Launched in 2007, Secret Cinema has been putting on cult films in secret locations all over London for the last five years, with a December 2011 event in Kabul. A subsidiary of events company Future Cinema, they have come together for the first time to create a live theatrical experience, ‘Secret Cinema Presents The Shawshank Redemption’ which has been running since late last year.
I’ll start by stating that its difficult to review this kind of event – much of the enjoyment of Secret Cinema’s Shawshank Redemption experience is derived from the unexpected things that happen throughout the evening, and to spell things out in detail is like spoiling a newly released film for a friend who hasn’t yet seen it! That being said, people who sign up can expect to spend a couple of hours of their life experiencing the life of a convict in a US high security jail. Preceded by a court appearance at a Bethnal Green location that sees participants convicted of a variety of crimes (I was given a two year sentence for bigamy for example, while the friend I went with got a five year stretch for fencing stolen goods) suitable transport is procured for the journey to the penitentiary itself about a mile away.
The Oakhampton Correctional Facility is located in a suitably gothic school complex about a mile away. Before very long you’ll find yourself in a prison uniform being barked at by guards, suffering ritual humiliation at their hands and observing all manner of violence and abuse being heaped on people even less fortunate than yourself. There are a few brief moments of levity – some prisoners strike up a band as you tuck into your prison grub in the refectory and if you’re lucky enough to find yourself on the library detail you can familiarise yourself with a book or two while seated in a comfy chair – but its mostly unrelenting unpleasantness interrupted by lock-downs in the cells.
After several hours of this treatment (if you sign up for the earliest court appearance there’s over three hours of abuse to deal with) there’s a screening of the seminal film itself – The Shawshank Redemption was nominated for seven Oscars and garnered another fifteen awards following its release in 1994. There’s a particularly appropriate interruption to the film which I thought was very thoughtfully done – I won’t spoil the surprise but you’ll be smiling when it happens.
The Secret Cinema team have clearly put a monumental amount of effort into this – there’s buckets of authenticity from the uniforms to the barrack-like cellblocks, and it won’t be long before you’re feeling thoroughly institutionalised. I do have a gripe however and as always it centres around money – I know that there are large numbers of actors involved and the set dressing and hire of the venue probably wasn’t cheap, but I would hesitate to put a value of £43.50 on it all, which is the standard ticket price. The food and drink system they have in operation (you could hardly expect to be allowed to carry around ready cash after all) is also on the pricey side – charging the equivalent of £6 for a hotdog in a bun is extremely naughty!
However, if you’re feeling particularly flush or want to treat a friend (or enemy for that matter) to an experience they aren’t likely to forget in a hurry then go for it – its not as if there’s anything that’s even remotely similar going on in London right now for any price… You’ll find tickets for Secret Cinema’s Shawshank Redemption here online – performances are currently scheduled to run through until 24 February. Look out for the hashtag #timeforjail on Twitter to see what other people have been saying about it.