Sing Along Sound of Music

Website: http://www.singalonga.net/soundofmusic/

Last night I finally got to attend the Singalong Sound of Music at the Prince Charles Cinema. It's been on my list for a long time but it's such an unusual thing to do that I've never got around to doing it. This week we finally organised ourselves and ABJ, VB and ML and I all turned up for the Friday night 7.30pm showing.

All I knew was that they showed the film, the audience sang along to the words on the screen and some people dressed up as nuns (and possibly nazis too). As it turns out there was more to it than that...

When we took our assigned seats in the packed cinema we found small "goodie bags" waiting for us that contained an assortment of things (small pieces of card, a party-popper, a small white plastic flower of edelweiss etc). Somewhat bemused by these we had no time to think before our host for the evening was introduced - a glamourous transvestite called Candy Floss. She came on stage and began to warm up the audience to get them in the mood for singing and being silly.

People celebrating their birthday were made to come on stage and be joked about, followed by people in fancy dress. The costumes (which included many Marias, nuns and a few goats - but no nazis) were then judged by Candy and prizes awarded.

We were then given a run-down of what to do with the goodies in our bags. At certain points in the film we had to hold up cards, or perform theatrical gestures, or shout, or hiss, or boo etc etc. At the time I felt that I wouldn't be able to remember the multitude of instructions but as the film unfolded it soon became second-nature.

After the audience was thoroughly warmed up the film began. In the opening aerial shots of Austria we were supposed to avoid boredom by making animal noises. The audience performed this task admirably. Soon enough, however, the film was underway and everybody began singing along.

The film was good fun and it was enjoyable to shout out silly things but every now and then I found myself wishing some of the audience would quieten down so I could follow the plot. The climatic moment where Maria and Captain von Trapp kiss was accompanied by the whole audience simultaneously firing off their party-poppers. This was a great spectacle in a dark room - seeing the fire from a hundred explosions all at once. Unfortunately it meant that the next minute or so saw the audience coughing from smoke inhalation.

By the end of the film everybody was singing along and had had a good time.

Summary: An unusual but fun way to spend an evening.