Secret Cinema & Fever’s Bridgerton Ball (Review)
I love romance novels and I love Bridgerton, and I don’t care who knows it. As such I was wondering how Secret Cinema & Fever's Bridgerton Ball would do justice to the Regency spectacle that was playing out in my head in the weeks leading up to the event.
Dear reader, it did not disappoint. Comparative to other Secret Cinema events, the space and production felt maybe slightly compressed (possibly because the layout was kind of linear rather than encouraging a circulation?) but it still achieved the sprawling open-world quality that the immersive experience giants have such genius for. From the moment you walked in and were hit with the visual impact of towering Wisterias, an opulent ballroom and Queen Charlotte in all her intimidating majesty, you knew it was going to be pretty special.
Adding to the visual magic were fellow members of the Ton who did not hold back in terms of dressing. Outfit watching was almost as much a sport as eating, drinking and secret hunting; Powder-puff dresses, snazzy cravats, svelte tails. If you were in any doubt as to going for it or not with your outfit choice - emphatically do. I was there in a full-length gown and felt like a plain Jane for lack of a tiara, gloves and fan. It didn’t help that my partner was in full Regency regalia and looked like a fucking baller.
Unlike previous Secret Cinemas where you watch the film and/or acted performance at the end, in the Fever mash up Bridgerton Ball acted scenes from the series punctuate the evening, accompanied by spectacular projected images. I really enjoyed the effect, enabling you to dip in and out of the story whilst exploring. The cast were wonderful; Their contagious energy, quick wit and genuine warmth more than anything else made our experience. Those in character roles were uncanny lookalikes with a great ability to mimic the energy and mannerisms of the originals.
Given my embarrassingly good knowledge of the story we often missed the big scenes in favour of the activities, missions and secrets to discover which kept us busy for most of the evening.
It is as well not to say too much on this subject. I highly recommend you study your dance cards, the papers that are released and be open to making a new friend or two.
Yes, the tickets can be eye-wateringly expensive, starting at £49 on a weekday for standard and reaching £175 for VIP on a Saturday night. However, if you are a fan of Bridgerton, in the market for making a real night of it and going on a weeknight (as we were), it might make sense to consider the weekday VIP package for £99.
Hear me out - for £50 on top of the standard ticket you get 2 drinks and a meal. The food (around £10 a portion) was delicious and surprisingly down to earth. We ate pulled pork and brisket with fries in our finery in between sips of champagne (£12.50 a pop), attempting to keep up the appearance of delicacy. Anyhow, some quick maths and it works out that for a remaining £15 each we got additional storylines, arguably more time with the cast and fast track entry which was appreciated as the queue was pretty big getting in. If you have less expensive drinking tastes (e.g. beer) it might not work out so reasonably but we felt like that was a pretty good deal.
Among all the joy that the evening brought, I do have a single note. For the first time to my knowledge in Secret Cinema phones were allowed inside the experience. Right at the end, we were allowed to take them out and snap to our hearts’ content. Now, while I did kind of enjoy the opportunity to take a few snaps amongst the stunning set, I would delete them all in a heartbeat if we could have maintained the magic of the evening for a bit longer. As soon as phones were allowed, the vibe changed as the audience went from almost dream-like immersion to completely self-conscious and we left soon after. I will leave it to you, dear reader, to decide whether such an alliance of social media and immersive should be deemed unholy or not.
Leaving that to one side, after two years without in-person shows, Secret Cinema are well and truly back, doing exquisite justice to the Regency world of Bridgerton with the decadent evening that we were dreaming of in lockdown. I am genuinely considering going again, this time with gloves on.
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