Penda's Fen

Strange Frames presents one of the hidden visionary works of English film, made for Play for Today and rarely seen on the big screen, this TV gem is a must-see for anyone seriously interested in England's pagan past.

Chosen by Time Out London magazine as one of the 100 best British films, it's a multi-layered reading of contemporary society and its personal, social, sexual, psychic and metaphysical fault lines.

Set in the village of Pinvin, near Pershore in Worcestershire, England, against the backdrop of the Malvern Hills, the play is an evocation of conflicting forces within England past and present. These include authority, tradition, hypocrisy, landscape, art, sexuality, and most of all, its mystical, ancient pagan past. All of this comes together in the growing pains of the adolescent Stephen, a vicar's son, whose starts to encounter strange apparitions... 

This screening continues our Cult Cinema Weekender - a celebration of strange and wonderful supernatural films as part of Hastings's Jack in the Green mayday celebrations!

Hosted and curated by Katie Spooner from Strange Frames, a new film club that celebrates the offbeat, grotesque and arcane, examines the unexpectedly transgressive and revels in the strange frames of cinema. Exploring the 20th century’s most important storytelling medium through the lens of folklore, myth and legend.

How you can support the Electric Palace:

• Book a ticket to a screening.
• Become an official Friend of the Electric Palace
• Hire the cinema for a private party
• Buy a gift voucher
• Donate to the cinema
• Sign up to receive our enewsletter
• Play our piano before a screening and see the film for free!
• Support us on social media by sharing our posts and events
• Find out more about our ticket prices
• Problem booking online? See our FAQs

Thank you.