diff --git a/packages/element-web-playwright-common/Dockerfile b/packages/element-web-playwright-common/Dockerfile
index c8bf12e503..e6ac702766 100644
--- a/packages/element-web-playwright-common/Dockerfile
+++ b/packages/element-web-playwright-common/Dockerfile
@@ -6,4 +6,8 @@ WORKDIR /work
 # fonts-dejavu is needed for the same RTL rendering as on CI
 RUN apt-get update && apt-get -y install docker.io fonts-dejavu
 
+# Disable the ryuk resource reaper, because it doesn't work in environments
+# that disallow starting privileged containers (such as rootless containers)
+ENV TESTCONTAINERS_RYUK_DISABLED=true
+
 ENTRYPOINT ["npx", "playwright", "test", "--update-snapshots", "--reporter", "line"]