Overview

Normally I would have given this theatre five stars; it's very accessible, the staff are lovely and helpful, parking is easy and it's usually a great place to hang out but this review is specifically concerned with Inverness Film Festival in November. I saw four films and they were excellent so I've given three stars for that. There was an amazing breath of diversity and something for everyone, so it’s such a shame that the next film I wanted to see was not such a positive experience. The welcome in the brochure starts with the statement that ' The last couple of years have been very divisive' well, it went downhill from there regarding access. It was decided to hold the only two showings of the film (The Last Metro) in an inaccessible part of the theatre, despite having lots of accessible options available on-site: ' the mystery screening location is not accessible by people with limited physical abilities'. I E-mailed the festival director as well as the theatre director and pointed out that I was really disappointed in this. The film was cancelled on health and safety grounds but I was a bit shocked to read the response from the festival director that ' we have a wonderfully unique building, which does have areas that are not accessible and on the very rare occasion that we are able to use these areas I think that we should'. He did say that he would have a separate accessible screening but he just didn’t seem to get that this is not inclusive and if the experience is improved by holding the event in a particular area, then an accessible area should be adapted so that the experience could be enjoyed by everyone equally. I offered to meet with the festival director for a coffee to give him a different perspective on inclusion but so far he hasn't taken me up on that, however, the theatre director has intervened and invited me into a review of disability policy at Eden Court next year and said that he wishes to ‘ensure we’re mindful of ensuring all our work is accessible’ and I will definitely be there and I really appreciate being asked. So basically, I’m hopeful that this will be an opportunity to help create a new vision of inclusion rather than one of division.

Transport & Parking

The theatre is located in the town centre and has great parking available with disabled spaces to the front and side; parking is free in the disabled spaces. It's a short walk from the nearest bus-stop and about 10 minutes walk from the Inverness Train station.

Access

Normally, I would give the Eden Court Theatre five stars, Inverness Film Festival (which takes place in Eden Court Theatre) would only get 0, given their current ethos around inclusion, so I've gone for 2.5.

Toilets

There are three accessible toilets on the ground floor and more upstairs. The ones I've seen are spacious, accessible with grab rails, red cords and they are clean.

Staff

The staff at Eden Court itself are normally fantastic but my latest experience with the Inverness Film Festival and the views expressed around that particular event let it down in a big way for me; normally, I would have given 5 stars and this would be a more accurate depiction of the staff at Eden Court.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I can't stress enough that these outdated views I've written about above don't reflect on my experience of Eden Court itself but it's pretty serious that these views exist at all. I would not let this stop you visiting Eden Court however, as I said before, this review concerns the Film Festival and not Eden Court Theatre itself. The staff are generally lovely and helpful and represent the true meaning of inclusion. I'm hopeful that next year's Inverness Film Festival will represent this too.