Being bundled into a vintage Citroën somewhere near old street, by a man who had, seconds before, been confessing to me that “something terrible is going to happen tonight” should not be this much fun.
This is a diamond heist and you somehow got involved. This summer, immersive theatre elite Punchdrunk have gone all Film Noir for Stella Artois. Transforming that that French vintage thing that Stella Artois do so well in all the ads into an East London experience, The Black Diamond.
Building upon the success of last year’s The Night Chauffeur, this time it’s 1963 and a diamond has been snatched, just before our hero proposes to his love with it. And that is where we are at when I am snatched from Old Street by a man who professes his fear of what he might do tonight…. without giving the game away, it’ll involve East London bars, lovely cars, some singing, some beer and some getting into the spirit of the diamond heist.
The extent to which I was actually involved I’m unsure, predominantly, I obediently did as was told and, ultimately, came to the conclusion that my occasional whoops of enjoyment probably gave away both our position and my disappointing lack of aptitude as either criminal mastermind or french heroine. Apparently my friend was so convincing some of the others thought he was part of the rouse – participation and getting in to the act definitely encouraged.
The details are lovely and it is all just the right side of scary. CHAPEAU! to Stella Artois for creating an experience that is the antithesis of some of the dreadful “viral” marketing campaigns out there, the kind that you know have called themselves a “viral” campaign since before they were launched. Instead, this was intimate, immersive, non-web based (though there are some lovely complimentary features running alongside the event) and simple. Brands like Nokia with last year’s cringe-inducing “Conspiracy for Good” campaign could learn a lot.
http://www.punchdrunk.org.uk/
Rachel Bennett
