Moviegoers in China will soon be able to sip martinis and rub shoulders with tuxedoed spies at an immersive cinema screening of the James Bond film Casino Royale, thanks to a new entertainment deal.
United Kingdom events company Secret Cinema announced on Tuesday that its immersive theatrical productions will go to China for the first time, through a new partnership with Shanghai-based SMG Live.
Secret Cinema combines movie and television screenings with interactive performances, live bands and custom-built sets. Audience members themselves dress as characters from the productions and can join in on reenactments of iconic scenes.
The two companies will put on Secret Cinema Presents Casino Royale this November in Shanghai, where they will recreate some of the most memorable moments from the 2006 James Bond hit.
"I created Secret Cinema in 2007 to reinvent the cinema experience, allowing participants to live inside the movies," said Secret Cinema founder Fabien Riggall. "It's always been my dream to bring it to other parts of the world, and now, with the support of an amazing team, we are able to make this happen."
Secret Cinema Presents Casino Royale first opened in London this year. Once a ticket is bought the simulation begins—the"secret service"makes contact and gives instructions for a clandestine mission, including dress code, and an alias.
At the venue, the audience can play card games and buy cocktails at a replica of the film's eponymous casino in Montenegro and move through mock-ups of other scenes from the thriller that is also set in Madagascar, Miami, the Bahamas and London.
"Casino Royale is a rich territory for us to explore from the characters to the plot and locations," said Secret Cinema creative director Angus Jackson."Our audience will be given the opportunity to understand what it takes to embody modern espionage—bringing them closer to the Bond experience than ever before."
In the UK, Secret Cinema has screened more than a dozen major motion pictures including Alien, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo Juliet, Casablanca, and The Shawshank Redemption. The company has also created worlds from popular television shows like the Netflix hit Stranger Things.
"It's been amazing to see Secret Cinema become a cultural phenomenon here in the UK, and we've loved thrilling audiences with small and large-scale productions of cult cinematic classics such as Back to the Future, Blade Runner and Star Wars," said Riggall. "SMG Live's heritage and production experience makes it the perfect partner to bring the concept of Secret Cinema to life in China."
SMG Live is a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, which is one of China's largest production companies.
While Riggall did not say if the companies plan on screening any Chinese films, he confirmed he is a fan of the country's cinema.
"China is the largest film market in the world with a rich cinematic heritage with some of my favorite films such as Chen Kaige's Farewell my Concubine, Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," he said.
