Shhh... It's A Secret

The movie, the venue is all a secret. Obscure clues are released before hand about what movie is going to be shown. A theme is released and people attending the event dress up in the chosen theme which is related to the movie, this one was the 40's. A station is named where everyone gathers and then met by someone from the event and taken to the venue, which this time, was an old tobacco factory in Wapping. The closer we got to the station, the more people we saw in costume, giving each other knowing nods and thinking 'I know where you're going.' 

Inside the tabacco factory, the space has been made up to look like a 1940's London, a fish 'n' chip/pie place, vintage stalls, art installations, popcorn sold in the old fashioned stripy paper bags fastened with a wooden peg. And as everyone is in costume, it looks really good against the set. Actors mingle with the crowds, getting people involved, dancing, limbo, playing music, dancing, all related to the movie, which I still hadn't a clue what it was.

After all the performances and mingling around, the actors start directing people up to the screening rooms. This round of Secret Cinema is showing The Red Shoes, a story about a young ballerina who is forced to choose between her passion for dance and the man she falls in love with. Made in the late 40's, the movie is over two hours long and parts of it feel almost comical. I wasn't expecting the ending, seemed a little extreme, but I get the symbolism.

Interactive art

After I'd seen the movie, the performances, costumes and installations before the movie, all made sense and pulled everything together. It is a really well organised evening, the sets looks really good and there is so much to see as well as the movie, plus all the added fun of not knowing where you're going.

Tobacco Factory in Wapping