 2004 and buying Screen Cinemas in 2008. We did not find a formal mission statement in the pages we read.
Everyman is a UK business, headquartered in London. Wikipedia lists 49 cinemas, all in the UK, while a history site gives 38 sites in 2023, so the number has changed over time and we cannot say what it is today. Named venues include the original in Hampstead, Trinity Leeds (2013), The Mailbox in Birmingham (2015) and Harrogate (2016). The company has said it is expanding in northern England. Alex Scrimgeour is listed as chief executive, though that comes from a Wikipedia page that may be out of date.
On culture, the company's approach is described in the history pages as one of hospitality and service, with sofa seating, waiter service, lounge bars and food and drink. The pages also note that the Hampstead site still carries traces of its past as a drill hall, experimental theatre and arthouse cinema, such as its vaulted ceiling. A 2013 Guardian report, as summarised on Wikipedia, said around 100 non-management staff were on zero-hours contracts at that time. That is a dated claim and may no longer reflect working practice, so ask about current terms if you apply.
In a cinema group like this, most roles are in venues: duty managers, general managers, front-of-house hosts, bar and kitchen staff, waiters and projectionists. Head office roles include programmers, marketing and events staff, property and design teams, and finance and people teams. It is a good fit if you enjoy hospitality as much as film. The company's website lists its current venues and vacancies.
Website: www.everymancinema.com
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