Secret Cinema: Back to 1955

The first rule of Secret Cinema is 'tell no one', but in the case of this community, the cat has been out of the bag for a good while. When the tickets to the community's Back to the Future event came on sale, several newspapers stated how the booking system had failed and how they would reopen the following day. Prior to these articles, I had not heard of that this would be the community's next event, and so, being a true 80s kid and a die-hard BTTF fan, I just knew I had to get tickets.

On the day when the ticket sale opened, I queued for an hour to get through to the bookings website, without luck. A few hours later, I tried again and managed to get tickets for both me and my boyfriend for a Thursday evening show, one week after the initial opening. But things didn't go as planned.

A week before the premiere, just an hour before the show was about the start, the show was cancelled. The same happened for every single performance until our show date, 31st of July. With the angry comments and the lack of communication experienced by fellow ticketholders, my enthusiasm plummeted. And finally, when my boyfriend announced me on Wednesday that he could not make the show due to work commitments, I felt defeated. What made matters worse was that resale of the tickets was prohibited – the organisers stated that they would carry out ID checks at the gate – and that cancelling or changing the dates was not allowed, either. I felt stuck and cheated, and decided not to go.

Last Thursday, a friend of mine contacted me and asked me if I was interested in going to the event on Friday. One of her friends had cancelled and they had a spare ticket. I decided to join them on the last minute.

I quickly put together a 1955-style costume of sorts and acquired a 1955 identity – an extra feature that the organisers promoted – and so I became Michelle Bush, Proof Reader at the Hill Valley Telegraph. At 5.30pm on Friday night, I was on my way to Hill Valley (or in this case, East London).

When the gates opened, I got to step into an amazing, inspiring replica of the world of the BTTF films. I got to visit both George McFly's and Biff Tannen's home, walk around in Doc's timeless house, skip rope with high school kids and play pinball at the punky Cafe 80s. I jumped in Biff Tannen's red convertible, sat on the backseat while he gave my friends a ride from the Town Hall to Lou's Diner, and was abandoned by him when he went up to fight George McFly. I ate a cheeseburger with fries and drank white wine at the green, surrounded by hundreds of fellow 50s kids.

The evening was crowned by a screening of the film – we sat on the village green, witnessing when the film was reflected against the silhouette of the Town Hall. As the film progressed, we got to see real-life actors complementing the storyline, acting out scenes around the replica set as they happened on screen. From Marty trailing the cars on his skateboard to Doc sliding down from the clock tower, the events were breathtakingly cool and inspiring.

As an aspiring screenwriter, I could not help but note how fantastic the film's screenplay was as well. My friend, a fellow screenwriter, was equally impressed. There is nothing unnecessary in the film; every little detail has a meaning in the bigger picture. I definitely need to read the script at some point.

So overall, the experience was an amazing one. I have never been to an event like this – and I doubt I ever will again. Such an inspiring, cool and fun evening, albeit a pricey one. With tickets costing over £50 each, all the food and drink were added on top... Not great with a student budget!

So despite the bad press, I would definitely recommend the BTTF Secret Cinema experience, or any Secret Cinema experience. I would love to go to another one – let's see what the future holds!

Michelle Bush, Proof Reader,