Bursting out into song in the cinema is no longer socially unacceptable.
We at hecklerspray are always looking for new and exciting things to entertain us. And we've found something that is in fact not new, but it is very exciting – Sing-A-Long Sound of Music is currently playing at the Prince Charles’ Cinema in Leicester Square, London.
The concept is simple; you watch the original 1965 The Sound of Music in a cinema like setting and sing along to all the classics. It is a safe and hopefully soundproofed haven to exercise your inner Julie. For those of you who do not know the lyrics (89% of the male population), fear not – they do appear on screen throughout every song. For the rest, you can sit back, close your eyes (you know who you are) and sing your heart out.
There are naturally, the die hard fans who take it quite seriously; they tend not to dress up and seem a little affronted at those who heckle and shout out. However they add a certain charm to the evening and it’s not just their Maria haircuts.
There is a 30-minute warm-up before the show starts by aptly named drag queen Candy Van Floss. The second she started making us impersonate cattle, we knew we were in for a good night. A goody bag is also included with props which you wave every now and then depending on the scene or the song, as long as you’re waving something it doesn’t seem to matter if you don’t get it quite right.
There is also a prize for best costumes – the winners when we went included a hill, a nun, a pixie/goblin, and a man dressed in yellow called 'Ray' (our personal favourite). The whole show including warm up and interval lasts just under four hours with the reasonably priced bar open throughout.
For £14 a ticket it really is an affordable and unusual Saturday night out. With a few frightening exceptions aside, where else would you get to sing alongside a nun with a beard? So grab a group of willing friends, some imaginative costumes and head for the hills – Julie is waiting for yieu and yieu and yieu.
[story by Gemma Addy]