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With a return to Thebes and a final season at Phantom Peak's Canada Water venue, to an immersive version of The Traitors, there's already a host of London-based shows to be excited about in 2025... Bacchanalia (Sleepwalk Immersive) Photo: Ivy Corbin Bacchanalia is an immersive adaptation of The Bacchae by Euripides. Set in a psychedelic 1960s rendition of the city of Thebes, the show is a free-roam performance in which audience members are able to follow a range of characters as Thebes falls from order into madness and debauchery. According to Sleepwalk Immersive, the new staging of the show will expand upon previous performances with new content. Bacchanalia was previously staged at Crypt in Bethnal Green in November 2023 and enjoyed a sold-out run. The show later returned to the same venue in February and March 2024 after receiving overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth from audiences. Critical praise for the show was equally strong, with The Stage  highlighting it as one of the Top 50 Shows of 2023 and Broadway World  describing Bacchanalia as a "fascinating piece of immersive theatre". In our review  of the show, we called it "one of the best new immersive shows of the year”. Past performances saw a cast of performers renowned in the immersive world, as well as exciting newcomers. This upcoming run at Hoxton Hall promises to build on the well-received core of the show’s past runs while further expanding the company’s vision for Bacchanalia. 📍 Hoxton Hall 💰 From £54.00 🕒 11th - 23rd March 2025 🎟️ Book via sleepwalkimmersive.com Deathcell: Magenta (R Space Productions) Photo: R Space Productions R Space Production's Deathcell: Magenta has been a long time coming. The much-anticipated prequel to their 2018 immersive horror production, which won Best Out of Season Attraction at the 2019 ScareCON Awards, the show promises to be a mix of immersive theatre, theatrical cinema, time-pressured puzzle-solving, and impossible decisions. The R Space Productions team has over 30 years of combined experience in the live entertainment industry, and its founder, Steph Ricketts, has played an important part in bringing a lot of Thorpe Park's most well-known scare attractions to life. Expect big scares and tough decisions when Deathcell: Magenta opens at an undisclosed location in Hackney Wick this February. 📍 Hackney Wick 💰 From £30.00 🕒 21st February 2024 - 1st March 2025 🎟️ Book via deathcell.co.uk Phantom Peak: The Final Season Photo: Alistair Veryard With 11 seasons of Phantom Peak having run since first opening in August 2022, it's been confirmed that the next season of Phantom Peak - currently titled 'The Final Season' - will be the last at their Canada Water venue. Over the last 24 months, Phantom Peak has gone from strength to strength, with consistently high-quality trails, an ever-expanding list of technology on offer, and an ongoing narrative that's rich and rewarding for long-time visitors while still engaging for first-timers. Details of exactly where the show is relocating to are still under wraps, but we know that this venue change will usher in a new era for the show. Recent seasons of Phantom Peak have had increasing mentions of 'The Great Undoing' - an event that looks set to rock the foundations of the platypus-loving town to its Diamant-filled core. 📍 Canada Water 💰 From £42.00 🕒 From 14th February 2025 🎟️ Book via phantompeak.com Elvis Evolution Photo: Elvis Presley Enterprises LLC Layered Reality, the producers of Elvis Evolution, have become a powerhouse of immersive experience over the last few years. Their best-known show, Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience, holds the title of London's longest-running immersive show, and The Gunpowder Plot - which tells the story of Guy Fawkes's attempt to blow up parliament - has been running next to the Tower of London since 2022. In 2025, their new production will debut at Immerse LDN near ExCel London. While the real-life Elvis never performed on stage in the UK, the show will feature a concert experience where a life-sized digital Elvis will perform some of his biggest hits. It'll be preceded by a journey through his life - from Graceland to New York and Los Angeles before heading to Las Vegas - where he took up a seven-year residency between 1969 and 1976. Elvis will be brought back through AI and holographic projection, as well as augmented reality, live theatre, and multi-sensory effects. To aid the creation of the show, the company has been given access to thousands of Elvis’s personal photos and hours of his home video archive to create these new AI Elvis performances. 📍 ExCel London 💰 From £75.00 🕒 From 10th May 2025 🎟️ Book via elvisevolution.com The Traitors: Live Experience Photo: Hugo Glendinning The Traitors: Live Experience, which is set to open in the West End this Spring, is a first-of-its-kind adaptation of the hit BBC series. Produced by Immersive Everywhere, the experience will invite guests to step into the world of the TV series and sit at the Round Table for a high-stakes game of deception, strategy, and teamwork. It'll feature recognisable gameplay elements such as a blindfolded Traitors selection, several missions that will test both physical and mental endurance, and ample opportunities for the Traitors to strategise whether to murder or recruit from the rest of the group.  Leading the creative vision for the project is Neil Connolly, Creative Director at Immersive Everywhere, whose track record includes The Crystal Maze Live Experience, The Tomb Raider Live Experience, and other ground-breaking immersive experiences. Immersive Everywhere has previously mounted immersive adaptations of Peaky Blinders and Doctor Who. 📍 West End 💰 From £29.50 🕒 Spring 2025 🎟️ Sign up for pre-sale via thetraitorslive.co.uk For the latest news and updates on all of 2025's immersive shows in London, follow us on Instagram , X and BlueSky

We recently appeared on the No Proscenium podcast to discuss the current state of immersive theatre in London and look back at the big moments of 2024. The episode was hosted by No Proscenium 's Noah Nelson, and also featured Katy Naylor ( Voidspace ), Franco Milazzo ( BroadwayWorld UK ), and Shelley Snyder ( No Proscenium ). Listen here:

We recap our picks of the five best immersive shows of 2024 as part of our Year In Review series. #1 - The Manikins: a work in progress (Deadweight Theatre) Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor With a cast of two performing for just a single audience member, The Manikins: a work in progress is as intimate a show as you can get. A mind-bending experience that had us questioning our own reality for weeks afterwards, Deadweight Theatre's production was the stand-out show of 2024 and has redefined what small-scale immersive theatre can achieve. #2  - Phantom Peak (The League of Adventure) Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak's ongoing narrative reached new heights in 2024 with an exception run of seasonal updates. Engaging and accessible for first-time visitors, while being deeply rewarding for long-time tourists, the show's ever-changing line-up of genre-bending trails forms the backbone of this one-of-a-kind experience that isn't being replicated anywhere else. #3 - Rhythm&Ruse (Immergence/Clio Creative) Photo: Rhythm&Ruse Rhythm&Ruse's mix of cocktails, cabaret and close-up magic was one of the best nights out we've had in London this year. While expectations were high for the show as soon as it was first announced, with Punchdrunk alumni including Fania Grigoriou, Sam Booth, Mallory Gracenin and Naomi Banks all involved, the show surpassed them to create an unforgettable evening at The Starling, night after night. #4  - Bridge Command (Parabolic Theatre) Photo: Alex Brenner A show over five years in the making, Bridge Command delivered on the promise of allowing guests to pilot a starship into the deepest corners of space. Teamwork is the name of the game aboard the UCN Takanami and UCN Havock, both of which offer an exhilarating experience for guests that responds to their choices on the fly, creating a unique playthrough every visit. #5  - Viola's Room (Punchdrunk) Photo: Julian Abrams Punchdrunk's follow-up to The Burnt City rejected the format fans had waited so long for before their long-awaited return to London with Viola's Room. With no white masks, no loops and no actors, the show instead invited guests into a linear walk-through fairy tale that required no shoes and socks. It's the kind of show only Punchdrunk could pull off, and continues to cement them as one of the world's premiere immersive producers. For coverage of all the latest immersive experiences coming to London in 2025, follow us on Instagram , X and BlueSky . To hear what over 15 immersive creators think the best immersive shows of 2024 were, check out the rest of our end-of-year coverage here .

Yippee Theatre's hilarious immersive drag panto 'Dead Hard' sees Nakablowmi Tower taken over by Hands Grubber and his team of butch henchmen. Photo: Yippee Theatre Dead Hard, the debut production from Yippee Theatre, mixes adult panto, drag, parody, and immersive theatre. Written by Lowell Belfield and Helena Raeburn, alongside the show's director, Bertie Watkins, the show is chock full of double-ended dildos, double entendre, and is easily one of the funniest shows we've seen in years. Photo: Yippee Theatre The opening 20 minutes of Dead Hard see the audience split in half, with them either ushered to the 32nd floor of Nakablowmi Towers to take part in a series of X-rated party games or being enlisted to help with Hands Grubber's imminent storming of the building on the ground floor. During our visit, we were escorted up to the 32nd floor and welcomed by Joe Capitalism (Jacqui Bardelang), whose invitation to "watch them do a massive line of blow" immediately sets the tone for the office party gone wrong. With kilos of cocaine both laid out on a boardroom table and filling up a paddling pool, as well as dildos suction-cupped onto the glass partition dividing the space. It's an audacious opening to a show, which is made all the more outrageous by a party game in which an audience member needs to keep a huge dildo balanced upright in their hand for as long as possible, and a game involving champagne bottles and string that required some very precise hip movements to win. If it wasn't already clear, Dead Hard has a wonderfully chaotic energy to it. The campness is turned up to 11 right from the start, and every moment that references John McTiernan's original film has been injected with a huge amount of innuendo and humour. Photo: Yippee Theatre For those on the building's top floor, there are fleeting visits from gym-bro John McClean (Alex Dowding), fresh off a flight from New York City, and their disgruntled ex-wife Holly (Calum Robshaw) in the opening act, which sees Holly burst in as John is being stripped down to his vest and without socks and shoes, soundtracked by Magic Mike staple 'Pony' by Ginuwine. We can't speak to what those recruited by Grubber many floors below have been up to, but our paths soon intercept in suitably dramatic fashion. CEO Joe's plans for everyone to gather around for a company photo are interrupted as the doors to the party burst open and the show's villain, Hands Grubber (Toby Osmond), decked out in a sequin outfit and high heels, enters flanked by the other half of the audience, who usher everyone into the show's main performance space. "You will witness the greatest corporate spanking in history" decrees Grubber as we take our seats. Once inside this main performance space, Dead Hard becomes a more traditional panto, with the audience sat on either side of the central stage for the remainder of the show. The scenes that follow include everything you'd expect from a Christmas pantomime - from screams of 'He's behind you!' to regular booing from the audience and a heap of costume changes. The show's mature tone allows the cast to fully lean into the adult nature of the show's script. Guns have been replaced with dildos that vibrate instead of fire; a sex doll substitutes for the film's many dead terrorists, and Hands' name is mined for every joke you could probably ever think up about handjobs. There are numerous references to RuPaul's Drag Race, Grindr, and even the recent assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is incorporated into the show's script, which is both a non-stop barrage of jokes and a celebration of queer culture. Photo: Yippee Theatre By design, pantos are interactive, and the audience plays an important role in the proceedings. You can expect regular questions asked to the crowd, and every emotional moment is played for a reaction - whether it be a sympathetic aww, a boo or a cheer. Toby Osmond's Hands, in particular, will play up to the crowd at every given opportunity, lapping up their booing with delight while goading them to continue. While some of Die Hard's most iconic moments, including John crawling through the vents of Nakatomi Plaza, are recreated throughout the show with ingenious creativity, and scenes later on in which the cast chase each other on go-karts take the absurdity of the show to ever greater heights, there's real heart at the centre of Dead Hard. The personal journey that John McClean goes on throughout the show, in which they grapple with their own sexuality, adds emotional weight to the show's climax and recontextualises the original film's bromance between McClane and Powell to be an out-and-out love story. Without a doubt, Dead Hard is one of the funniest shows we've seen in years. You'd struggle to find a more entertaining night out in London this Christmas season, even if it's light on proper immersive elements outside of the first act. It's a Yippee-Ki-Yaas from us. ★★★★ Dead Hard: A Drag Die Hard Parody Panto runs at COLAB Tower from 10th December 2024 to 12th January 2025. Tickets are priced from £32 and can be booked via colabtheatre.co.uk

Brand new immersive theatre company, Yippee Theatre , has announced the cast for the world premiere of Dead Hard, an immersive drag Die Hard parody pantomime which will turn the iconic Christmas film on its head. The show will run at COLAB Tower, the first fully DDA-compliant immersive venue in London, which will also open this Winter. Photo: Yippee Theatre Audiences will become part of the action as they follow this high-energy immersive parody that transforms the classic 80's action film into a hilarious, camp spectacle. The show has been created by Bertie Watkins, who has been the artistic director of COLAB Theatre for a decade. Bertie has written the show alongside Helena Raeburn and Lowell Bellfield. Audiences will follow drag queen Hands Grubber and the daring John McClean as they journey from their gym bro origins to exploring their sexuality through a series of explosive encounters and comedic twists, all set against the backdrop of a Christmas party gone wrong. The production promises to push the boundaries of traditional pantomime through a completely immersive environment. Photos: Yippee Theatre Taking on the role of the antagonist, Hands Grubber, is Toby Osmond (Game of Thrones, Summerland) who will perform alongside their counterpart, Alex Dowding (NewsRevue, Jack and the Beanstalk) as John McClean. Calum Robshaw (East 15 Acting School, Boomtown Festival) is multi-rolling as Theo/Neo when siding with Grubber and as Holly, McClean’s wife. Jacqui Bardelang (The Nevers, BATSU!) appears as Towel. Fans of drag, saucy humour and immersive experiences will be treated to a unique and lively night out, in which audiences can look forward to everything from lip-sync battles, thrilling heist scenes and unexpected romantic moments, all set to a soundtrack that will have you singing along. The show's Director and Creator, Bertie Watkins comments: The show is a first in so many ways. An 80s action movie pantomime, an adult pantomime, a new completely DDA venue – bring it on – I cannot wait! Photos: Yippee Theatre Dead Hard: A Drag Die Hard Parody Panto will run at COLAB Tower from 10th December 2024 to 12th January 2025. Tickets are priced from £32 and can be booked via colabtheatre.co.uk

This article was originally published in September 2023 A former theatre that dates as far back as 1937 in the centre of Camden might soon return to hosting performances after it became public that Secret Cinema has expressed interest in taking over the space to host immersive experiences. The Camden New Journal confirmed earlier this month that the current owners of the site on Arlington Road - The Rank Group, who own Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casino, were ‘looking into alternative options for the site’ following a slow return of visitors attributed to COVID and the cost of living crisis. The venue has been operating as a Mecca Bingo for over 60 years and was previously home to a theatre that had upwards of 2,500 seats. The site was split into two separate venues in 1961, with the bingo hall being created in the space formally used by the stall seating. The rest of the venue became an Odeon, and half of the site is still being used as a cinema today following a closure between 1993 and 1997. Secret Cinema was reportedly looking for a permanent space in London after being acquired by TodayTix in 2022 for $100 million. They would be following in the footsteps of fellow immersive theatre company Punchdrunk, who moved into a permanent venue in Woolwich back in 2019. Secret Cinema will be launching Wishmas - an immersive Christmas experience later this year in Waterloo. This is believed to be their only remaining show for 2023, so those eager to be a part of the next Secret Cinema world may be waiting a while. Camden Council will consider the company's licensing application at the end of September. Update as of January 2024: Camden Council have approved Secret Cinema's application to take over the site in Camden Town and the company appear to be gearing up to launch their first production of 2024 within the venue in the not-too-distant future. Update as of July 2024: Secret Cinema has decided not to proceed with the development of the Camden venue. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest updates and rumours about Secret Cinema in 2025.

Guests gather for the wake of Dieter Roterberg in The Magician's Table, the new immersive close-up magic show from Right Angle Entertainment at a secret London location. Magic is currently having quite the moment within London's immersive scene. This month, two new shows - Rhythm & Ruse and The Magician’s Table - have opened, both promising an unforgettable night of music, cocktails, and close-up magic. They're also both laying claim to being the best close-up immersive show in town. With our five-star review of Rhythm&Ruse already posted, it's time to see what tricks The Magician's Table has up its sleeve. Photo: The Magician's Table The Magician’s Table invites guests to attend the wake of Dieter Roterberg, a famed carnival owner, magician, and collector of curiosities. Magicians from across the globe have gathered within his private performance space to celebrate his life and legacy alongside his widow, Calliope (Shea Wotjus). Under strict instructions left by Dieter, Calliope is tasked with following his meticulously planned script—covering everything from lighting cues to seating arrangements. This final night of music and magic is designed to be a fitting farewell to Roterberg, as well as an opportunity for his closest friends to attempt a trick that evaded him throughout his life.   The show has been written by BAFTA and Olivier award-winning writer Iain Sharkey, who is best known for co-writing several of Derren Brown’s TV specials and live shows, including Svengali, The Push, and Sacrifice. Photo: The Magician's Table From the moment you enter the venue, magic is front and centre, with every corner of the pre-show bar playing host to one of the show's numerous magicians performing for crowds as they mingle around the room. It's an atmospheric space to have your first taste of what's to come later, as well as your only opportunity to get a drink directly from the bar, with drinks being   served by table service only once seated. The drinks on offer are the usuals - beer, wine, snacks, as well as a selection of cocktails from a menu that includes Cinnamon Espresso Martinis and Negronitas alongside Spicy Margaritas, Rum Punch, and Raspberry Gin Fizz.   The bulk of the show takes place within Dieter's private performance space. With 10 semi-circle tables holding up to 12 people each, it's got ample room to house his closest friends and family. Overlooking them all from centre stage is Dieter’s illuminated death mask, a dramatic and fitting tribute to a man who clearly had a flair for the theatrical. Photo: The Magician's Table During our visit, we spent time with Richard McDougall, Harry De Cruz, Dee Christopher, Nick Stein, and Martyn Rowland. Collectively, their magic covers a wide spectrum - from sleight of hand to mentalism, card tricks, and cup and ball. While most of the tricks were impressively done, there were a couple of moments in which they were a bit too simple to not be quickly worked out. This may be an occupational hazard with doing close-up magic, but it does pull you out of the immersion somewhat when the solution to a trick isn't concealed quite as well as it could be.   Out of everyone we saw, the most extreme act was Dee Christopher, whose tricks incorporated both a syringe and a vile of Dieter's blood. The gruesome details are best left unsaid, but it had our table enthralled - half unable to look away, half averting their eyes in fear. Inherently, there's a thrill from seeing these performances up close, and the willingness of the cast to involve everyone at the table means we all had a part to play in the tricks. Photo: The Magician's Table In addition to the up-close magic, several set pieces are orchestrated by Calliope on the main stage, highlighting impressive feats of mentalism. During her opening remarks, she reflects on how she was often relegated to the role of assistant, spending too many nights being sawed in half or preparing props behind the scenes. With Dieter now gone, this is her chance to step into his shoes and achieve what he never could. Photo: The Magician's Table One trick recounts the night in Paris when Dieter and Calliope first fell in love. Dieter, an avid painter, attempted to read her mind and, through his brushstrokes, recreate the image she envisioned—a trick they now re-enact with the help of an audience member lying on a chaise lounge, alongside magician Gareth Kalyan. Later in the show, the elusive trick that Dieter spent his life chasing, known as The Magician's Table, is attempted by Calliope and Gareth with the audience’s participation. To reveal what happens would be to spoil the climax of the show, but it's an affecting and tender conclusion to the night that is the most reminiscent of the kind of tricks you'd see in a Derren Brown live show.   While these moments with Calliope enrich the world of The Magician’s Table, giving insight into her and Dieter's relationship, there’s a noticeable flaw in the way her role is handled. Despite her earlier commentary on spending much of her life relegated to the sidelines as an assistant, she continues to play that part as a male magician executes the tricks. It feels like a missed opportunity not to have Calliope perform this final trick herself. Seeing her succeed where her late husband could not would have been a far more satisfying and empowering moment. Photo: The Magician's Table It's clear that The Magician's Table has been created and directed by people with a deep love and respect for the craft - the show is a wonderful showcase for what makes close-up magic so enthralling to watch. Although the range of tricks on display is diverse, sadly, the show's cast is quite far from it. While in part this is a systemic issue within the UK magic industry, with as little as 5% of the 1700 members that make up The Magic Circle identifying as women, it's hard to justify having a lineup of magicians that are all male, when just 2 miles up the road Rhythm&Ruse has no such problem.   With two competing immersive magic shows currently open in London, people may well be weighing up which show to prioritise seeing first. Regardless of their choice, the act of witnessing close-up magic is undoubtedly a joy, and to see the form have this sudden resurgence will likely open many people's eyes to how great magic can be when done right. Despite some uneven moments within The Magician's Table, it's an enjoyable night out that's likely unlike anything else out there (unless you've also seen Rhythm&Ruse). ★★★ ½ Correction: We've updated this review to remove mention of the show's magician cast being ‘all-white, all-male’ as Gareth Kalyan is of South Asian heritage. The Magician's Table is currently booking until 16th February 2025, with tickets priced from £37.50. Find out more about the show and book via magicianstablelive.com To stay up to date on news, previews and reviews of more immersive shows like The Magician's Table, follow us on Instagram .

With the final performances of Rhythm&Ruse at The Vaults in Waterloo on the horizon, we sit down with Morgan Howson (Executive Producer) and Abigail Smith (Associate Producer) to discuss the conception and development of the show, the communities that have developed around The Starling, and the challenges that come with producing independent immersive theatre. Photo: Rhythm&Ruse Hi Morgan and Abi, thanks for speaking with us today. For those who haven’t yet visited The Starling, can you explain what Rhythm&Ruse is all about? Morgan:  I think the sentence we got to in the end was ‘Magic, music, cocktails, and conversation’. That came about through improv on stage, Sam [Booth] said it one night and it just stuck. The Starling is an underground club that you've been invited to, it's not a place where you can just get an invitation walking down the street. You enter through this kaleidoscopic corridor that separates the real world from the world we've created inside, which isn't the 1920s, but you're not in the now either. You're in this weird state of stasis, where you can't quite place the show and that's just how we want it. As guests come in and sit down they're serenaded by the incredible Naomi Banks, and our other singers, with a bunch of jazz and jazz recreations of modern pop songs as the evening progresses . Four of our secret society of magicians visit your table and showcase their sleight of hand throughout the show, and our society members visit you too to share some stories. Maybe they'll be giving a tarot reading, maybe they'll be taking you to one of the little back rooms or secret corners of the club to tell you a bit more about them and about what's going on, why you've been invited and the purpose of the gathering.  How did the initial idea for the show first come about?  Morgan: In December last year, Fania [ Grigoriou] and I were sitting in a not-very-good cocktail bar in the middle of Chinatown spending £20 a drink on not-very-good cocktails while waiting to go to dinner. We were having a discussion about how experiences in London can be very poor value. You go to a bar, you have a few drinks, you spend £60 each, but you've not really got anything out of that, and it’s also not hugely communal. You're sitting at a table for two while there are all these other conversations and stories going on around you that you're not hugely aware of. We wondered if there could be a theatrical version of that night out where we could deliver value in buckets and we give people a good time, as well as encourage community. Obviously Fania’s background is with Punchdrunk. When you think about those great show bars that Punchdrunk have created like Manderley at Sleep No More and Peep at The Burnt City, they became these gathering places with entertainment and a real sense of world and story. I think for a lot of people, particularly people who end up going to their shows a lot, those watering holes became such a core part of the experience. While no reviewer is ever going to extol the benefits of spending a third of your time at the show sitting in Manderley and idly chit-chatting, it became a huge part of what makes those spaces feel like home. The question then became can that be a full-blown show? Can we build something that feels like it's a real world? A real immersive experience, that takes place in a cabaret club and includes drinks so it feels really good value for money. I remember finishing the evening having had a lovely meal and going to another cocktail bar. We were quite drunk, and I remember thinking that maybe I wouldn't think of it again. My background is in product creation, mostly in the digital and tech sectors, and my curiosity got the better of me. Within a month the show existed on a spreadsheet. It was like ‘Oh here's how you could do it and here's how the numbers would potentially look’ and then we just grew it from there. A lot of people wanted to back it knowing the risks because immersive theatre is hugely risky, and independent theatre is hugely risky, but they wanted to help us to give it a go, so we sort of built we built off of that. But the idea literally started in a little bar in Chinatown on the eve of my birthday in the depths of winter last year, which is very quick for an immersive show like this. Abi, how did the two of you first meet and what was your reaction to the concept that Morgan and Fania had when you first heard it? Abigail: Well, I first met Morgan after she came to an event I put on four or five years ago through my TikTok. We kept this little friendship going where we would go out for dinner once a month. I would tell her all the drama that's going on in my life and she would tell me what an idiot I am. Because I had built this community, and as Morgan said, so much of this show is about community building and about creating a communal feeling, which is something I’d done via social media, she approached me and said ‘I want to make this show’. I was like ‘Babe, you work in tech. What are you talking about?’. Like so many people, my initial reaction was 'Who would want to do a magic show?'. She explained it to me more, and I then went ‘Oh no, actually that sounds amazing’. There’s a perception of magic that it's not cool or sexy.  Morgan:  Like it's a children’s birthday party kind of thing... Abigail:  Yeah, children’s birthdays and weddings... there's a perception that it's an annoying guy who comes to your table while you're just trying to have some champagne, but when we talked more about the show and the idea of it having an Alastair Crowley-style secret society of the occult to it, I thought it sounded really cool. This woman - she’s honestly a mastermind in making things sound amazing. With that initial concept developed, you then approached Sam Booth and Mallory Gracenin who helped devise the show. How far into the process were you before they became a part of the project? Morgan:  I'd say we had a framework. We knew roughly what we needed the show to look like to make it work operationally. What people forget when you're building a concept like this is you're not just building a show, you're also effectively opening a bar, and have to figure out all those service windows and things like that as well. The full story and full concept were definitely fleshed out once we got them on board, and it's a dream team right? These are great powerhouse performers, really doing what they do best and being given the opportunity to do that in such an intimate environment, as such a close-knit group and to move fast and develop fast. I’m really grateful for their decision to come on board and that happened very early on. Their names were attached during the funding process. I think the goal really was to demonstrate that we had the credibility to build an experience of this nature and then bring it to market. Photo: Rhythm & Ruse We created a place where it was okay to come as you were and to discover other people coming as they were as well.  After stepping through the doors of The Starling, I think it's fair to say the place has an inviting and friendly atmosphere. You mentioned earlier wanted to create a show with a sense of community. Can you tell us a bit about why it was so important to create a welcoming space? Morgan:  You've been to the show a couple times and have seen what happens. Yes, there is magic at our tables in terms of magicians performing, but I think there’s social magic there too in how people feel able to connect with others on a deeper level.  I've been in London for a decade now and I grew up in the North, I come from Scarborough in Yorkshire. In Yorkshire, you see someone on the street and they say hello, and you say 'How’s your day going?', you have a little chat. You get in a lift going from floor one to floor fifty and you have a conversation. The thing that is starkest to me about London is the lack of community, and the lack of conversation. You can go through, and I did go through when I was living alone, weeks where you've not talked to another human being. Particularly over the pandemic when we were just talking to screens. I think a big part of what we wanted to accomplish with Rhythm&Ruse, is a true sense of community and a sense of belonging for people who visited our tables. I think that's been created with such brilliance by our creative team because you have to have the right environment to do that. It has to feel intimate enough. Our set designer, Issy, did such a great job of making those tables feel intimate and warm. Skylar, our lighting designer also made sure that people are lit enough to talk, but not too lit, so it feels like a confessional where you can say whatever you want and you can communicate with others and not feel too self-conscious about it. The inebriation provided by our guest services team helps that too, but there's a sense that you're in a world of possibility where anything can happen, I think it really opens people up to the experience of getting to know each other. We created a place where it was okay to come as you were and to discover other people coming as they were as well.  The show’s got a huge revolving cast of magicians. What was it like trying to assemble that group? Did you find yourself getting sick of card tricks? Morgan:  I tell you what, one of the weirdest experiences of my life will be conducting interviews with magicians in a WeWork on a Saturday afternoon. We had a huge amount of interest from a whole bunch of magicians, but the one thing that was really important to us was that our cast reflected the world. I think magic is a profession that is 97/98% cis white men and it's quite easy to fall into the trap of only casting cis white men. As a trans woman, I believe very vehemently that you can't be what you can't see. I transitioned fairly later in life because you figure out who you are once you see other people doing it. Obviously, this is not the same thing, but if you're an aspiring female magician or you're an aspiring Southeast Asian magician, I think it's so important that you can see people like you getting opportunities and working in a professional environment for an audience. Our magicians I think do our show for the love of magic. There's a reality that no producer can pay a close-up magician what they would get for a wedding or a corporate booking, because magic, like many self-employed professions, is one where you get three days of work a month, but the three days that you get work are big paydays, then you spend the other 27 days trying to find work. That is the standard. Magicians don't get as often as they would like the opportunity to perform close-up. When you ask most of the magicians we have what their favourite kind of magic is, they'll say close-up, but there’s no environment in which to perform close-up magic. We set out to create an environment that let magicians do the thing they want to do in as near to optimal conditions as you can get economically in terms of giving them the right sight lines, casting the light in the right way against the tables so what is seen is seen and what shouldn't be seen remains unseen. Also, we've created an environment where they can work with other magicians, which is so rare, because being a magician is a hugely solitary profession. Other than catching up at The Magic Circle, most magicians work alone and are booked alone. Every night for the past three months, for us to have had eight magicians in a room together performing as a team and networking and communicating with each other, that's a really big deal. Abigail:  It's so cool seeing them all backstage. One of them will come in and go ‘I'm gonna do something new tonight’ and everyone goes crazy and they all nerd out together. You’ll be walking backstage and you’ll just see people levitating things and people slicing things into their head. You're just like ‘What's happening? Am I in a dream world?’  Photo: Rhythm & Ruse Naomi Banks comes out and starts singing, suddenly everyone goes silent... In that moment I was like ‘Oh my god this show's amazing’. What was it like having the doors of The Starling open for the first time and having guests enter? Morgan:  We call that first preview Black Thursday. I'll tell you why… there is a truism of immersive theatre, which is that as much as you prep and plan, you cannot know how it will go until you sit 192 people in 192 chairs and find out for yourself. What we quickly found out is that trying to get 192 people to read a 12-page menu and make drink choices in a very quick and very dimly lit environment leads to service challenges.  The first night, my recollection of it was that I was running around like a crazy person and at some stage going into the bar and shouting, not in a negative way, but just shouting at our guest services manager Lois, who has done an incredible job, ‘Just put wine on the tables! Just put bottles of wine on the tables!'. Lois was going ‘Are you sure? I think we can recover this’ and I went ‘Nope. You cannot recover this. The oldest order in the system is from 40 minutes ago, just put wine on the tables!’.  That first night, I presume a show happened? My mind was mostly on the operational challenges. As I mentioned earlier, opening an immersive show is only partly about the show. We sat down, we regrouped and moved to the concept that you're familiar with, where we significantly cut down on choices and instead have this eclectic, ever-changing menu of alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings as the show progresses, and that worked much much better. Thank goodness for that because otherwise, I worry we wouldn't have had any bar staff on the second night. Abigail:  Morgan came up to me because I jumped behind the bar, and she said ‘How are you?’ and I was like ‘I feel like I'm in a war’. Morgan:  Once we'd stabilised from that challenge, I think you feel an immense sense of pride. There are moments that were really important to me as the show was being built where I thought ‘This is going to be a really beautiful audience reaction moment’. The theatrical unveiling of the space after you get the welcome speech from our society members, you see the golden wings of The Starling. You see that, you see the room, you see Rosie sitting there writing her premonition ready for later in the evening. The moments where you're sitting at a table and the other side of the room is consuming magic, the lights are shining down on the tables, you look across and it feels a bit otherworldly on the other side of the room. I think it was little moments like that that told me we had made the right decisions and done the right things along the way, but you can only really see that with an audience. Abi, any strong memories of seeing the show being performed in front of an audience for the first time? Abigail: This is terrible of me, but I had never heard Naomi Banks sing until Rhythm&Ruse. Morgan was like ‘She's amazing, trust me, she's incredible’. The third preview we ever did was open to my TikTok audience only, so we had an audience of just the queers in for one night. It was such a great community atmosphere, it all felt very alive and vibrant in there. Naomi comes out and starts singing, suddenly everyone goes silent. What a voice! Where has that voice come from?! In that moment I was like ‘Oh my god this show's amazing’. I've seen the show many times now and every time she sings I think ‘Oh my god. A siren walks among us.’ Morgan:  You start to see flash points and moments as you're wandering around the space. There's a rhythm to it that you start to feel, which is a privilege to be able to experience. There's a lot of joy in that, knowing the pace of the show. When you're actually sitting watching it I think it goes so fast it doesn't feel like a two-hour-long experience because there is always some kind of stimuli. Photo: Rhythm&Ruse Some people latch on straight away to what we're going for, some people have no idea what's going to hit them. I'd love to dig a bit deeper into the occult elements that are bubbling under the surface of Rhythm&Ruse. There are a lot of bird references within the show. 'The flock' is mentioned a lot by Tom and Rosie on stage, and the club is of course called The Starling. Can you tell us about why these elements were all integrated into the show? Morgan:  It's always interesting isn't it, to have something brewing under the surface even if it doesn't really matter what it is? It's nice to have that sense of layers in the piece. It was really important to Fania and the team to build a sense that there was something else going on. A lot of the themes that you mentioned are explored in the more private intimate moments of the show - they're explored in 1:1s and they're explored at the tables. To some extent, that's how we wanted it because 97% of people are there for an evening of magic and music and fun. If you overwhelm them with story, it can detract from that, particularly if they're four drinks in, so it's a delicate balancing act.  Our goal at least for this initial season of The Starling was to do our best to hit that balance and to not go too far in the other direction.  I'm going to give you a funny story… the range of reactions you get are very diverse. Some people, like you, latch on straight away to what we're going for and maybe where our inspirations lie, some people have no idea what's going to hit them. There was a couple early in the run who were taken to one of our side rooms and invited to join the flock, which is an interaction that, as with all of our interactions, is scripted and ends in the same way regardless of what the audience member does or doesn't do.  These audience members were so surprised by the interaction to the point that they made an official complaint about the fact that perhaps our cast members were going ‘off book’ and were trying to convince them to go and do things with them after the show that we might consider to be unsavoury. They said the cast members should get a talking to. The next day I got an email in my personal email inbox, from a police officer. All it said was ‘Hi, we would like to talk to you regarding a potential crime. When can we call you?’. I had the back and forth with the police officer to arrange and schedule a time which was arranged for a couple of days after, and the whole time I was like ‘Am I going to have to explain the nature of immersive theatre to this police officer?' Abigail:  As if they were convinced we were soliciting sex in the middle of Waterloo! Morgan:  As it happens, the call was just about a phone that I'd had stolen from me several months prior, but for 48 hours, just because of the timing, I had the joy of game planning in my head what my official response would be to a police officer if I was asked if two of our cast members were indeed inviting people to some kind of unsavoury gathering which I had not approved of after the show. Abigail:   My favourite part of the complaint, there was an addendum at the end that said ‘If the request had been made outside of the show, perhaps afterwards, maybe my response would have been different’. So they were like ‘I maybe would have gone for the foursome had it not been during the show.' Morgan:  I think it speaks to the challenge of trying to produce a piece like this. Because people are coming in just expecting a fun night out with some magic and some music and cocktails, if you are too overt with that stuff it can be quite alienating and potentially even scary to your customers, so finding that balance has been something that I think Fania and the team have really had to reckon with. I think it is quite easy to go too far, particularly in an environment where we know that people would be somewhat inebriated.  That’s quite the reaction to a 1:1 scene… Morgan:  It demonstrates that the acting was very good! It's probably the best review the cast could ever hope to receive. Morgan : If people believe that they're actually being invited to an after-party, then clearly it was convincing... Photo: Rhythm&Ruse Alongside the main Rhythm&Ruse show, there was also a series of Rhythm&Ruse Lates performances in which The Starling was used as a more traditional cabaret venue. How did you go about finding acts that would be a good fit? Abigail : I think we wanted to take a few risks on people. The Vaults as a venue was previously known for hosting really cool new writing and new performers. That space doesn’t exist as it once did, but as someone who grew up with new writing and found my feet in this industry with original new work, I wanted to create a space where people could explore that. We did a risk-free deal for people, we did a straight box office split, we paid for the techie, we paid for the tech time, and we helped them with marketing. I really wanted to create a space where it felt very equitable on that front so we could support cool new artists. We found some really fun drag queens, we had some great names like Elf Lyons, Flat and the Curves, and people who we knew would bring in a nice audience, but maybe wanted to try some new work. We went to the Edinburgh Fringe, went to see stuff all around London, and just looked for things that felt new, cool, and different. Sadly we're now a couple weeks out from Rhythm&Ruse having its final performance. Can you tell us about the challenges of sustaining a show like Rhythm&Ruse in the current climate? Morgan:  It’s a hard market and it's been a very difficult year for all theatre, not just immersive. We saw what happened with Cake at The Other Palace and the early closure announced for Why Am I So Single? I think the reality is that there are a few different market forces at play. People are going out less, they spend less when they go out, and they are less likely to try new experiences if there isn't a brand name attached, maybe even less likely than ever before. I think when you look at the range and diversity of immersive experiences in London, going from the escape room style immersive experiences like Monopoly and the Taskmaster experience to the narrative-driven experiences like Paddington, and even The London Dungeons, to the two magic concepts that are currently open in London and that would be considered immersive, there is a huge diversity of options for consumers in London right now. I think there is a possibility that we are starting to reach a stage where there are too many options. and where there's a lot of capacity for the market to support at a time when people are tightening their purse strings. Something I’ve thought about a lot over the last few weeks is that technically, every time you open an immersive experience you're creating new capacity for theatre in London, often in places that wouldn't usually have any capacity for theatre, at a time when even our West End houses are struggling to fill. I think there are some incredible things out there, produced by hugely talented creative teams, and produced with clear intent and goals to deliver something sustainable, that unfortunately are just failing. Not to capture critical attention, not to capture audience attention in terms of the feedback that they receive, but just to capture enough audience consistently at a high enough price point to make theatre sustainable. The vapid criticism of shows like The Manikins or The Key of Dreams is that the price points they are charging aren’t accessible, but the commercial reality is that this work is expensive to produce and if we want it, we have to support it, and we have to buy tickets. If we don't, it just becomes impossible to deliver. It's very difficult for all theatre companies to get any kind of Arts Council Funding, but particularly so for immersive theatre. The risk is if as a community, and I'm speaking really as a consumer of immersive theatre now, as much as a producer, aren't able to pay sustainable prices and aren't willing to take a risk on things that don't have a brand name attached, it will lead to a homogenised version of immersive where everything is branded, everything is linked to some kind of existing IP or property, and producers will feel even less able to take risk. You need small-scale commercial productions as a stepping stone from indie productions to get large-scale commercial productions right? This middle sector has to exist and has to be able to survive. At the moment it's just very difficult. Photo: Rhythm & Ruse You're not the first producers we've spoken to who have mentioned the lack of Arts Council funding available for immersive theatre. Morgan:  Arts Council funding or foundations and grant programs have an opportunity to fill the gap, but at the moment that funding is very directed towards conventional theatre. The way you have to build the business case is built around conventional theatre, and that's just not the reality for small-scale commercial immersive theatre which has a very different problem set and very different challenges associated with it. In many ways, this country is a birthplace of modern immersive theatre if you consider Punchdrunk to be the impetus of this industry, and I think it is a shame that the only commercial immersive theatre producer that doesn't rely on IP and that does seem to be able to get Arts Council Funding is Punchdrunk. There are so many opportunities out there for different producers to build really exciting and interesting projects, and we just need apparatus to support them, wherever that might come from. The challenges are huge, not just in terms of getting an audience and getting to a price point but also in finding venues and building them in a cost-effective manner. There’s so many challenges in trying to produce really interesting stuff and very little support. Abigail:  I used to do conventional theatre and the first thing that everybody told you when you're getting advice about planning for funding is ‘Can you do it with fewer people?’ It's always ‘Can you halve the cast size?’. I was applying for a four-hander, and everyone was like ‘You’ve got to make it a two-hander. That’s the only way you’ll get funding for it'. There are some really cool immersive shows with tiny casts, but the vast majority will have chunky cast sizes to make it work. That's the beauty of it, isn't it? You get that 1:1 or 1:2 small-scale interaction that you’re just not going to get if you’re one of a thousand in an audience. Unfortunately, that does mean big cast sizes, it means big money needs to be invested, and big payrolls. There’s got to be some kind of flex when it comes to arts funding, and recognising the value that the immersive theatre industry has. Think about the incredible amounts of political art and groundbreaking stuff that could be done with this beautiful art form, that can’t always be done with your traditional proscenium set-up.  I wrote an immersive show about LGBTQ activism during the AIDS crisis, and I was very lucky to get some mentorship for it, but they were like ‘It's a beautiful show, but it’s unproduceable because you couldn't have a bar.' Unfortunately, that's the reality of it. Morgan: I think the question ultimately becomes how do we bridge that gap? For every hugely ambitious independent immersive theatre project that fails, there's a bunch of investors that will be slightly more trepidatious next time, who might not be in a position to take the same risk. Coming up against the reality of trying to produce independent immersive theatre in this current climate, would you say the experience has put you off producing more work in the future? Morgan: We’ve brought together an incredible group of people that have done some really beautiful work. From our creative team to our magicians, our guest services team, our band, and everyone in between. We have built what feels like a real family and a real community behind the scenes as well as in front of them, and we brought people together who otherwise would never have met each other. Just as we've been forming connections in front of house, we’ve done the same in the back of house too, but this has been a challenge and that challenge has taken its toll not just on me, but on all of our people. We've had to cut back our schedule, we've had to close earlier than we would have hoped, and all of these things have real-world consequences for the people that we have brought on this journey with us. I'm so grateful to those people for coming on this journey and producing something so brilliant for the thousands of people who have been able to see it. I'm so appreciative of their time and their talent and their patience, and I’m apologetic for the fact that not everything has been as smooth or as easy as perhaps we would have liked it. All that being said, I wouldn't change anything about this experience. If I knew this was the end game, I would probably still be tempted to do it again. I think everything you do in life you learn lessons from, and every production, everything you deliver, and every product you bring to market, gives you an opportunity to make the next thing you do even better. A process like this is incredibly draining and challenging, but I remain very excited by the medium and very infused by the potential that I believe it has. I don't believe in closing doors all the way.  As with everything in life, at some stage, we turn on the lights and the party ends. We clean up the broken bottles and glasses and sweep up the pieces. I think it's raw and it’s difficult. It's been difficult for everyone on the team as we've come to terms with the last few weeks but it doesn't make any of us less proud of what we set out to accomplish, or less proud of what we built. I think there are lessons to be learned from the challenges people face along the way, just as much as there are lessons to be learned from the successes. Too often we only hear about success, and in many ways, this production has been a success. It has been a critical success, it has brought people together, but we also have to acknowledge some of the challenges and that has to be okay, that has to be an acceptable part of the story that you tell about what you did.  Photo: Rhythm & Ruse As we now approach the final performances of Rhythm&Ruse, looking back on the entire process of creating and mounting the show, what are you most proud of? Morgan:  I think if I had to give you one word it would be community. From the community that we built in our audience - both people coming back, and people exchanging Instagrams and saying they want to go get dinner together and things like that, I think is incredible. Secondly, the community that we have created backstage across our magicians, musicians and cast members. I think that's been an incredible thing too - it's people who wouldn't normally work together getting to come together to produce something really incredible. Thirdly, our investor community, who have also I think grown quite close to one another. The benefit of building a show this way and building it on investments from as little as £500 is that it distributes risk, which makes it easier to fund a project like this. It means that no one put in more money than they could afford to lose if it doesn't work out, but the benefit I wasn't expecting is that these people are friends now. They talk to each other about the show, and about their lives. There's a WhatsApp community that I have on mute because it moves too quickly.  Abigail:  I specifically remember once, I said to the WhatsApp group ‘I'm really enjoying that we have an investor community where we can have dinner and then I can say to the investors ‘I have to go home to my super hot girlfriend’’. Everyone was very appreciative of that. Thank you both for making the time to speak to me today. I'm sorry it's not under better circumstances, but I think there's a real value in being able to have a record of things like this, even if they don't work out as hoped. You should both be incredibly proud of what you created with Rhythm&Ruse, it'll be sorely missed. Morgan: Thank you for having us. I think the reality is that the majority of theatre productions fail to make a return and that the default scenario for any production, and for any producer, is this one right? It ends hard and sometimes it ends messy. People who are thinking of doing work like this have to know that that's okay. If you don't have people who are willing to take the risk, who are willing to stick their neck out, and who are willing to sometimes to be seen as the enemy when things go wrong, then you don't get new and challenging work, you just get the same simple cookie-cutter formulas, so I think it is important that people read and understand the realities of it because it sets them up better to do their own thing. If you go in and all there is is unknown, or even worse if you go in and all you see is success, then it can be quite hard to reconcile your own experiences and figure out what you want to do. I think it's helpful to read a warts-and-all description of this stuff and understand some of the machinations behind the scenes, not just because it's interesting, but because I think it holds a lot of value. To tie it back into the show, producers shouldn’t embrace the unknowing then? Morgan:  I think embrace unknowing but with context. Rhythm&Ruse is booking until 23rd November 2024 at The Vaults. Tickets start at £17. To book and find out more, visit rhythmandruse.com

Ever wondered what it takes to be a Traitor or outsmart one? Set to open Spring 2025,  The Traitors: Live Experience will open its doors in London, offering players the opportunity to be plunged into the heart of the drama as they take part in the UK’s first-ever playable experience based on the BAFTA and Emmy award-winning TV show,  The Traitors. In this high-stakes game of deception, strategy, and teamwork, players will find themselves at the centre of the experience, sitting at ‘The Round Table’, collaborating on missions and forming alliances – but the question is, who can they trust? Guided by a dynamic live host, players will work to uncover the Traitors hidden amongst them with thrilling missions guaranteed to deliver an unforgettable experience complete with intrigue, competition, and camaraderie.    During the action-packed experience, players will be thrust into the suspenseful world of the hit TV show, featuring recognisable gameplay such as a blindfolded Traitors selection, several heart-racing missions that will test both physical and mental endurance, as well as ample opportunity for the Traitors to strategise whether to murder or recruit from the rest of the group.  Photo: Hugo Glendinning Claudia Winkleman,  host of the UK version of The Traitors , comments : I am extremely excited for The Traitors: Live Experience to open in London next year. I can’t wait for players to immerse themselves in their own drama, strategy and deception. They’ll love the game and should definitely expect twists. Please can you add an evil cackle here?   Leading the creative vision for the project is Neil Connolly, Creative Director at Immersive Everywhere, whose track record includes  The Crystal Maze Live Experience ,  The Tomb Raider Live Experience  and other ground-breaking immersive experiences.   Perfect for friends, colleagues and fellow thrill-seekers,  The Traitors: Live Experience  promises to be entertaining and nail-biting in equal measure and will be home to a luxurious themed bar where guests can indulge in a pre- or post-game drink as well as table service once sat at The Round Table.  Photo: Hugo Glendinning   Tickets to The Traitors: Live Experience will go on sale in early 2025, priced from £29.50 per person.  Sign up at www.thetraitorslive.co.uk to receive presale access and further event information.

Santa is propping up the bar in his favourite watering hole, and lacking in Christmas spirit. Can we save Christmas and get him back on his sleigh, or has he hung up his boots for good? Our review of Humbug, the immersive Christmas dive bar. Photo: Humbug Temperatures are dropping, and it's getting dark at 3pm again, so that can only mean one thing: Christmas is fast approaching. Kicking off London's immersive offerings is Humbug, the immersive Christmas dive bar, which has recently opened its doors at The Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. Back for 2024 after a successful debut in 2023 on Leake Street in Waterloo, this year's edition of Humbug has had quite the festive glow-up. Not only has it doubled in size, but it's also added a bunch of new activities, new areas, and a live band, alongside an updated 2-hour-long immersive experience. Photo: Grant Walker Guests first enter Humbug through an elaborately decorated hallway covered floor to ceiling in wrapping paper and bows. It's our first introduction to the maximalist design displayed throughout the venue. Every inch of Humbug is covered in Christmas memorabilia, referencing classic Christmas films like Home Alone, The Grinch, and Die Hard. Daphne (Savannah Beckford), a disgruntled waitress who has long since mentally clocked out of their job, welcomes guests at the end of the hallway before letting them know that Santa (Drummond Bowskill) is inside and has been propping up the bar for some time. With him refusing to pay his bar tab and loudly denouncing the holiday season at every given opportunity, it's safe to say he's lacking in Christmas spirit. Daphne explains that we must try and help Santa find their mojo again in order to save the holiday season before ushering us to our seats. Photo: Grant Walker Once inside, we're quickly introduced to the other regulars at Humbug as they roam the space. Guests can expect to meet Rudy (Neil Frost), the overworked bar owner, who's recently taken over day-to-day operations from their father. Struggling to stay on top of everything and live up to the high standard set by their predecessor, their storyline largely revolves around trying to maintain some element of control over the goings on in the bar, with a special focus on getting the bar's snow machine to trigger on his cue - something that proves to be an uphill battle from the start. Howard (Perry Meadowcroft), the bumbling mailman, is also having an equally rough day at Humbug, having lost all the letters due to be delivered to Santa after a few too many after-work cocktails. They spend a good amount of the show running around desperately trying to cover their tracks, stuffing letter after letter back into their postbag. Daphne, Rudy, and Howard make up a large part of the immersive interactions on offer throughout the evening, with each stopping by tables sporadically to interact with guests. Howard provides the most substantial immersive interactions away from people's tables, with their mail room hosting small groups of guests across the evening. After being sworn in as honorary Humbug Mail workers, we're tasked with helping Howard restock their mailbag by writing new letters to Santa. A frantic search through all the pigeonholes within the sorting office for any stray letters bound for the North Pole adds a fun moment of interactivity before guests are told to exit the mail room through the 'Die Hard tunnel'. There's no explanation for its existence, but any chance to act like John McClane is a welcome one, even if half the group find themselves trying to crawl through the air vent with drinks in hand. Photo: Grant Walker VIP ticket holders also get a chance to speak to Santa in the bar's stockroom, which has been taken over to create a makeshift grotto at the back of the venue. Groups of roughly 15 are ushered into the bar's stockroom, where Santa confirms that they're lacking in Christmas spirit this year. Sporting a pair of red Crocs and surrounded by empty bottles, Santa invites the group to share their own cherished Christmas memories, all of which they confess to having no memory of. Both of these main interactions, along with the smaller moments with Rudy and Daphne, are all light-hearted and fun. While the cast all do a great job of involving guests and improvising based on any given interaction, they're sadly spread too thin given the number of guests, which ultimately prevents Humbug from feeling like a complete and satisfying experience for immersive fans. Those happy to explore at their own pace and forgo these interactions will find a range of other activities to enjoy instead, including Beer Can Bowling, Santa's Sacks (cornhole), and Rudolph's Rings (ring toss), as well as a private karaoke booth and plenty of photo opportunities. The self-proclaimed Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, gets an entire shrine for worshippers to enjoy, and there's also a huge painted mural of Kevin McCallister on one of the venue's walls. On top of all this, there's a series of competitive party games that take place on the main stage for a few selected guests, with the winners receiving a free shot from the bar. Photo: Humbug It'll come as no surprise that by the end of the evening, Santa has regained their Christmas spirit. With the big man in red playing the role of MC on the main stage, each of the bar's regular patrons enjoys their moment in the spotlight, which rounds off each of their storylines nicely. While the show’s finale delivers the biggest sing-along moments, one standout performance is a true deep cut likely unfamiliar to most. Santa, backed by Humbug’s house band, Johnny Whisky and the Barflys, performs 'All I Want For Christmas Is Booty', a song from a 2013 episode of Saturday Night Live. Photo: Humbug Overall, Humbug is a booze-fuelled evening of festive cheer, sing-a-longs, and light immersive elements. For those who are looking for a Christmas-themed night out with friends or colleagues or are sick of visiting Winter Wonderland for the umpteenth time, it's a great alternative, even if some of the magic present in last year's more intimate version of the show has been lost. ★★★½ Photos: Grant Walker/Humbug Humbug runs at The Vaults near Waterloo Station until 31st December 2025. For more information and to book, visit feverup.com . Tickets start from £22.00.

Punchdrunk's Viola's Room will receive a festive makeover with A Christmas Tale as part of its final extension, ahead of closing on 23rd december 2024. Punchdrunk, the internationally acclaimed company that pioneered the breakthrough of immersive theatre in the UK, announces the final extension of Viola’s Room, which will conclude its run at Punchdrunk’s Woolwich home on 23 December. Photo: Punchdrunk From 31 October to 2 November Viola’s Room will celebrate Halloween with a special 90s Nostalgia Weekend. At selected time slots, visitors will receive with their ticket a bespoke cocktail and exclusive access to The Prop Store bar where you'll be able to make your own 90s themed friendship bracelet and enjoy some nostalgic board games with friends. Photo: Punchdrunk From 20 November through to the end of the run (23rd December), Viola’s Room will undergo a festive transformation with the launch of Viola’s Room: A Christmas Tale. Featuring Christmas music alongside other seasonal twists, visitors will be able to experience a different version of Punchdrunk’s intimate, linear immersive tale.  Photo: Punchdrunk Written by Booker Prize-shortlisted Daisy Johnson, Viola’s Room reimagines Barry Pain’s classic gothic mystery The Moon-Slave for a new audience. It distils two decades of Punchdrunk’s immersive practice into an intimate, linear, audio-driven adventure that promises to suffuse the dreams of those who dare to follow the light. Photo: Punchdrunk The production is conceived, directed and designed by Artistic Director Felix Barrett, with co-direction by Associate Director Hector Harkness (One Night, Long Ago; The Third Day) and design by Casey Jay Andrews, who was part of the design team on The Burnt City. Working with Punchdrunk for the first time are Lighting Designer Simon Wilkinson (Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Vanishing Point’s Metamorphosis), and Sound Designer Gareth Fry (Complicité’s The Encounter; V&A’s David Bowie Is, Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser and Diva exhibitions). Photo: Punchdrunk Viola's Room will run until 23rd December at One Cartridge Place in Woolwich. Tickets are on sale via punchdrunk.com ,  priced from £28.50 per person. To keep up to date on the latest immersive experiences in London, follow us on Instagram . ​

Photo: Grant Walker Santa’s back, baby! This November, London’s immersive Christmas dive bar, HUMBUG, is back in town and, this time it promises to be even bigger, even better and even more raucous than before. Shaking things up for the festive season, the team at HUMBUG will be firing up the snow machines and sprinkling a little mischief into the magic at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane from 14 November – 31 December.   Revellers are invited to step into Christmas and Santa’s cherished watering hole where an unbelievable world of live performances, sing-a-longs, games, immersive storytelling and festivities awaits along with an increasingly weary Santa who needs cheering up … and fast! Photo: Grant Walker   Santa’s been working overtime for centuries and he’s hit breaking point so, of course, he’s back at his favourite dive bar where Christmas cheer (and booze) is available on tap. Along with some of Santa’s closest friends, guests will be tasked with bringing their Christmas A-game, ready to help the big man get his groove back and, as long as they do, everyone will be rewarded with an epic party complete with confetti canons, merriment and festive surprises.    Double the size for this year, guests will be able to enjoy brand-new rooms and spaces including a hectic mailroom, Santa’s ‘Grotto’, a shrine dedicated to queen of Christmas Mariah Carey and a festive-themed beer can bowling alley. Along the way, guests will encounter a line-up of the finest cabaret from HUMBUG regulars including Daphne the waitress, Rudy the landlord, Howard the mailman and the big man himself. With space for over 200 guests per night, it’s the ultimate festive knees up with the greatest holiday tunes of all time (step up Mariah), live on-stage entertainment, a massive hit of nostalgia and an epic house band playing every night, all set against a backdrop of colourful Christmas lights, dazzling neon’s, mistletoe and festive memorabilia – too much tinsel? There’s no such thing at HUMBUG!  Photo: Grant Walker   Throughout the night, guests can sip on festive tipples from HUMBUG’s ‘Naughty or Nice’ cocktail menu including the ‘Bah F*****g Humbug’ –  rum, chocolate liqueur, oat milk, crushed Oreos & whipped cream, topped with a mince pie  – before refuelling in the spacious outdoor courtyard where they can tuck into a full menu of festive-themed street food from Bang Bang Burger including an epic Christmas burger, festive bites and desserts with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.   Photos: Grant Walker HUMBUG! runs at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane from 14th November to 31st December 2024. Tickets are priced from £25.00 for Balcony and £35.00 for General Admission. For more information, and to book tickets visit humbugchristmas.co.uk