Secret Cinema

[soonforgotten]

I attended the final Secret Cinema for November last night. We were told to meet at Ladbroke Grove Station and to be wearing a dressing gown. From there we were lead by men with white button up shirts and black bow ties to our destination. This was overseen by nurses and doctors along the way. The final destination was the Princess Louise Hospital, now closed: http://www.openage.co.uk/st%20quintin%2 ... age_33.htm

The queue was let in through the gates where everyone was issued different coloured wristbands and one of 2 different smocks, which had to be put on before entering. Once inside the “patients” were directed to the prescription counters to pick up their prescription cards. These were at a charge of £10, refundable at the end of the night against any unused prescriptions. This amount to 20 squares, each saying something like 50mgs, etc and each box represented 50p. So after a £4 cider “prescription” I was left with 12 unticked boxes, which I got refunded on my way out.

From there, there were two floors to explore with various rooms and scenes, which were played out by a plethora of actors. It became pretty obvious that we’d be viewing One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. There were art & music therapy groups and yoga, as well as a live band of some sort, seemingly consisting of real mental patients from the sound of it. It was all really well done and I was impressed by the production.

On the downside, there wasn’t much offered for the consumer’s money. We won tickets, but the regular ticket price is £27.50 which included, essentially a few smarties and a free small shot- passed out during the film, when they have the drunken party in the ward after hours. A bag of popcorn was £3 and the meals were a fiver. Or they had a box of Ritz crackers for three quid. The interactivity could have been a lot better. They asked us to bring a toothbrush, but there was no reason for this other than to leave it in the “tooth brush depository”. This would have been a fun idea had there been some sort of draw. Perhaps put your name on your brush and win a prize, but sadly this wasn’t the case. The same goes for the photo you were meant to bring. The only point was to put it up on a wall in the photo room. This was especially pointless as ours was the final event of this month. We were also told to bring slippers, but at no point were directed to do anything with them, even put them on. It was, in a lot of ways, pointless.

Of course, the film was great and at least there was that. Everyone went to their ward based on what coloured wristband they had to watch it. Screens were set up and the sound was quite good. They had passable seating, but it was nothing extravagant.

Essentially, this was a lot like a more elaborate Jameson’s screening but without the free popcorn or booze. It’s a great idea that could just be so much better, especially given that it’s sponsored by Windows, who were promoting their new phone all over the place. Again, some kind of contest(s) would have been welcomed and had I pa*d £27.50 for my ticket, I would have felt a bit had, to be honest. So, in the end, I was glad to have tried it out but I do feel like it’s more hype than a genuinely great time.

[EthanRunt]

I've been reading so much about the real lack in Secret Cinema's work of late, and with the ticket prices, I don't really see the point myself, maybe they'll read such criticisms and change.

[kobbing]

My friend went to this and I remember her mentioning something about wearing a dressing gown but she didn't say anything else about it so I guess it was no biggie that I missed it lol

[prettyxcool]

Thanks soonforgotten for coming back and posting about this, always wonder what happens. Sounds like mayhem, but considering the topic of the film, may be meant to be? But quite pricey for what it was.

[Beate]

Having just come out of hospital, this would have been way too close for comfort for me!

[JMP]

The following clip gives you an idea of what it was like:

Tickets for the next Secret Cinema in February are now on sale.

Enjoy!

[cheekyweelassie]

I was supposed to go to this but sadly I had a funeral to attend so I wasn't in London last weekend. I tried to return/re-allocate the competition tickets to Secret Cinema but unfortunately they are so bloody secret that nobody replied to my emails and I couldn't find a phone number. I'm not too disappointed at missing it though as it sounds a bit of a creepy night, and quite an underwhelming experience.

[soonforgotten]

I again managed to score a pair of free tickets for Secret Cinema, this time through the Guardian. I was hoping the location would be not too far out from my NW London base. Turns out, it was Wapping in Southeast London. So it was a bit of a pain and I was concerned about how late it'd run and how difficult it'd be to get back, but everything turned out fine and I'm very thankful it didn't rain last night.

As opposed to the November version, the only instructions for this one was late 40s attire. I was going to wear a tall hat and frock coat, but then read from comments of Secret Cinema's facebook page that the venue was icy cold, so I instead opted for warm clothes instead of period clothes. Good thing too, since the period was late 1940s, not 1840s. Who knew?

Around 18.30 as the crowd around the station grew, we were approached by a group of protestors from the "Unknown Cultural Movement" who were marching in the street. The urged us to join them in their march. Soon after a large group of us was nearly flattened by an unamused cab driver and we were quickly herded to the pavement for the rest of our march.

To keep the mystery for anyone who may be going to the last few shows, I've placed my review of the night behind the spoiler.

[spoiler]After a brief stop some some chanting and dancing we were lead to Tobacco Dock (which has an interesting history of, well, failure), which is actually very close to Shadwell station, but I suppose that wouldn't have been much of a march. It made for a fantastic venue, but yes, it was very, very cold. Despite my efforts my thighs, especially, felt like frozen slabs of meat by the end of the night.

After being issues tickets for The Royal Opera House (1) we made our way in. The lower floor venue was designed to be like a miniature Covent Garden and had pseudo pubs set up along with shop fronts, some housing different art installations, mini cinemas and vendors selling things like fresh flowers, flavoured popcorn, terribly expensive cupcakes (£2.50 for a very modestly sized treat), chestnuts, and vintage jewelry. It was aesthetically vibrant as colours of all sorts were splashed about in the décor and performers/actors. The first floor hosted “restaurants” and the “backstage” areas such as make-up and wardrobe, where performers acted out scenes. This is also where the main screening rooms were located.

Back downstairs, ballet pieces were performed in the “squares” along with ragtag musical jam sessions utisiling everything from flutes to spoons to drums. It all looked great and I regretted not bringing my camera, unlike the November version, which really wasn’t a photogenic opportunity. Also unlike the November event, the sponsor by Windows was less obvious, which was quite welcomed. All in all it was really spectacularly done. I can’t personally comment on the food, but I did read comments about it being especially dire, one in particular from someone who felt it made them sick. I still think something that has such successful sponsors and charges nearly £30 per ticket should give their audience some type of complimentary food or drink. I do understand that a lot goes into putting these events together, but I also know that a lot of the actors do not get pa*d for their roles at the events. It must be one helluva profitable enterprise.

At around 20.30 it was announced that we should all go to our theatres as the performance would begin in five minutes. That seemed a generous estimate as there were hundreds of people there. So 15 minutes later it began. We were shown a short film that was pretty intense and macabre. It was basically the journey of a corpse from the coroner’s table to the crematorium. It was creepy and very well done.

At the end of the short, the curtain was drawn and an actor came out and delivered a brief monologue, which actually comes from the end of the film we were about to see. The curtains reopen and the film begins. The studio intros showed that this was going to be an old one.

Turns out it was The Red Shoes. I’ve never seen it and I was trying to think of why it sounded familiar. I quickly remembered that I had read about it being the film that Crack Swan lifted heavily from. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the prospect of another ballet film after sitting through that Aronofsky piece of rubbish. However, beyond the very dodgy accent of Boris Lermontov, played by Anton Walbrook, this was a pretty great film, if not a bit on the long side. The female lead, Vicky Page, was played by an actual ballerina, Moira Shearer, who was really good and a lot of fun to watch. At one point there is a 15 minute scene, which is the performance of The Red Shoes, and it’s a true pleasure to watch. Unlike the ballet in Black Swan the dancing is actually interesting and beautiful to watch. It makes me understand why people enjoy ballet, unlike Black Swan which made me wonder why anyone would like ballet or Black Swan, at all.

The love story comes as a bit under developed as it’s more or less suddenly just there. As it takes so long to get to it, the third act feels rushed and could have had more emotional impact had the pacing been better. While I found the final scene with Vicky Page a bit absurd, I can understand that, given it was made in 1948, it’s not too strange that it looks and feels quite hokey. It’s certainly less absurd than the Crack Swan finale 62 years later.[/spoiler]

After 2 hours and 15 minutes of sitting in an armless chair in the numbing cold, I was glad to see the final credits roll, but I was really happy to see something I would have never watched otherwise. It was a great end to a really well-done night. Would I p*y £27.50 for it? Nah, but I’m spoiled when it comes to not p*ying for things. I’d give the film 8/10 and the night itself a solid 9/10. This was a lot more fun overall than the November experience.

[reeceindie]

£27.50 !!!! f***in' hell!
I've seen the Secret Cinema posts all over Facebook and was really interested but never knew how it really 'worked' , I honestly thought the tickets would be free on a first-come first-served basis , or, what would really work, free to those on the night that make the most effort ...
I'm glad to see this post here so I know now that it's totally not worth it, surely nothing's worth £27.50...