Source: Matt from London via Wikimedia Commons
Some London buildings spend their lives as offices; others become Hollywood film sets. The Farmiloe Building in Clerkenwell has done both. The Grade II-listed building played Gotham City’s police station in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Then, in Inception, it became Yusuf’s pharmacy in Mombasa — the place to go when your dream-heist plans require something rather stronger than a chamomile tea.
In the same neighbourhood where Daniel Craig has just become co-owner of a pub, the Farmiloe Building brings its own touch of Hollywood to St John Street. Behind its grand Italianate façade, the building lent its backdrop to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, specifically during in the scene where Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) and Watson (Jude Law) rescue Irene Adler from a nasty buzz saw.
And while the Farmiloe Building set the scene for these cinematic worlds, their music is taking centre stage elsewhere in London. At Central Hall Westminster, a Hans Zimmer tribute concert will bring scores from The Dark Knight, Inception, Sherlock Holmes and more to life beneath the venue’s vast domed ceiling.
Candlelight: The Best of Hans Zimmer
How did the Farmiloe Building become a Hollywood favourite?
The Farmiloe’s appeal goes beyond its grand Victorian façade: inside, floors with distinctly different looks gave filmmakers several settings under one roof. Just like an Oscar-winning performer, this place is versatile, charismatic and always camera-ready.
In The Dark Knight, Nolan used the building’s rear windows for the Joker’s explosive escape, while Ritchie was able to turn the lower levels into a Victorian abattoir for Sherlock Holmes. For Inception, Nolan transformed the interior again, this time into an East African pharmacy, where Cobb finds the chemist needed for his dream-sharing mission.
From Batman to Inception: Inside the Hans Zimmer tribute concert at London’s Central Hall Westminster
From Gotham’s police station to a dream-heist pharmacy, the Farmiloe Building has helped create some memorable film settings. At Central Hall Westminster, though, it’s the music’s turn to do the scene-setting: Candlelight: The Best of Hans Zimmer brings those cinematic worlds into a room lit by thousands of candles.
Performed entirely on strings, the programme includes “Time” from Inception, “A Dark Knight” from The Dark Knight and “Discombobulate” from Sherlock Holmes. There’s room for a few adventures beyond Clerkenwell, too, with “Cornfield Chase” from Interstellar and suites from the likes of Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Central Hall Westminster provides a suitably dramatic backdrop, with its vast domed ceiling above the candlelit setting. The tribute lasts 60 minutes, with upcoming dates starting on 24 October.
Event details
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Candlelight: The Best of Hans Zimmer