A night of science fiction combined with a taste of luxury; Star Wars: Return of the Jedi at the Royal Albert Hall was a night I will never forget.
On Friday night (September 23), my friend and I travelled to the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington to watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in concert.
Now, for those who have never heard of the ‘Film in Concerts’ hosted at the Royal Albert Hall, it is what it says on the tin – the venue shows a movie with the score performed live by an orchestra.
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I know what you’re thinking – Why? Why spend your money on travelling to a venue when you can stream it on Disney Plus from the comfort of your own home?
Well, let me tell you.
The Royal Albert Hall is arguably one of the most iconic music venues in London, or the UK in fact, and features spectacular surroundings, excellent interior designs, and a grand stage which many famous faces have stood on, including Adele, Albert Einstein, and Muhammed Ali.
I have always been intrigued about the stunning venue and figured the only way I would get a ticket in is if I was to watch BBC Proms – which I didn’t see happening anytime soon.
So, if you told me five years ago that I’ll be watching one of the most influential films in Hollywood history whilst sat in the very place where The Suffragettes held meetings in the 1900’s, I would have laughed in your face.
Nevertheless, I did, and it was an experience I’ll never forget.
As we took to our seats, which were directly opposite the brilliant composer of the evening, I couldn’t help but admire the impeccable infrastructure from top to bottom of the venue.
“An essence of London beauty” I thought, whilst sipping on my refreshing glass of Pimm’s.
By 7.20pm, the room was swarmed with audience members – all different ages and genders, all different personalities in one room, all coming together to watch Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in concert.
Over the next ten minutes, the stage was met with the orchestra – dozens of talented musicians taking their seat to their musical instrument for the next 150 minutes.
7.30pm hits – and boom – the audience fell silent, the room turned dark, and we were soon greeted with the sound all Star Wars fans will know and love: the main title.
As the screen rolled the opening crawl of the 1983 classic, the orchestra played perfectly in tune – moving their bodies and instruments in harmony with the film.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is the third film in the original trilogy and follows heroin Luke Skywalker after he rescues his pals (the Rebels), including egotistical yet loveable Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.
From then, Luke and the Rebels dispatch to a planet named Endor to destroy the second Death Star, whilst Luke struggles to turn his father, Darth Vader aka Anakin Skywalker, back to the good side.
The orchestra did not miss a beat throughout the film – from Princess Leia forced into wearing the (iconic) gold bikini, to the Ewoks battling out against the Storm Troopers, to Luke finding out from Master Yoda that Leia is in fact his sister (spoiler alert) – the performance was impeccable throughout.
Apart from watching them perform to The Imperial March, (which was my favourite moment), I was amazed by the sound effects and backing sounds you wouldn’t usually notice if you were watching it from home.
The harpist was beautiful, the drummer was exquisite, the violinists were perfection, and don’t even get me started on the trombone players.
The performance ended with a standing ovation from the entire room, which echoed the sounds of cheering and clapping from one Star Wars lover to another, which was well-deserved.
It was just brilliantly executed from start to finish, and I would most definitely recommend visiting the Royal Albert Hall for a film concert soon – if you can afford to splash the cash, of course.
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