Secret Cinema: Dirty Dancing review: “The Time Of Your Lives…”

Secret Cinema Dirty Dancing review: Possibly one of the best movie experiences we’ve ever sampled. So much fun that you really will have the ‘Time Of Your Life’.

Secret Cinema Dirty Dancing review by Paul Heath, July 2016.

Secret Cinema returns for their latest production, their third of the years so far, an ambitious recreation of the famous Kellerman’s holiday camp from the film Dirty Dancing.

Secret Cinema’s 2016 events all kicked off back in March when the organisers asked us to Tell No One for their cold war event which turned out to be a production based around Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a title which wasn’t revealed to attendees prior to the event. That wasn’t the case for their lavish follow-up, Secret Cinema presents 28 Days Later, which arrived in central London just a month later (we loved that one too). The event was a huge success for the company, now in its ninth year, and they’ve followed it up with the summer favourite, Dirty Dancing, which plays at a secret location for two weekends in July 2016.

As with all of these Secret Cinema events, which we’ve covered most of here on the site, it is really quite hard to review as we’ve agreed with the organisers not to reveal any spoilers, though we can reveal some hints and tips for attending, and our general opinion on what went down.

We’ve reviewed every Secret Cinema event quite positively in recent years – it’s hard not to enjoy them – and each one manages to somehow better the last, though a stand-out still remains last year’s summer-long Star Wars event for The Empire Strikes Back – one which would take some beating. With Dirty Dancing, they may have managed it.

Secret Cinema Dirty Dancing is possibly the company’s most interactive event they’ve ever staged. Spaced out over the course of 5-6 hours, the Kellerman’s experience really is one not to be missed, and although with an admission ticket that it a little pricey (£65 for the standard entry), it really is worth every penny. The best way to think of it, and indeed justify that price, is not as going to watch a film, but a day out at a theme park, or a trip to the theatre.

This is a fully immersive experience with many activities taking place during the course of your stay at this pleasant mountain resort, and there’s not a moment to spare throughout. All of the beats of the previous productions have been repeated here, a formula which clearly works, with an immense attention to detail from the very moment that you enter the huge complex.

On the blisteringly hot July evening when we visited, the summer sun attracted what seemed to be 5000 or so plus revellers all up for a great time with Max Kellerman (who greeted us as we entered) and his entertainment team, who really pulled out all of the stops, working tirelessly for the entire duration. The love for the classic 1987 movie is evident, each attendee, where the ladies possibly outnumbered the men 20-1, embracing the concept for every single moment. Fans of the film will lap this up, but those who have no idea of the story (if there are indeed any left), will also enjoy the offerings – we even caught the big security guards tapping their feet at various points during the actual film as it played on a huge screen after the sun finally set…

The screening always seems such an anticlimax at any Secret Cinema event as by that point you’re having such a good time that you forget that you’ve come to watch a film. Still, as the beats of Be My Baby came, a massive hush fell over the open-space, though the expected cheers and clapping soon came as the crowd are reintroduced to Johnny and Baby, the late Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. You’ve really not experienced a film until you’ve seen it with a crowd so in love with the material at a Secret Cinema screening. It’s glorious.

As we type this there are a few performances left, so we though we’d offer a few tips withoutt giving anything away.

• Take flat shoes. Kellerman’s is a little walk from public transport and you’ll be pleased when you finally arrive as you’re not sat down that often… though there is room to relax if you’d like.
• Take a blanket/ rug/ beach towel. You’ll need it – if nothing else to reserve a spot to watch the film a bit later on.
• It’s all outside, so check the weather. There are a couple of indoor bars, but they get pretty packed!
• Bring as little else as possible, though do bring a beach ball and hula-hoop. You’ll need both.
• Dress up. Secret Cinema is only as good as you make it. Dressing up is a huge part of proceedings, and most people attending do so. You’ll look a little odd if you don’t!
• Get there promptly.
• Get involved. As above, it’s only as good as you make it. Embrace everything that is going on around. Just go with it is a great motto.
• Move around. The complex is huge and there’s tons of stuff going on at any one time. You’re pretty much free to do what you want, but we’d recommend that you move around as much as you can.
• Card only. Kellerman’s is a cash-free zone and all transactions are via card/ contactless. No need to bring cash at all.
• Food/ drink. There are a lot of places to eat and drink. There are very few queues (and we went on a very busy Sunday). Prices are pretty good with beers costing £4 and cocktails just £7 each (though everything is advertised in dollars).
• No phones. If you can, leave your phone at home. Security is quite rightly very strict when it comes to people using phones in the complex. You will be asked to delete any images that you take. If you want to take photos, you can buy an old-school 35mm disposable camera on site – some people brought their own.
• Have fun… which you will whether you like it or now.

In closing, Secret Cinema Dirty Dancing is a wonderful, truly enjoyable experience from the moment you arrive until the time you leave (which is about 11pm). Up there with their best productions, we challenge anyone not to have a blast. A very accurate, expertly designed, acted and executed version of Max Kellerman’s famous holiday resort where you quite literally have the Time Of Your Life.

Secret Cinema Dirty Dancing plays a secret location in London on July 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24. Ticket information can be found here.