From mesmerising cinema experiences to spine-tingling dining extravaganzas and festive pop-ups, there’s plenty of unusual ways to spend your weekend…

Cinema Spectacular

First up is Backyard Cinema, which has opened its first permanent home at the iconic Capital Studios at Ram Quarter in Wandsworth. A short trip from Clapham Junction station, the previous pop-up cinema showcase has set down roots in the former TV studios in Wandsworth and transformed them into a Winter Garden ahead of Backyard’s exciting winter cinema season.

An iconic venue in its own right – Capital Studios has previously played host to music legends The Beatles and David Bowie and later was the home of classic TV series Ready, Steady Cook – Backyard Cinema has created an immersive, multi-sensory cinematic playground in the space. The cinema has an all-day bar serving cocktails on tap, beer and artisan pizza, accompanied by live music, a seated courtyard and fantastical cinema. Catering for film lovers of all ages, guests enter the space through a magical Narniaesque wardrobe and are transported to an enchanted forest where the 250-seat ‘Lost Theatre’ can be found. The winter season at Backyard Cinema will host a great mix of new releases, sing-a-longs and old faves, including Aladdin, Rocketman, Harry Potter, True Romance, Dirty Dancing, The Greatest Showman and Moulin Rouge.

Discussing the new home in Ram Quarter, Dominic Davies, founder and creative director, Backyard Cinema, said: “When we found Capital Studios we knew we wanted to make it our new home. The sheer size of the venue will allow us to expand creatively and offer so much cool new stuff. A craft beer bar, bespoke Honest Burgers, live music, vegan ice cream and even more immersive cinematic adventures than before. In the future we’ll be adding karaoke booths and theatrical cocktail experiences as well.”

The Backyard team is keen for the venue to be part of the community and locals will be offered the use of the new space for community events, talks and more, whilst a local ticket discount will be offered to those in the area.

Dinner Party Drama

Taking theatrical dining to a whole new level, Gingerline’s multi-dimensional dining experiences pop up across London and regularly top Time Out’s must-see lists. This winter, the immersive dining experts will be releasing a new wave of tickets for its 360 dining extravagazana, named Chambers.

With a base in Wimbledon, Gingerline’s fully interactive dining events often sell out in hours and are based across London. The immersive, interactive Gingerline experiences includes a five-course, multiroom dining voyage. Guests receive a text on the day of their adventure, ushering them to a top-secret location where the dining festivities unfurl. Though the details of the Chambers experience are a closely guarded secret, guests can expect a wacky and wonderfully playful experience with a daring and extravagant menu.

Weekends Made Easy

For those looking for fresh weekend ideas, Barnes resident James Hill has just launched Food.Social, a new app platform that curates unique and interactive activities for foodies around the capital.

From living room supper clubs, to cookery classes, haute cuisine dinners, intimate meals and exclusive dinner parties, Food. Social connects hosts and guests online and provides a booking platform. By November, James expects there to be 150 different experiences available to book on Food. Social – ideal for date nights and great for Christmas pressies.

Immersive Gatsby

Head into a hedonistic 1920s party with Jay Gatsby as your host. The Great Gatsby, from the Guild of Misrule, is the UK’s longest running immersive theatre show and, at home in its new Mayfair venue, there is now a dining experience to go with it too. Dress up and get down for one hell of a shindig.

The Great Gatsby @ Immersive LDN c Helen Maybanks