Secret Cinema: The secret's out, and it's Laura Marling
Since 2007, Secret Cinema has been bringing magic back to the silver screen, devising immersive experiences where audiences participate with performers in hidden locations. Now the team behind dramatic showings of The Third Man and La Haine are sprinkling their fairy dust on the live music scene, beginning with a series of shows by the quietly intense Laura Marling (pictured).
Secret Music is a new venture that applies similar principles to their movie presentations: giving punters directions to unnamed venues, suitably decorated for the occasion (as in a jail for The Shawshank Redemption), with an array of media and art-forms to augment the main event. The only difference here is that the headline act is revealed in advance. You may think that while the folk-inspired artist's current album Once I Was an Eagle may be her most compelling work yet, the slight Marling needs the extra pizzazz of cabaret acts to bring her music to life.
Yet the singer does have pedigree in playing gigs differently. Two years ago, she took her acoustic vibes on a tour of cathedrals. Then there have been her “experiments in awkwardness”, where she has invited pairs of strangers to see her play a song in an intimate space. Now fans are asked to partake of an even more unusual atmosphere.
Secret Cinema Presents Laura Marling (secretcinema.org) 13 to 30 June
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