About the Phoenix > The Patrons

The Phoenix is very proud to be supported by a number of patrons who have kindly given their time and name to the cinema.

Maureen Lipman, CBE

Maureen was the first Patron of the cinema and was instrumental in raising the awareness of the plight of the Phoenix in 1985 when it could have been knocked down.  Maureen helped to form the Trust and was one of the original signatories to the Trust's incorporation document.  She continues to be a Company member to this day.

Michael Palin, CBE

Michael will always be known as a Python, but his work in the intervening 30 years has seen him making the wonderful Ripping Yarns and The Missionary as well as numerous television series on his extensive travels and the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershoi.  Michael presented a special screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the Phoenix in February 2007 where he was in conversation with Mark Steele.

Victoria Wood

Victoriais a BAFTA award-winning actor and writer as well as one of the most successful comics this country has produced.  She found rightful acclaim through her stand-up performances before writing sit-coms which are themselves satires of sitcoms.  Victoria recently created a major West End musical based upon the “Acorn Antiques” segment of her TV series.

Bill Paterson

Bill is one of the most respected actors of his generation, appearing alongside fellow Patron Michael Palin in the film A Private Function.  An acclaimed theatre actor in both National Theatre and West End productions, Bill has also worked extensively on television and can be seen in such films as Richard III, Truly Madly Deeply and The Killing Fields.

Mike Leigh, OBE

Mike is (alongside Ken Loach) one of the most important British film-makers of his generation.  Winner of the Palme D’or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995 for Secrets and Lies, he is one of only two British filmmakers to take the award in the last twenty years.  Mike presented Vera Drake at the Phoenix in January 2005.

Ken Loach

Ken is the only other British film-maker of the last twenty years to have won the Palme D’or, for the Wind That Shakes The Barley in 2006.  Ken presented this film at the Phoenix and then we were delighted to welcome him back for a screening of It’s A Free World and on board as a Patron in December 2007.