Normally keeping the movie under wraps until you are through the door, Secret Cinema have recreated Star Wars much to the delight of fans across the country.
If you are not familiar with Secret Cinema, the ‘live cinema’ company curate events that fuse film and theatre, re-creating large-scale immersive experiences that blur the lines of fiction and reality. By now it probably sounds like a broken record, but yet again their latest production is their most ambitious yet.
Taking on beloved cult franchise, Star Wars, for a remarkable four-month London run, the show is inspired by the A New Hope, with fans living the first of the original trilogy before watching sequel The Empire Strikes Back at the end of the night.
In line with the spirit of the event we can’t reveal much more about what happens on the night, but rest assured, the Secret Cinema team have meticulously recreated a world so treasured by fans across the globe.
With audience members taking real pleasure in dressing up as characters from the film, don’t miss the start of the event as things instantly kick into gear. With actors recreating story lines from A New Hope in a number of picture-perfect sets, it’s a great experience and you really feel part of the action. Though the sheer scale of the audience can make you feel lost in the production at times, if you explore and talk to the characters there’s plenty to do and you might even kick off some of the night’s big events.
Newcomers to Star Wars (yes, there are some out there) shouldn’t be put off, and it’s not a precursor that you be a huge franchise buff, but at £78 per ticket and £52 for children you probably need to a fan to justify the expense. You’ll easily spend another £30 on food and drinks on the night too.
Because of the price, Secret Cinema’s The Empire Strikes Back production is not an unmissable experience. Few nights out in London can justify a £100+ all-in price tag, and though this production does come close, I’d be lying if I thought it was totally worth it. That said, fans are still flocking to the event in their droves and there’s no doubt you’ll have a lot of fun, just here’s hoping the next production doesn’t jump in price again, with tickets costing almost double what they used to just three years ago.
Secret Cinema presents Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back runs until September 27th. Tickets are available from the Secret Cinema website: www.secretcinema.org/tickets.html
Photography by Olivia Weetch, Marianne Chua, Al Overdrive and Mike Massaro, respectively.