I stumbled upon Secret Cinema while thinking of some fun things to do with my boyfriend for his birthday. Basically the premise of this is an interactive experience of a classic film- being introduced to the setting and characters of the film before sitting down to watch the picture. The website for the group is quite elusive with all details promised to be received by email after the tickets are purchased. True to their word, I received a letter informing us to arrive at a specific location wearing a red scarf or cravat and to be preferably carrying flowers. We would meet our guide who would be in mourning attire and also holding flowers. Once gathered in a group, we were marched down the streets of Clerkenwell by members of the military- receiving some odd looks from passers-by as we went!
We finally arrived at the secret location, which appeared to be a disused warehouse and were left to roam the surroundings of post-war Vienna for two hours. Having no idea what the film was added to the fun- piecing together the details that were being fed to us by the actors. It turned out the film was Carol Reed’s The Third Man, starring Orson Welles. Areas to explore were set out over around five floors, including: the Casanova Club, a children’s hospital, a penicillin lab, a police station and the black market within the sewer networks! At each point actors would involve you in the plot, feeding you clues. We were ordered by a U.S corporal into his office for interrogation and to gain information on a suspicious character in a black coat and black hat. Part of this mission involved getting a picture of the doctor supplying penicillin around the city. Having found him, he also sent us on a secret mission and so on. Interspersed with this were impromptu happenings in the centre of the warehouse- being asked by guards in the higher rafters of the building to watch the opera playing below and to throw flowers at the finish, to the public mourning of a dead person. Amongst this you were free to wander about and take everything in at your own pace. I would advise anyone going to this to get involved, the actors are by no means intrusive (I can be known to be quite shy- and was never one for drama!) and you get a real essence of the setting and atmosphere of the film. After the two hours had flown by, people began to gather on the balconies, to watch an encounter between the characters of Harry Lime and Holly Martins (as I was to find out), complete with stunts. We were then ushered into a (freezing cold!) building adjacent to the warehouse to watch the film.
I must say I was slightly sceptical of the event. I guess it was partly due to not knowing what you are going to see and how it was going to be executed. I couldn’t have been more wrong! From start to finish the event was excellent- it brings a new meaning to experiencing film. If I am wholly honest, The Third Man would not have been a choice of film for me to watch normally but it was incredibly rewarding to have immersed yourself entirely within the location, characterisation and plot of the film, and then to see the finished product. Not usually one for theatre, this is a very welcome alternative and one which I hope to do again!
To find out more on Secret Cinema, visit here: http://www.secretcinema.org/
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