Secret Cinema presents Casino Royale review: The ultimate playground for any James Bond fan
Secret Cinema was given an easy out with Casino Royale. All they needed to do was knock up a few poker tables and keep the martinis flowing to make the night a hit, allowing throngs of Londoners, for a few brief hours, to delude themselves into thinking they ever had the charm or wit to warrant the title of 007. But, that’s never been Secret Cinema’s style. Yes, there’s the opportunity for (fake) gambling, alongside a generous menu of cocktails, but that’s only scratching the surface of this globetrotting adventure.
Launched in 2007, with over 70 productions under its belt, Secret Cinema has, by this point, become a well-oiled machine, now routinely offering its signature blend of immersive cinema, interactive theatre, and good old-fashioned partying (tickets have already gone on sale for a winter run of shows, based on Netflix’s Stranger Things). It’s a mammoth operation. Some of the sets used in its latest production, Secret Cinema presents Casino Royale, look like they’ve been air-lifted straight over from Pinewood Studios. It’s all so much bigger and more elaborate than you could ever expect, yet the experience itself remains as intimate and personal as ever.
Attendees turn up to a secret London location with nothing but a fake identity, the knowledge that they’ve been tasked with a top-secret mission, and the kind of wired energy that comes from having no idea where the night is about to take you. What looks like a fairly unimposing warehouse from the outside transforms into the ultimate playground for any James Bond fan. In fact, one of the most consistently impressive things about Secret Cinema has always been its feeling of authenticity. It’s not just about the minutiae, though the costumes for the various characters are all impeccable recreations, but the general sense of atmosphere. Their Blade Runner production undercut its neon-drenched, techno-future design with a genuine sense of menace, while Romeo + Juliet descended into a raucous, joyous celebration of love.
It’s no different here. The show leans heavily into the Bond franchise’s allure of globetrotting glamour, giving you the opportunity to visit several international locations featured in the film, eventually leading you to Montenegro itself and the newly opened Casino Royale. Yet there’s also the sense that this pristine glamour could explode into action at any moment. You could be idly wandering across an airport terminal in search of the mac ’n’ cheese stand, when suddenly you’ll hear a burst of shouting and see a gun waving in the air. It’s the perfect way to summarise how director Martin Campbell approached Casino Royale, in an attempt to modernise the Bond franchise by adding a sharper, more dangerous streak to the film. This isn’t the place to turn up and start practising your favourite innuendos, but there’s a lot of fun to be had in attempting to keep a straight face when you’ve lost your third poker game in a row and the locals are starting to get suspicious. Yet neither is this a joyless, self-serious event, by any means. If you’re in a certain place, at a certain time, you might find yourself prowling the catwalk to Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” before you’ve even realised what’s going on.
Granted, there are some small signs of strain here. It’s evident, more than ever, that Secret Cinema has come up against its biggest hurdle yet: how does it continue expanding and creating bigger, more ambitious experiences, when it all still has to fit in between the time people clock out of the office and the last train home? There’s just so much to do: from the locales, the bars, the storylines, the entertainment. It makes for some tough choices and the inevitable feeling that you’ve missed out on something big. Add to that the fact that, after this whirlwind experience, you’re then meant to sit down and watch an entire two-and-a-half-hour film.
There’s always the choice to skip the film and continue exploring, eating, and drinking while everyone’s watching Daniel Craig emerge from the ocean in tiny blue swimming trunks, but it’s at the expense of missing a whole host of surprises. With the help of a dedicated cast of actors and a host of technical wizardry, several of Casino Royale’s most memorable scenes play out right in front of the screen (spoiler: no one’s balls get smashed, don’t worry). On top of that, it’s thrilling just to see a packed audience all watching a film that came out in 2006, reacting with the same kind of excitement as if it were unfolding in front of their eyes for the first time. In the end, there’s no single way to experience Secret Cinema, but that’s always been the point. It’s your chance to find your own adventure.
Secret Cinema presents Casino Royale runs until 22 September. More details and tickets can be found here
