REVIEW

Secret Cinema presents Blade Runner — The Final Cut: A Secret Live Experience

I’VE always gone to Secret Cinema on a press night when the energy is electric and the access is VIP. (I know, I know, it’s a hard job…) Same goes for the other journalists who write up the reviews. It’s made me wonder if I would get the same buzz when the show’s run is half way through a run and I’m going as a punter? The answer, commendably, is yes.

For the uninitiated, Secret Cinema is a live event that doesn’t merely screen a movie — it aims to put you inside it, recreating the world of that film that you can touch, taste and interact with. In this case you’re inside Blade Runner, Ridley Scott’s 1982 Sci Fi classic. Secret Cinema first ‘did’ Blade Runner way back in 2010 when they transformed a Canary Wharf warehouse into a meticulously futuristic LA (we all remember those live snakes). It was a landmark production for them, a hint at the ever grander scale visions to spring from founder Fabien Riggall.

It’s not just this, and the fact that these days we’re told what film you’re going to get in advance, that makes ‘The Final Cut: A Secret Live Experience’ feel less of a gearshift event. There’s the familiar build up: once you buy your ticket you are granted access to Facebook and Insta groups and subscribed to the ‘Utopia News’ in order to start getting yourself in the zone.

You can also pick your character type e.g. ‘Replicant’ or ‘Scavenger’. I went for ‘Detective’ — mainly because I already have a trench coat and a trilby-like hat — as, I suspect, did many others judging by the otherwise suspicious number of trench-coated individuals on my Tube train on the way to the secret venue on the Zone 2/3 borderline. However, do make a token effort to get into costume and into character. It enhances the experience not just you but for everyone. You want to look around and feel like you’re in the film don’t you? Well then, we all have to be part of it.

A new addition (for me) this time round was Secret Cinema’s own brand online costume shop — I could’ve bought a £60 trench coat from there should I have wished. I’d have happily been suckered out of £15 for an ‘Illuminated umbrella’ — the trademark Blade Runner accessory of a clear umbrella with a light up stick — but, luckily for my wallet, they were sold out. [NB do heed the website’s warning to: ‘Check meteorological forecasts before heading Downtown. High levels of rain may occur. Please dress appropriately.’]

Secret Cinema has had a lot of stick in the past for trying to milk punters of cash. I remember having a right old strop when security took my bottle of water away at their production of Brazil. But they have adapted accordingly. This time my water was allowed through without a murmur and mobile phones aren’t confiscated — they just give you a little black bag to seal them up in. And, whilst there are plentiful opportunities to part you from your cash, I didn’t feel over exploited. True, it’s £4.50 for a small can of Asahi, but the food has vastly improved. I not only felt the dim sum place we plumped for was somewhere the young Harrison Ford really might pop into for noodles at any minute, but the dim sum was genuinely yum (3 pieces for £4).

But I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, but I will say that Scott’s dystopian world lends itself well to the dark caverns of Secret Cinema. The level of detailing is excellent and the atmosphere is seductive. There are plenty of rooms to explore in the two hours before the film starts (at 8.30pm) and loads of actor interaction. We were whisked away to ‘Join the Blackout’ and approached to sell and buy our memories. You’ll want to try and find a way into the secret bar/club too. However, it’s immersive — not intrusive. If you really want to fork out the ticket price just to natter to your mate in a corner you can do that too and not be bothered.

Tickets are banded into three ranges: regular £45; advanced £55; VIP £115, which includes food and drink. I’d say that the difference really only kicks in when it comes to sitting down to watch the movie. You get ‘enhanced’ goings on with the pricier ticket and a far comfier seat. At weekends there’s an extended after party, but we went on a school night.

Was it worth £55 a head? Definitely, if you’re prepared to get stuck in and take full advantage of what’s on offer. As with everything, what you put in you get out. Next up is Romeo + Juliet. This time I’m already seriously planning my outfit.

Secret Cinema presents ‘Blade Runner – The Final Cut: A Secret Live Experience’ runs until 8 July tickets.secretcinema.org