The Bioscope: Maboneng Precinct, Johannesburg

Last weekend, the hubs, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and I ventured into downtown Johannesburg to check out a specific movie theatre. The location of this evening adventure is notable because most people (including me) avoid going into the city because it is dirty, crowded, and sometimes dangerous. But small sections of Johannesburg CBD are being revived and are actually extremely cool. This place and this are examples of this. 

And The Bioscope is another one of these places. Located in Maboneng Precinct, this small, independent movie theatre features chalkboards, pizzas, indie films, and so much style. The four of us went on a Sunday evening to watch Blackfish. (Have you seen it? It's totally fascinating, especially since I wanted to be a killer whale trainer for about half my life.)

The film started at 7pm, so we arrived at about six and grabbed a pizza and some drinks at The Chalkboard - the adjoining cafe. The walls have actual chalkboards all around; just ask for some chalk at the counter and doodle away.

None of those are our drawings...except for my sister-in-law, none of us are that good. It was so fun seeing what other people drew.

Shout out to the blog:)

The theatre itself (which I unfortunately did not take any pictures of) holds about 60 people and all the seats are car seats (like drivers seats). They were really comfortable and just fun to sit in. (Especially when the hubby discovered that you could adjust the height and move the seat up and down.) We took our pizza in and ate while we watched. It was such a wonderful evening!

Blurry but cute.

If you are in Joburg, I highly recommend making your way down to The Bioscope and enjoying some urban, South African culture. (Oh and the Maboneng Precinct is very safe. Like all big cities, you need to be aware of your surroundings and be smart, but you can park your car on the street [across from the theatre] and be at ease. :)

PS - If you want to go to the precinct for a meal before the movie, I suggest Mama Mexicana. It's just a few store fronts down from The Bioscope and is one of the few Mexican restaurants in Johannesburg. Delicious!