06
Fabien Riggall
Silencing the Discursive Mind
With its potential for scale, resource intensiveness, and power to transfix the viewer, film is in many ways the ultimate creative business.
Fabien Riggall is the founder of Secret Cinema, a London-based immersive theatrical experience that puts the audience at the heart of the story. He is the inventor of a hybrid genre between film and theater, creating inhabitable cinematic worlds in which participants are both members of the scene and audience to a film screening. Under Fabien’s direction, Secret Cinema welcomed over 1.5 million guests to 60 productions from Shanghai to Los Angeles, and after 16 years was acquired in a reported $100M sale.
During this interview, Fabien walks listeners through what it’s like to attend a Secret Cinema production and the narrative devices used for immersive worldbuilding. He answers questions about scaling the business and the human desire for escapist, transportive experiences. We discuss social media addiction, UK rave culture, the allure of wild swimming, and the imperative to choose investors wisely.
We conducted this interview in London’s Somerset House, former seat of the Royal Navy Admiralty.
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Show Index
02:57 The Secret Cinema Experience09:34 Building a Business from Immersive Experiences
18:53 The Impact of Secret Cinema
31:06 Achieving Scale, Investors, and Acquisition
35:00 Licensing and IP Strategy
42:30 Rave Culture and Inspirations
51:09 Future Projects and Advice for Entrepreneurs
53:40 Quickfire Round and Final Thoughts
Show Notes
- Secret Cinema
- Once Upon a Time in America
- Stanford Prison Experiment
- La Haine
- The Battle of Algiers
- Asphalt City
- Johnny Mad Dog
- Printworks London
- Guy Debord & Situationist International
- Adam Curtis - Hypernormalisation
- Everybody in the Place - An Incomplete History of Britain
- Love in the Time of Cholera
- Victoria
- Good Time
- Hampstead Heath Swimming Ponds
The Unprofessional Professional
Idea Virus Patient Zero
Chasing Liquid Gold
Making MSCHF
Internet Funnyman
Building a Digital Hearth
No Mud, No Lotus
You Can’t Just Switch It Off
Purpose & Play
Creative Courage and Talking Stuffed Animals
Silencing the Discursive Mind
Striking Internet Gold
Givers Are Getters
Hosting a Rave for the Intellect
The Hunt for Big Ideas
Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal
Not investment advice. Read important disclosures.