stella artois black presents ‘the black diamond’

2 lovers, 1 thief, 1 diamond

Stella Artois have produced a new lager called Stella Artois Black.  As part of the launch, they were giving free tickets to be part of an immersive theatre experience.

I was intrigued, and managed to get me and my mate a ticket for Wednesday night.  I wasn’t sure how much to say, but the tickets have all sold out, so I don’t think I will be spoiling it for anyone now (although if they have restarted and you haven’t been yet, obviously stop reading now!).

If you watch the trailer, you can get a real feel for the 1960s Paris black & white film feel of it all. The blurb says “”2 lovers. 1 diamond. A thief. A curse. A classic film noir movie coming straight from late night Paris in the 1960s. And you. You are the spectator, but also the actor. Only you will discover the secrets of The Black Diamond.”

Anyway, the confirmation email detailing the venue gave away no details, it was just ‘At The House’ with a street name and postcode in Shoreditch – all very intriguing.

When we got there, the whole house was done up to look like a Parisian apartment (lounge, wine-cellar, dining room, bedroom, bathroom) filled with little curios – postcards, pictures, letters, records, photos etc.  There was French 60s music playing and a general chic party atmosphere with balloons and a handmade banner that spelled out ‘Jaques ♥ Cecile’ in the lounge.

We were busily trying to work out who were ‘guests’ and who were actors, as it wasn’t always immediately obvious, which made it feel even more like we had been invited to this party.  I don’t want to say anything about the actual content of the ‘performance’ but various characters came over and spoke to us as if we were just people they were meeting at a party, and (with prompting) gave us a little of their story.  It was VERY cleverly done.  There was a guy that we spoke to who obviously had a very bad attitude towards Cecile, and my mate kept saying “We should warn them about him!”

The performance end was rather dramatic, and we were literally turfed out onto the street around an hour after we’d arrived (there was another performance afterwards).  It’s definitely made us look forward to the last part which is apparently ‘On The Streets’ and we have to meet at some phone boxes in a station.  Unfortunately the ‘showing’ I’ve booked isn’t for almost a month!

They were serving (free) Stella Artois Black from a discreet bar in the house, and although I’m not a lager drinker usually (apart from with Chinese or Indian or perhaps a Peroni with Italian) I actually really liked it.  It wasn’t as harshly fizzy as some lager – small, pleasant bubbles – almost like a good prosecco!  And the flavour was really mellow.  If it was around, I’d probably be happy to drink it!