Review: Jury Games (The Trial of Harry Briggs)

This interactive crime-solving experience delivers twists and turns, mountains of detailed evidence, and a complex narrative over the course of 90 minutes.

Photo: Sam Bush

Jury Games, created by Joe Ball, Tom Black, Ellie Russo and Edward Andrews, is an interactive crime-solving experience that invites audiences to take part in the remote trial of Harry Briggs, an investigative journalist accused of committing arson and murder. Originally conceived as an online experience during the 2020 lockdowns, in recent years the show has found a permanent home at Theatre Deli near Liverpool Street for in-person performances of up to 12 people per session, which can be booked as either private or public shows.

In Jury Games' original experience, The Trial of Harry Briggs, the Justice Act of 2025 has recently been passed to try and help clear the backlog of cases caused by the pandemic. Temporary courtrooms, such as the one in Theatre Deli, have been set up across the country to cut through the red tape and allow the processing of cases without all the fuss of 'conventional' courtrooms. While these temporary courtrooms are described in the show's opening Ministry of Justice video as 'a streamlined and cost-effective process', they're also a good way of allowing jurors to have both their phones and drinks from the bar in the room throughout, without being held in contempt of court.

Photo: Sam Bush

For Harry, who was found at the scene acting erratically and covered in paraffin with a cut on his forehead, the odds are stacked against him in his trial. While he doesn't deny starting the fires that destroyed an office in New Malden, he claims to have had no idea that a cleaner, identified as Richard Holmes, was inside the building at the time. Now behind bars in HMP Wandsworth, he's awaiting the jury's verdict on whether to charge him with murder or manslaughter, and from first impressions, it could go either way.

Throughout the 90-minute experience, jurors are presented with dozens of printed documents, numerous online blog posts, social media profiles, emails and bags of physical evidence. Staying on top of everything is no small task, with the group initially advised to split the workload amongst themselves and let the rest of the group know about any important findings. The courtroom's blank whiteboard wall is hastily filled with frantically scribbled information, potential connections are outlined, and a list of questions is drawn up for the accused, who will soon appear via video link for their first questioning from the jury.

Photo: Sam Bush

Harry Briggs (played wonderfully by Jack Flammiger) initially proves to be an unreliable witness. Speaking via video call on the room's TV monitor, they're cagey and evasive, unable to answer questions without contradicting either themselves or the evidence. It's clear that if the jury wants to make any headway in the case and discover the truth about the night in question, they need to get Harry onside in their follow-up calls.

To do so, jurors must look beyond the evidence in the room and involve those outside the courtroom. Using their personal phones, jurors need to communicate via email and call with an anonymous outsider, who seems to know more than they're letting on, but in this first instance, only provides the information needed to help win Harry's trust.

Photo: Sam Bush

The breadth of evidence available for jurors to uncover throughout The Trial of Harry Briggs is pretty staggering. On top of the detailed printed documents and realistic physical evidence in the room with the jury, there's also a sizeable digital component to the experience, which can be accessed via the two laptops at the back of the room or through guests' phones via QR code. 

If the group aren't actively searching for personal details or companies' information on the Metropolitan Police database, there's a backup of Harry's password-protected phone that needs cracking, concealed private servers only accessible via IP addresses, and a string of emails and voicemails being left for jurors throughout the experience to keep them occupied.

Throughout Jury Games, information believed to be true is cross-checked, theories are quickly disproven, and bombshell discoveries mean the jury's collective idea of what is true and what is false changes with every passing minute. For teams to succeed and get to the bottom of this complex, interconnected story before giving their final verdict at the end of the experience, teamwork and strong communication are key, and jurors need to be okay with others having differing opinions. 

A lot of a group's success may rest on who else they're paired up with during a public session, and there is a danger of the loudest voices drowning out those less willing to make their opinions known, much like in a real-life jury. The in-person Ministry of Justice co-ordinator, who oversees the jury in the courtroom, does an admirable job of getting everyone involved in the case and can offer gentle nudges in the right direction if jurors end up chasing their tails for too long.

Photo: Sam Bush

While the story that unfolds across Jury Games’ 90 minute run-time doesn’t comment on the built-in problems often inherent in real-life juries, such as biases, emotional decision making and legal speak going over jurors heads, it does give participants a chance to step into the shoes of the hundreds of people called up for real jury duty across the county each day. 

Despite the case being fictional, there’s a weight attached to each accusation and thought when it’s going to change the trajectory of someone’s life, and the final deliberations over if and what crime to charge Harry with are surprisingly tense, as everyone tries to justify their own opinions.

Meticulously crafted, incredibly detailed, and with enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most die-hard true crime fan, Jury Games delivers an interactive experience that puts the audience in control every step of the way. It's a frantic and information-packed 90 minutes that will leave you keen to keep unpacking the details of the case long after a verdict is delivered. With Jury Games, we'd be more than happy to take our seats and fulfil our civil duty all over again.

★★★★

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Jury Games runs at Theatre Deli until 28th December 2025. Tickets are priced from £46.50 per person. For more info and to book tickets, visit jurygames.com

For more reviews of immersive experiences like Jury Games, check out our recent Reviews.