A secret is sweeping the UK
This secret is the very best kind: intriguing, absorbing,
clever, creative, bewitching, beguiling, rewarding, turbo-charged fun shared by
only the right kind of people.
And who are these ‘right kind of people’? They are people like you and me: people who,
given the right circumstances, are open and friendly, warm and a little whacky. They are people who are prepared to get into
the spirit of something new, take a risk, wear a costume, muck in, have a
laugh, adopt a character, tease a character, improvise, adapt, mingle with
strangers, make a new friend, arrive in an unknown place for an unknown
experience and do their best to get their money’s worth of entertainment. They are people who know how to have a good
time!
This secret club of smiling, satisfied Londoners is growing…
because the Secret Cinema is in town!
One of my Greek sailing buddies, Alex, sent out an
unexpected email recently saying “I have ten tickets, first people to confirm can
join me for Secret Cinema”. Toni, my lovely hairdresser, had put me ‘in
the know’ about the Secret Cinema phenomena
so I replied immediately. Excitement
built as I waited for party day. When I
went to the ‘secret website’ I got more intrigued; for it tells you as much as
it holds back. The experience from planning to marketing to arriving and beginning
the Secret Cinema journey is filled
with mystery and provocative suspense.
The actress in me got hooked on the theatrics. The writer in me tried to guess which film it
might be. The flirt in me loved the game. And the arts/events producer is determined to
find out who is in charge so I can work for them.
When the day finally arrived I met Alex and Shelene in town for a cocktail. We then
took a tube to the East End to follow
instructions we were given, again in secret, re where to report. We were dressed as instructed. We were in the mood (as people tend to be if
they’ve bothered to prepare for a themed party).
We walked tentatively through a dark park before arriving at the
entrance to Secret Cinema's
secret location; which changes depending on the design of the event which is
governed by the nature of the secret film.
Immediately we were surrounded by atmosphere. Instantly we were in a scene from the
movie. Inevitably I played along and
found myself bantering with hired actors, other customers, Alex’s friends like Jorge, Jonathan and Martin, basically anyone who was ready to ‘pull down their wall’ and go with
the energy and intention of the evening.
It would be hours before we sat down to watch the secret
film, by which time we had worked out what it was likely to be. But it wasn’t the film I’d expected upon
arrival and the choice was even better in my opinion – a brilliant film, a
classic, with an endless number of themes and settings to play into an event
designer’s hands. I missed nothing. I admired every piece of period set-dressing
and operational detail. I grinned at the
clever use of a vast space and the effortless way crowds flowed in and out of
different sections avoiding undue congestion.
I was escorted or wandered from activity to activity. I drank.
I ate a little. I talked or
interacted with countless people I’d never seen before and probably will never
see again. I laughed. I play-acted.
I mimicked the actor’s accents, who of course never admitted they were
acting. I got into trouble (though I
can’t tell you with whom as that would give away the plot). I made friends. I lost friends (as in physically
separated). And because of that I made
one particular new friend, a nice young man called Haydn, who stayed with me
for the whole evening, ready to enjoy the diversity of activities and laugh
heartily as I threw myself into scenes as if I was already on the pay-roll.
I can’t tell you anything about the actual activities, the
setting or the film – that would be like telling someone the ending of Mouse Trap – but I can say that visitors
are free to interact as little or as much with the pre-show event as feels
comfortable for them. I can also say the
Secret Cinema experience was
extremely well thought out, designed, directed and executed… and after several
hours of fun you then got to sit down and watch the film with popcorn and beer. Could it get any better?
Well actually, yes, in my case it did. Because the handsome man who’d been such good
company, sat with me in the rear of the cinema and held my hand. Then, feeling happy and carefree, we
kissed. In fact it was lucky we both
knew the film well, as after a gentle start we decided we liked it and kept
kissing. It was also lucky the seat
immediately behind was vacant so our heads coming together didn’t obstruct
anyone’s view. When temperatures rose we
thought about going outside for a while to ‘make out’ like teenagers. But it was so delightfully uncomplicated to
enjoy simultaneous snuggling, kissing and watching, that we stayed in the
make-shift cinema and enjoyed the movie highlights with all the other warm, happy
people.
At the end of this evening of unadulterated fun, all we could
do was laugh and smile and repeat over and over again “what a great night”! Indeed everyone on the bus was smiling and
saying “awesome”… “can’t imagine a better evening”…
Then the nice young man got me safely home. We exchanged
numbers with a goodnight kiss. And
whether I see him again, or not, he was the perfect Secret Cinema buddy – his soft lips a bonus in a swathe of sweet
secrets and delights.
Regular blog readers know I love opera, theatre, galleries
and many cultural pursuits. But if you
want to let your hair down… be a little whacky and wild, and come out with a
smile on your face that you won’t be able to shift for days… then get yourself into
the secret club of smug people ‘in the know’.
Most of all, may the secret charms of Secret Cinema long endure...
