Review: Alibi - Dead Air by Dean Rodgers and Tom Black

This Jubensha-inspired whodunit from the creators of Jury Games and The Perfect Crime will have you feeling like Poirot if you can hold your own as the accusations start to fly.

Alibi: Dead Air, created by Dean Rodgers (The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Time Run, The Perfect Crime) and Tom Black (Crisis, What Crisis?, Bridge Command, Jury Games), is an immersive murder-mystery experience that has audiences working to solve the killing of Gloria Carpenter, a true crime podcaster who was hot on the heels of the infamous Malthus Killer.



As part of Dead Air, each of the show's twelve audience members is assigned a character who has not only a full backstory but also numerous secrets and motivations they may want to conceal. While eleven of these characters are ultimately innocent and earnestly trying to catch Gloria's killer, one audience member is the murderer and must do their best to get away with it undetected.



The show takes inspiration from Jubensha, a genre of role-playing games that combines live-action roleplay, social deduction, immersive performance and good old-fashioned sleuthing. First conceived in the late 2010's in China, Jubensha has gone on to see enormous success with tens of thousands of physical locations across China hosting games and millions of regular players. Here in the UK, Jubensha is still very much in its infancy, with only a handful of producers, including Chronic Insanity and Incog Ltd, currently creating original work.

Photo: Kiki Tabizel

As is typical in Jubensha games, the experience begins with players sitting down and reading over their playbook. Inside, there's background information on their character's history, a summary of their recent actions, a timeline of the final few hours leading up to Gloria's death and some secondary objectives. In terms of onboarding, it's all pretty concise and simple to get up to speed with, though guests are free to refer back to their playbook throughout the show if they need a refresher. The playbooks are all attached to lanyards, which players wear around their necks throughout, helping keep everyone's in-game identity visible during the experience.

With everyone's backstories memorised, Mr Blue (portrayed by Luke Booys during our game), a representative from The Crow Club - a mysterious organisation that takes an academic interest in murder - lays out the ground rules for the investigation and asks everyone to introduce themselves to the group As is made clear in a pre-recorded video message from Gloria, made moments before she passed, everyone in the room has been invited there for the same reason - they're all part of the reason why she's been murdered.

Amongst the varied line-up of potential suspects are Theo Turner, a rival podcaster; Wendy Wax, the wealthy widow of the Malthus Killer's first victim; and George Goldsmith, the podcast's recently-hired sound engineer.

From the outset, the group are presented with several dozen pieces of evidence, ranging from receipts and emails through to text message conversations, Reddit threads and bags of physical evidence to comb through. Staying on top of everything is no small task and pretty overwhelming to begin with, especially when a large number of them tie directly into the show's characters, who may be reluctant to explain exactly what they mean.

On the far side of the room is an evidence board offering up background information on three of the Malthus Killers' previous victims, alongside Gloria, which the group are encouraged to pin any pertinent pieces of information that connect them to, even if theories are later disproven with each new drop of evidence.

Photo: Kiki Tabizel

While all the evidence will help get each session's group closer to understanding what Gloria uncovered before her death, a large part of the experience revolves around players trying to suss out what others have been hiding from the group. Players are free to approach this game of social deduction in whatever way they see fit, either by keeping their cards close to their chests or airing their dirty laundry in public for all to hear before others can uncover it. Regardless of each individual's playstyle, sooner or later, everyone will likely find themselves on the receiving end of the group's focus, whether they're warranted or not.

If you're an introverted person, this may well sound like a nightmare, but the tone always remains playful rather than adversarial, and there's a huge amount of fun to be had in trying to successfully defend yourself against an onslaught of accusations and improvising in the moment. There's also an immense satisfaction that comes from being able to produce a piece of evidence that casts someone's answers into doubt - something players may want to keep in the back of their minds if they're getting too much heat.

During Dead Air's onboarding, it's made clear that no one is required to 'act' if they don't wish to, but leaning into it and embodying your character, flaws and all, will make Dead Air a far more enjoyable experience for all involved, especially when revelations surrounding false identities, secret love affairs and blackmail come to light, and can be played up to the extreme like it's an am-dram episode of Eastenders.

Photo: Kiki Tabizel

For the most part, the direction that the investigation takes is dictated by the group's choices, with leading theories as to who the prime suspect is shifting as the facts become clearer. At regular intervals, Mr Blue will ask everyone to gather together for a discussion on what's recently been uncovered, and new pieces of evidence - requested by Gloria before her death - are delivered, which will often throw a cat amongst the pigeons, ruling out suspicions for some but confirming them for others. During our playthrough, at least half a dozen names were put forward as potentially being the killer, each of which had compelling evidence to back it up.

Of course, a murder mystery experience would feel incomplete without an eventual explanation of what really occurred, which comes at the end of the session after each member of the group delivers their verdict on whom they believe the killer to be. Regardless of how successful the collective has been in discerning fact from fiction, watching Mr Blue deliver a closing monologue that ties every strand together is hugely satisfying. All of the clues that were missed are revealed, the connections that were made are confirmed, and any secrets that remained hidden throughout are brought to light.

Photo: Kiki Tabizel

Painstakingly constructed, wonderfully detailed, and packed with enough twists and turns to keep even the most devoted true crime fan absorbed, Alibi: Dead Air delivers an interactive experience that puts those playing in control every step of the way. It's the perfect entry point for those looking to try out a Jubensha game before they explode in popularity, and a brilliant excuse to get all your friends together and accuse them of heinous crimes. Here's hoping there's plenty more Alibi games to come, because it's a concept that's to die for...

★★★★

[Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review]

Interview: Dean Rodgers and Tom Black on Alibi: Dead Air

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Alibi: Dead Air runs at Theatre Deli near Aldgate East until 16th May 2026. Tickets are priced from £35.20. For more information and to book tickets, visit alibi.london

For more reviews of immersive experiences like Alibi: Dead Air, check out our recent Reviews.