Shh! Secret Cinema - Tell No One

Friday night, John and I had our first experience of Secret Cinema - and what an experience it was!

John had heard about it last year and then I heard about it on Mark and Simon and John persuaded me into getting tickets. The concept is, you buy tickets for the cinema (not cheap, £27, but still less than a night at the theatre) for a particular date, but you don't know where you are going in London and you don't know what film you are going to see.  I was a little apprehensive as previous secret cinema films included Blade Runner (not that I actually know anything about Blade Runner, other than it being one of Mark's favourites so naturally putting me off, and that the name sounds slightly scary).  But the tickets we brought were for 19th December, the last day of term, so I was feeling pretty safe that it would be a nice Christmassy film.  Then horror, it was postponed till February - all bets were off!

As time got nearer we were sent an email entitled Subject: Secret Cinema . Meeting Point . Attire as such Wapping Station, and late 1940s.  A trip to the Didcot charity shops provided my dress and txts to staff members provided an entertaining inset day with the whole table wearing hats.

The journey there was tricky.  We had debated routes and the one we chose ended up with running in high heels under the m40, full coaches, motorway closures and long underground journeys.  We arrived at Wapping station almost half an hour after the allotted time.  This was a worry - if everyone had left the station, we would not know where to go and as it was secret we would have no one to contact to find out!  As we got nearer to Wapping we were looking at people on the station platforms, and train carriages, wondering if they were dressed late 1940s, or if that's just how they dressed???

Fortunately coming through the ticket barriers at Wapping we were certain there were secret cinema people there.  There was some confusion as to who and how to ask people, but a group of us bundled our way along the roads, with some cryptic newspapers we had been given.  We passed people on the way who were saying things in a late 1940s voice - by that I guess I mean posh voice!  Like 'Hurry up now, don't dawdle.  The rest of your group are just ahead.'  After rounding some corners we passed St Katherine's Dock and there was a huge queue of people outside Tobacco Dock - it was like people queueing for a night club, but all dressed in late 1940's gear!

We were entertained in the queue by 'cast members' coming along and talking to us.  We didn't realise there would be these actors, and are still not sure how many of them there were!  At times it felt like we were the only ones not in on it!  We were very unsure how to speak to people, whether we should be in character and I don't think I have ever seen John as uncomfortable as during the course of the evening!

Inside it was a whole new world!  And I've said many times when recounting this to people, and will say here, I quite want to see Tobacco Dock not during Secret Cinema, and I want to see another Secret Cinema, to work out what was special for this one.  We wandered round exploring and trying out things and generally being puzzled.  I decided it was really rather Disney like - full on experience and no hints that we were really actually in 2011!

This is the popcorn stall that we bought popcorn from - not without some confusion.  We had no idea about payment and had had no idea if food would be provided - so we swiped some things from the inset day bring and share table at school!  There were three types of popcorn to choose from  - fairly unusual ones.  The stall-lady let us choose our bag then there was the awkward pause where we wondered about payment or if we should just walk off.  Then she said three shillings please.  Again awkward.  Did we pretend to pay her, did we pay £3, or as I did, panic wishing I could remember the conversion rate between old and new pence and wish i could remember how many there were in a shilling!  Anyway, i managed to hand over a five pound note and was given £2 change!


It did turn out as we explored the upstairs level later on that there were bars and areas to sit down and eat - maybe we'll know for next time!

There were various areas that set up that had music at various points.  People rushed through with boxes and luggage and put them down and then started dancing!  We were then asked to join in - yet again, we had no idea really how to act and respond!!  John was asked (while dancing) what his favourite kind of dance was, and wasn't sure whether to answer in a 1940s mind set!

The dancing area turned at times into a skipping arena and various of activities - great fun to watch and take part (though I wasn't quite brave enough to!)

There was also a hair salon where you could pay to have your hair put into 1940s style - I was tempted!

Had we known the film, seeing this lady might have given us a clue.  She did look rather striking and walked around in a 'make way for me' manner...!!  All made more sense after the film!

There was a general theme going on, from emails and newspapers to setting at the place, of creativity.  It said things like: write it, dance it, art, dream it.  And also of 'the underground cultural movement' and some sort of protest or demonstration.  So there were various things relating to this.  Oh and it was all supposed to be set in Covent Garden.  I'm certainly not explaining it well but it certainly was confusing at the time and only gradually understood things the more we saw.  One thing that kind of fit into that theme was this canvas that you could paint onto.


Upstairs there were various glass walled rooms, some of which we could enter.  There were quite a few dressing room areas and there calls over the PA system telling people to go to their dressing rooms or to curtain calls!  One of the rooms was this artist's room - we wondered if 'guests' had been involved in its destruction or if it has always been set up like this?? 

There was also a lot of areas to do with ballet.  In the back of this photo on the right is a clue to the film - which of course we didn't spot nor would have helped us!



I really like this cute photo of John in the room hung with ballet shoes.  There were some ballet dancers who were occasionally dancing in these rooms.
















And this was an interesting ballet dancer on a string that we got to play with!










 Here are some cute photos of us.

 And this is us sitting ready for the film in our front row seats.

And they sent us an email after the event with some good footage - it gives you an idea of what was going on:

 And I guess I better actually say something about the film...  but in some ways I don't have to because all in all the film bit was rather beside the point.  The experience of the build up was definitely the best bit!  The film was the Red Shoes.  I had not heard of it but have of course wikipediaed it since!  It's a film I now have an affection for because of this experience but will probably not be rewatching :-)