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Screamworks, London's premier immersive horror creators, return with Open House - a new experience for Halloween that fuses immersive horror and escape rooms. In recent years, ScreamWorks has earned a reputation for creating London's best immersive horror experiences. Their debut show, Bloodbath, launched in late 2022 and was unlike anything else on offer in the capital at the time. It pushed the boundaries of immersive theatre to an extreme and saw visitors being force-fed, tied up, undressed, and chased through an air vent on their hands and knees. Last year saw them launch The Ghost Hunt - another exceptionally scary immersive horror experience that had guests make their way through a Victorian house illuminated only by torchlight. Set within the abandoned home of the Luff family, who all met their end in bloody murder-suicide in 1937. Visitors were invited by paranormal investigator Hector Phoenix to explore the family home and discover the truth behind what caused their horrific deaths. "I think it's the scariest show we've done yet by far. We're building on the things that have worked so far in our experiences, but it's always been about psychological fear more than anything else." ScreamWork's Gary Stocker on Open House: The Escape Room Bloodbath by ScreamWorks (2022) For 2024, they return with Open House: The Escape Room. The experience is a combination of immersive theatre and escape room elements. ScreamWorks CEO Gary Stocker describes it as their most exciting immersive concept yet, and the culmination of everything they've learnt in the last few years. "I've always liked escape rooms for the fact that they really are quite immersive and give you a little bit more agency," says Stocker "but then there are some massive challenges with them that we've been butting our heads against - trying to tell a story in an escape room is almost impossible. People want to play the games, but they're so disruptive to the story because you can't really make someone believe that they're in a real story and then suddenly you go 'throw these ping pong balls into this cup to get a clue'. We needed a format where the games could work and coexist, but still allow us to tell a story." The Ghost Hunt (2023) by ScreamWorks The official description for Open House: The Escape Room is as follows... East London’s most haunted house is up for sale, and seasoned ‘escape agent’ Jason Shepherd has teamed up with ScreamWorks to present one of the most innovative house-hunting events of the season: Open House – the escape room. What better way to explore and experience the highlights of this unique property than to be locked inside for up to two hours, with a delicious drink from our brand sponsor and a host of fun games and challenges to complete? Possessed by the previous inhabitants for almost half a century, this enormous Victorian mansion is dripping in history, full of characters, and the perfect forever home for a young couple or family looking to take their lives to the next stage. With a bathroom to die for and a suite of bedrooms that will guarantee you rest in peace, this captivating property won’t cost you an arm and a leg! While the house has a guide price of £666k, the current vendors are keen for a quick sale and are willing to accept any offers whatsoever. Bloodbath by ScreamWorks (2022) Open House will run between 60 to 90 minutes depending on the choices visitors make. They will have complete freedom to choose their path, and those who are curious enough may uncover hidden secrets leading them down even more terrifying routes. Gary Stocker is eager for people to explore these options: "It's perfectly possible to come to this experience, play the games, and leave thinking that there was nothing else to it. However, there's a game inside the game to be found. For those people who are curious enough to explore and find it, they will end up having a completely different experience. We've decided to reward the curious and, in many respects, punish them too. We'll reward you by making you feel like you're going to die." Bloodbath by ScreamWorks (2022) Each group will be guided by Jason Shepherd, the property's "escape agent," who serves as both guide and game master as visitors complete a series of puzzles and tasks. For each completed task, there's a small gift from one of the show's brand sponsors, plus a complimentary drink during the house tour. Screamworks will also provide digital copies of photos and videos taken during key moments of the experience, accessible via a portal on their website. According to Stocker, this addition was developed in response to frequent requests from visitors: "It's a really nice addition because when everyone leaves our shows, they always ask 'Is there any chance I can see some footage from the CCTV cameras of this bit?' We basically have a full-time team actioning customers' requests at the minute for the footage. So now that this is launching, it'll happen automatically." Ghost Hunt by ScreamWorks (2023) Tickets for Open House are priced at £45.00 per person, with options for either public or private time slots. Each slot can hold between 2 to 7 people, and returning visitors will receive a discount if they wish to come back and try alternative paths through the experience. You can book via screamworks.london Photos from ScreamWorks' previous productions. Open House runs in Bethnal Green from 27th September 2024 until 3rd November. Tickets start at £45.00 per person and can be booked via screamworks.london

Midnight Circle Productions, the immersive theatre company that previously mounted Immersive Picture of Dorian Gray at Crypt (Bethnal Green) earlier this year, return for a two-week run of Frankenstein: An Immersive Show in October. Directed by Nicholas Benjamin, the adaptation of the 1818 Mary Shelley gothic novel will see the audience enter the memories of Victor Frankenstein against the backdrop of dingy pubs and creepy laboratories in Victorian London. The immersive show will take place at Crypt in Bethnal Green and will welcome visitors from 3rd October until 14th October. The show's official synopsis is below... Descend into the depths of the Crypt Tavern; a home of sailors, abandoned dreams and dark secrets. Amongst this rabble lurks Victor Frankenstein, a man with a past deeper and darker than you would ever guess. A story of loss, pain and one man's scientific folly. The question is, is he running from it or frantically pursuing it? The cast has been confirmed as follows... Victor Frankenstein will be played by Miles Blanch Caroline Frankenstein will be played by Nadia Lamin Elizabeth Lazenza will be played by Niamh-Handley-Vaughan Robert Walton will be played by Nicholas Benjamin Alphonse Frankenstein will be played by Harry Harding Henry Clerval will be played by Michael McGarry William Frankenstein will be played by Piers Mackenzie All photos by Roj Whitelock Speaking about the upcoming adaptation, director Nicholas Benjamin comments. Frankenstein has always struck me as a grossly misused text when it comes to the media of film. Say the name ‘Frankenstein’ and you’ll probably think of some crazed mad scientist screaming ‘It’s alive! It’s alive!’, or even worse a hulking figure with bolts coming out of its neck. To me ‘Frankenstein’ is a study of human grief and its potential repercussions, the actions of its titular character are inspired by his desire to overcome the mortal weakness of death. However, it’s through these actions that the real weaknesses of humankind are shown, anger, obsession, and denial. By once again giving the audience the choice on what aspect of the story to follow, I hope to give them the chance to view the actions of grieving humankind and conclude whether they are justified. Together let’s discover at what point a man creates a monster -- Frankenstein: An Immersive Show runs from Tuesday 3rd October to Saturday 14th October. Tickets are priced at £27.80 and can be booked via eventbrite . Find out more about Midnight Circle Productions via their Facebook page .

Amber Jarman-Crainey has announced her latest immersive theatre production, BOUND, will be premiering on the 24th August 2024 at Bargehouse on South Bank. BOUND encourages people to process, explore, and reflect upon their grief through a multi-sensory experience. Photo: Rachel Patrice Fallon B O U N D gives you the opportunity to step into the heart of the story and discover your own pathway through the production, whilst immersing yourself in nine stories developed from real examples of grief and loss shared through movement, live music, theatre and art. Amber started to create BOUND as an outlet for her own grief after losing her older brother in 2020. Her interest in movement and performance has always focused on human behaviour and memory, which is reflected in the curation of BOUND through the set, storylines and score. She's also been working with a small team of specialists to build the work, including industry-leading performers, grief specialists, doctors, charities and artists. Photo: Rachel Patrice Fallon The aim is to create a space where the audience has the power to lead their own journey and view what they feel interested in or connected to. The show is spread over five floors of Bargehouse, which will be home to nine storylines told by eight physical theatre performers. The cast for BOUND includes Lucija Bozicevic, Rosalia Panepinto, Vinicius Salles, Dominic Coffey, Adrienne Ming, Angela Smith, Lee Clayden, and Julian Nichols. Photo: Rachel Patrice Fallon Each story has been developed from either the performer's experience or an interest in the concept. Movement has been inspired by physical and emotional reactions to grief, with the key storylines found in BOUND being Living Grief, Shelter, Gaslight, Rooted Love, Therapy, Mourning Meadow, Time, and Subconscious Mind. Each room within Bargehouse has been designed to give the audience the chance to engage with a tactile space. As the audience ventures through the building, they will find, for example, a wild meadow, twisted willow structures, draping, and installations. Filling the space will be an original score created by composer and musician Ann Warren. Amber and Ann have worked together on previous projects, including the award-winning short film 'Clamber.' The audience will move in and out of the sound until reaching the top floor, where the audience will be immersed in cello music played live by Madeline Napier. Photo: Rachel Patrice Fallon BOUND is gifting a limited number of free tickets to students who are 16+ and studying an area that connects to B O U N D and Licensed Therapists who are considering alternative ways to support clients in processing grief and loss. Amber Jarman-Crainey recently spoke to Katy Naylor at voidspace about the show. Click here to read that interview and find out more about the show. BOUND runs at Bargehouse, near Blackfriars station, from 25th August - 8th September. Tickets start at £11.55 for students and £15.87 for general admission. To book and find out more, visit coinstreet.org

In the spoiler-heavy second half of our interview with writer/director Jack Aldisert, we dissect the key moments in The Manikins: a work in progress. Photo: Marc Tsang This interview contains major spoilers for The Manikins: a work in progress.   Immersive Rumours: So Jack, let's dive into specifics about some of the big moments in The Manikins. After entering the venue, there's a pre-show briefing in which you explain to participants that if things get too much for them, they can loudly say 'I want the show to stop'. You're planting a seed for later in the show where people need to say that phrase as part of the narrative. It's a really interesting subversion of the typical immersive theatre rules... Jack Aldisert: It goes back to what I was saying earlier when I was talking about Ligotti and layers of reality and incorporating the participant's reality into the piece as one of many. I think a very effective way to do that is through conventions and the subversion of conventions. A convention is something which is totally expected to the degree that it disappears into the background. For example, when you go to the theatre, you expect that there's a bar, you have drinks at the bar, there's a bell that rings, you go into the auditorium, you sit at your seat, you're chatting with whoever you came with, lights go down, the crowd hushes. Everyone knows to do all those things. There are these framing devices like the curtain opening, which are conventions that signal the shifting frames of the show. Because they are conventions, they disappear into the background. There's nothing realer than that because it's totally unquestioned. Every time we subvert conventions, it's like we're grabbing a chunk of the participant's experience of reality and putting it into the fiction or revealing to them that it was always part of the fiction. That's powerful because it takes something so real that you never would have thought to question it and makes you realise it was part of a fictional scheme or fictional framework. [The 'I want the show to stop' line] was always part of the show, but as something real - we didn't subvert it. It was there in case they wanted it to happen as an actual safe phrase - which it still is. People still could use it like that, even after it gets subverted. It's those things that I think make the piece powerful because that's what helps the piece eat your reality. There's a fantastic book by Bert O. States, Great Reckonings in Little Rooms: On the Phenomenology of Theatre. There's a section where he says something like 'The history of theatre, especially when it comes to its avant-garde development can largely be characterised as a gradual colonisation or appropriation of reality.' He argues that all of the most avant-garde theatre in its day has been avant-garde and gotten its power from how it takes something real and uses it within its fictional or theatrical framework in an unexpected novel way. That's what I think we're trying to do with this, incorporating reality into the piece in a novel way. Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor. There's a question that gets repeated a lot by the characters to the participant or to each other - 'Who are you?'. One of the things I love most is when the participant gets asked that and they say 'I don't know anymore'. That tells you it's working. IR: Another element of the show that I think is incredibly interesting, and it's something we mentioned in our review , is that the participant ends up playing as much of a role in the experience as the two actors. They start as a version of themselves, then they're playing a version of that performance's actress, at one point they're the Doctor, then they're playing a version of you as the Director amongst several other roles. It's a really effective way of having people lose their sense of self during the show. Jack: Yeah, it's another attempt to transfer a literary technique or concept from weird fiction into a theatrical medium. Something that's classic weird fiction is that it's not just your sense of reality that gets subverted and altered, it's your sense of identity. Often there's a theme in weird fiction of an interchangeable and permeable sense of identity where the characters don't know who's who anymore. They get exchanged with each other. There are a couple of really useful qualities of theatre that can harness a sense of shifting and permeable identity. Something else that States talks about, when you're watching the theatre, you're inherently watching two worlds at once. You're watching the world of Hamlet and the world of Olivier. You're seeing both simultaneously. They oscillate between each other. He talks about how great actors are the ones who are able to use themselves in the performance to make the performance of the character even stronger. The idea is to put the participant in this situation, which goes back to the identity crisis that Sophie Nield talks about. The identity crisis is what happens when you take that Hamlet/Olivier split off of a stage, which a more traditional audience is watching, and you put that dichotomy into a conversational interaction with an audience member. We try to fuel that intentionally by having the participant be asked to play multiple roles, which is again just a convention of theatre - the actor playing a character becomes something that makes you feel like your identity is shifting. One of my favourite moments is near the end of the show, there's a question that gets repeated a lot by the characters to the participant or to each other - 'Who are you?'. One of the things I love most is when the participant gets asked that and they say 'I don't know', or 'I don't know who I'm supposed to be anymore'. That tells you it's working. That's what I want them to feel like. I don't know exactly what, but I think this piece is doing something around identity essentialism . You take a person and maybe they construct their identity based around a certain set of characteristics or they say 'My identity is essential to who I am. These certain identifiable traits about me are essential to who I am', and the experience that you go through in this show isn't that. At the end of the day, you might find yourself playing five different roles. You see other people playing you and anyone can play anything in the show. It's not just the role you're playing that changes, it's what that makes you feel about your identity changing. Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor I don't think of this piece as something I've made, I think of it as an activity that I do with whoever else is involved in it that day. IR: This is quite a big statement, but The Manikins is the closest I've ever come to having a life-changing experience from a piece of theatre. In the realest sense possible, I felt like a different version of myself when I walked back out that door, and the old version of me was left behind. It's an incredibly powerful thing. Jack: Fantastic. You can't ask for anything more as a creator. A friend and I talked a couple of years ago about who theatre is for. We were talking about how in both of our experiences, theatre really is for the actors. You're giving a performance to the audience. but in my mind, the core of the magical transcendent experience of theatre is the experience of being an actor playing a role in this suspension of disbelief and the feeling that you get from the experience of leaving yourself in a way. Finding a different version of yourself feels like the transcendent part of theatre. What we talked about was that one of the great potentials of interactive theatre would be to give that experience to an audience member who doesn't have to have any experience as an actor or in doing immersive or interactive work. Giving that experience of what it feels like to be an actor in a role to someone who hasn't had that before and doing it in a way that we support them, the process of them becoming that is part of the storyline of the piece. That's why at the very beginning I explicitly say, 'I want you to feel like you're inside the story, but without you having to act. I don't need you to pretend to be someone else, just somewhere else.' The whole thing is telling them at the start, you don't need to be an actor, you don't have to act. Of course, by the end of it, they've been acting their asses off. Most of the time without even knowing it, without even noticing it. One of my favourite moments in the piece is the scene where they become the doctor and they're interviewing me, where I'm playing probably the closest version to myself of any other point in the show. The vast majority of people, even people who characterise as very passive participants in that scene, do lead and do push the scene forward. I'm thinking in my head as it's happening 'Wow, this person must have acting experience. This is a fantastic performance'. Then you talk to them at the end, and they've never acted in their life. We had one person the other day who just stared at me in that scene. I thought she was trying to make a power play or make a choice in the scene, in the way that an actor would make a choice in a scene. It turned out she was just really nervous and she didn't know what to say. She was trying to put on a veneer of confidence and wait for me to say something. I do think people get to experience what it feels like to have that sort of transcendent stage-acting experience through this. I don't want to sound like I'm talking myself up because I don't think about it that way at all. A piece of work is something you find rather than something you make - you find it. I don't think of this piece as something I've made, I think of it as an activity that I do with whoever else is involved in it that day. Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor IR: The 'intermission' interview that happens after passing through the curtain a couple of times I imagine catches people off-guard. It feels like a break from what is going on, but in the five minutes between the end of that conversation and the recreation of that conversation after taking off the headphones, for me was the moment where everything clicked into place. In the first couple of scenes, answering questions as either myself or Serena [the actress performing during our show], you're still trying to find your footing and work out exactly what is happening, but haven't yet dived into the dream space. It's a pivotal scene. Jack: Exactly. I talked earlier about the turning point for me in terms of the creation process was when I had that realisation - the meta stuff from the dream. I'd been asking people questions like that during the workshops, so the interview really just came out of the idea I had for that turning point scene where the actor is playing you. I had that idea and we just needed something to set that up, so we do a false intermission interview, which is why the show needs to still be referred to as a work in progress in the marketing, because it justifies the existence of that intermission. The main idea there goes back to when I first wanted to have a naturalistic office - you take off the headphones and eye mask and you're in a completely new space. What was exciting about that was you're now in a world of unlimited dream-like possibility, and it's undisputed - the situation just makes you inherently know that you're in that world of open possibility now, where it's like a dream and anything could happen. That's the feeling I wanted to give them. It came from when you're in a dream, and you can see someone in the dream, for example a figure that you know is your mother. She doesn't look like her, but you know that that person, despite their appearance in the dream, is who you think it is. That scene you're talking about is in my mind, a way to take that experience, which seems like it's only possible in a dream, and give it to the participant, They know, suddenly in that moment, without us having to say what's happening, they are having an out of body moment, where they're seeing someone else being them. Then we come over to them, and we ask them for director's notes, and they realise that they've become the director. No one has to ever acknowledge that in the scene, we don't have to hand you a script that tells you, we don't have to tell you what the situation is. We've set it up with quite a lot of logical plotting and planting of details so that in the moment of payoff, it feels like you're feeling the truth of that situation in the way that you feel the truth of something in a dream. Most people say that that's their favourite scene, and I know for a lot of the actors who play the Secretary, that's their favourite scene to play. It's really, really fun. Most people keep their directing notes to us very simple, or they don't know what to say at all. It can be very fun sometimes when people give us some wild ones. It's the turning point of the show because it signals that you've now entered the place where anything is possible, as in a dream. I think it also signals to people as a device that they have more agency and more room to improvise than they previously realised. Everything that comes after that is set up to be as open as we can make it in order to encourage them to use that agency. Photo: Marc Tsang IR: Speaking of agency, there's a moment that comes towards the end of the show where the participant has complete freedom in how to proceed. Is there a scenario in which people can break the show by doing nothing? I certainly found the number of possibilities in that moment a bit overwhelming. Jack: The only way that someone could break it is if they did something harmful or dangerous or sat in a corner and just kept going like, "La, la, la, la, la, la, la," and wouldn't engage. The only way to break it is act entirely outside of the framework we've created. But we've created an extremely broad framework so someone would have to do something not okay to break it or they'd have to refuse to engage entirely. Besides that, one of the backing devices that makes the whole second half work is that if something happens that's just too difficult for us to control, we can snap out of the show instantly and we can snap into our capacities as actor and director and we can dictate what's going to happen next, which we haven't had to do for that reason ever. I feel very secure in knowing that that's a possibility. IR: Do you think people would accept that as being a break from what's going on or do you think people would just assume it's another layer of the show? Jack: Depends on how we played it. It could be either of them for us too. We could use that however we wanted to. The last resort if something goes really wrong or if the participant is feeling really uncomfortable, they need out. You've set up this device where the actor and the director themselves are also part of the show and fictional characters as well. So to bypass that, the easiest way to do it, the final resort is to go outside, leave the venue, remove costume pieces, go outside and just be very clear that it's over or you're out of it and that I can either talk you down from here or I can just step away, go back inside and leave you to it. We've never had to do that. There are things you can do to prove that it's true. Parts of the show are wanting to give the participant the experience of reality that I have sometimes had in my life. The way that reality seems to me a lot of the time is it's dark, it's chaotic. There are a million and one things that you could choose to do with your life or with your day or with your hour. There is no ultimate authority that is going to be able to tell you which of those is right. You just have to do something because otherwise you rot. I wanted to take that experience of things and put it into a piece of theatre so that the participant could feel a heightened and metaphorical version of that experience for the last 15 minutes of the show. They feel like a tightened version of 'Wow, there are so many possibilities. There are all these figures around who are confusing, but they're telling me that they know what to do. They're telling me that they have it figured out. They have the right way to do it. They have the path that needs to be followed but there's nothing that's going to tell me which of them I should trust'. There's also the possibility of making my own path, but then I'm confronted with infinite options, and that's just as crushing. Do I follow the path that either one of these two characters is laying out for me? Or do I try to do something myself? Or do I just sit here and wait for someone to figure it out for me? Either of those options should feel equally daunting I think. --- For further discussion with Jack Aldisert on The Manikins: a work in progress and immersive theatre, check out voidspace's interview on voidspacezine.com The Manikins: a work in progress ran at Parabolic Theatre's Crypt in Bethnal Green from 3rd June to 13th July 2024. Visit themanikins.com  to find out more about the show. Deadweight Theatre is currently crowdsourcing funding to bring the show to a new London venue this August and send the show to Gothenburg Fringe in September. To support them, visit crowdfunder.co.uk/the-manikins

Following on from our five-star review of The Manikins: a work in progress, we sat down with writer/director Jack Aldisert to discuss the show’s inspiration, development, and why there will never truly be a final version of the script. Our interview with Jack Aldisert has been split into two parts. The first half is below, while the second half, which contains spoilers for the show's major plot points, will be released in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on ImmersiveRumours.com for the conclusion of our discussion. Photo: Marc Tsang This interview contains reference to several moments within The Manikins: a work in progress.   We would recommend those with tickets to attend avoid reading until after their visit. Immersive Rumours: Hi Jack. Thanks for speaking to us today. We're currently sat in Crypt where The Manikins: a work in progress is being performed, and to be honest with you, it's a disconcerting feeling to be back here after experiencing the show for ourselves. How have the last few weeks of performances been and what has the audience reaction been like? Jack Aldisert: Everyone's really loved it. It's been really nice, especially because with the way the show works you're immediately talking to them about it at the end. It’s been a relief that everyone has loved it so far, and to not have been in a close quarters situation talking to them afterwards and they're not satisfied.  In terms of reactions and what people take away from it, the show's so open to interpretation. There have been a few people who have taken away what I feel like I would take away from it, which is a sense of being totally overwhelmed by choice and possibility and having to make a decision amongst chaos. That’s the feeling I wanted to give people - total unreality and chaos and the idea of having to choose the right path forward when there are many paths and no one will tell you which one is right. You have to figure out what to do.  I think when I feel most satisfied at the end of a show is when the person feels like they don't know what's real anymore and they feel like their own reality has been fully enmeshed with the visions of reality that the show presents. IR: You've previously cited several writers of weird fiction for the inspiration behind the show. Can you tell us about how you came across this kind of work and the impact it had on the show's creation? Jack: I was reading a lot of the philosopher theorist Mark Fisher, he has mostly written political and cultural theory, but he has one book called The Weird and the Eerie. In that book, he dives deeply into the genre of weird fiction. He referenced so many different pieces of media in that book, and it was my first time hearing about weird fiction as a genre. Jeff and Ann VanderMeer have an edited volume called The Weird and in it, he references Thomas Ligotti, who I'd never heard of and calls him something like an ‘undisputed modern master of the weird’.. He's one of the handful of authors who have gotten a Penguin Classics collection of their books while they were still alive - it's a huge deal, but I'd never heard of him, and he's so obscure, no one knows who he is. He has this style of writing that is like nothing else I've ever read. It's this crazy mix of Edgar Allan Poe-style Baroque prose mixed with super modernist experimental writing and metafiction like [Jorge Luis] Borges or [Vladimir] Nabokov. He creates these stories where a character experiences a breakdown in reality and where their reality is invaded by other horrific realities - the seemingly unreal. He uses metafictional devices to make the reader feel like their own reality is being pulled into that. For example, he has this fantastic story called Notes on the Writing of Horror: a story. It’s written as an essay about how to write horror, but then it turns into a horror story, the centre of which is the writer of the essay. That inspired the title of the show as well - The Manikins: a work in progress.  As I was reading those stories, I just kept thinking that the thing he's trying to do here in a literary form of using metafiction is to reach out and pull you into it. In interactive theatre, you can actually do that. You could take some of the techniques that he uses in a literary form and actualise them, making it so that they are actually happening to the audience member.  If it's done right - a piece of immersive theatre can take the audience member's own sense of reality and make it one of those layers within the fiction. That is a success to me when the participant feels like their reality has just become one of the many layers of reality that are part of the show. Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor. IR: Can you talk us through your experience of studying at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and how The Manikins first began as part of your time there?  Jack: At the end of lockdown I was trying to choose between two Master's programmes. One was at Royal Holloway, and the other course was at Central. The course at Central is all about experimental devising, collaborative work and avant-garde stuff. It was a really, really difficult choice, but I’d had a lot of ideas about immersive and interactive theatre that I wanted to explore, so in the end that's why I chose the Central programme - I knew I would be allowed to experiment with that stuff. They encourage everybody in the last few months of the first year, to form companies on the course and then create a piece together - that's how Deadweight Theatre formed. The second year of the MFA I did was an independent project where you could really do anything you wanted, which is when I decided to do The Manikins. Really it was my MFA project, and you have to frame it as a research question, really. IR: What was the research question? Jack: Well, the thing I kept running into with immersive theatre was audience participation. In interactive work, there's always this level of disconnection because of the layer of artifice of characters being played. If you're an audience member and you're interacting with an actor who's in character, there's always a level of, for lack of a better word, embarrassment and confusion in the situation. A big part of that is that you've got a large group of people, usually other audience members, watching you interact. This factor of being perceived by a group of people is going to limit what you're comfortable doing in the interaction.  Let's say there’s a wizard, I know when I'm talking to this wizard that the actor playing them sees me as an audience member who's come to the show. I don't know who the wizard sees me as, standing here in my modern clothes with a weird name suddenly appearing in this environment. It creates this two-directional pull - do I respond as a character that I'm somehow making up on the spot right now?, or do I respond as myself, which doesn't make sense because it sort of breaks the world? That plus the factor of being watched felt like the barriers to truly immersive interaction in my mind. So my research question - which I thought was an impossible question - was about overcoming those barriers. It was about how to create a method for writing, rehearsing, and performing scene work in which one of the scene partners is inherently totally unpredictable because they're an audience member. Those were the questions I was trying to approach and The Manikins formed around answering those questions. IR: When you began to explore if you could break down those barriers, what were you drawing from to begin with, and how did that help the development of the show? Jack: There's a fantastic essay by academic and author Sophie Nield , who I believe is at Royal Holloway, that's from when Punchdrunk was first doing their masked shows. She talks about that quote-unquote identity crisis that's created in the situation I described. It's a fantastic essay. The masks that Punchdrunk use - that's one solution to that problem. If the rest of the audience is masked and you're masked, the embarrassment factor goes way down. I thought, okay, how do we create a controlled environment to study that effect? Well, just get rid of the rest of the audience entirely so it's just the one participant. Remove the being watched by an audience factor entirely. Initially, I was using sources like the Ligotti stories, which are about the breakdown of reality and the breakdown of identity as content for the experiments we did as we were devising together in the room, workshopping stuff. I took a month off from the work, and during that time I had this dream. I woke up from it with a realisation - the way that you get around the identity crisis isn't by eliminating it, it's by incorporating it. You take the identity crisis inherent in immersive and interactive theatre, and you make it the core of the dramaturgy of the piece. You make the piece about the participant experiencing that identity crisis and you build the piece around that. Before that, I’d been trying to eliminate the problems. When I had this realisation about the identity crisis, it was that when we’d been testing the early fragments of the show, I had naturally found myself talking to people about the piece. 'Here's what we're trying to do. Here's my goal with the piece. This is what we're working on. This is what I'm hoping to get out of it.' At the end of what they were trying - which were the first scenes with the doctor and the secretary - I would ask them questions about how it was going.  I realised that the extra meta layer I'd been saying to participants to frame the show had to be part of the show, and we use that as a device to heighten the audience's experience of the identity crisis, which will now be the core of the piece. That was the moment everything came together. From that point on, it just felt like a refinement process. Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor. IR: How different is the version of the show that existed when you were at Central to the version running now at Crypt? Jack: There's been three significant versions of the show. The first one I did as the culmination of the programme in May of last year - I didn't think there would be a life for the show beyond Central, but we got such encouraging feedback. I thought 'Okay, let's keep going with this'. One of the tutors from Central who saw that show in May very kindly offered us a space to do the show at Central for five participants over two days in November, alongside me teaching a workshop to that Master's program on making interactive work.  When you're more deeply into the dream space, that has been very different each time we've done the show, but it has always ended in the spotlight in one way or another. It’s so hard to take plot threads in a show like this and tie them together effectively. All of the changes have really been about how do we make the experience more exciting and trippier for the audience member in the second half of the show, and also do that in a way that makes sense dramaturgically to tie any possible narrative threads together. I worked extensively with a couple of great dramaturgs , Harley Winzenried and Audrey Regan, over the first few months of this year leading up to the Crypt run to improve the text.  IR: Do you think this version of the show is the final one, or are there still things that you would like to try and tweak as time goes on?  Jack: I’ve got two answers to that. The first answer is that it's almost the final version... We've been tweaking it a little bit even as we've been running it so far in Crypt. I think there's still room for improvements in the finale section, and also in the section that comes afterwards when we're talking to the participant about the show. The second answer is, once you get into the dream zone, anything can really happen. There are so many exciting things we could pursue, and actually several of the most important and exciting moments in the second half of the show came from improvs that we did because of an unexpected audience choice in an earlier version of the show, which I then incorporated into the text.  We had one participant, back when there was still a physical mannequin in the show, take the lab coat off the mannequin, put it on, and then enter the next scene as the doctor. That resulted in us doing three scenes in a row that were completely made up, including one of my favourite moments, which is when there were two doctors confronting each other, trying to figure out who was the real one. I was then looking for a way to incorporate that moment because I thought it was so much fun. The show can never really be 100% completed because there's always going to be the possibility that an audience member will do something so interesting that we then want to use it.  When I was first thinking about what kind of immersive theatre I would like to make, I was reading a lot of books on dramaturgy and narrative structure in media. I was looking into classical music structure and at the idea of a cadenza in a classical concerto - where the music in the concerto is written and you're playing it note for note, but then there's a blank section of two minutes or so where the soloist plays a full improvisation, which is incorporated into the non-improvised structure of the piece. I got really into the idea of 'How do you do a cadenza in an immersive theatre piece?' and that's what I'm trying to approach with the finale. Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor. Those are the most powerful and exciting moments for me as a performer - when it feels like the performers and the participants are equally together in what's happening and are equally inside the dream space that's been created.  IR: Has performing a show that plays with reality and dreams so much affected you and the other cast members as you’ve been performing it? Jack: Yeah. You totally slip into the headspace of the show. I've had moments where I'm playing myself or I'm playing the doctor, and I'm legitimately feeling like I'm in a dream. Because the last couple scenes of the show are so open to the audience member doing, trying, saying anything, some people stay really passive in that situation and some people try some crazy stuff. We had a situation the other day, where we had a participant try something really different. We were in a situation we'd never been in before, I was playing the scene, and then the show stopped and I felt very confused, very overwhelmed, and when it stopped I felt like it was still happening. I said to the other actor and the participant after the show, 'Wow, I just had the participants experience for like a good five minutes'. I was feeling what the participant must be feeling during that section of the show normally. The show, I think, has that element of a spell being cast, and there have been certain situations where the spell gets cast on the casters as well. Everybody gets pulled into this dream together, and those are the most powerful and exciting moments for me as a performer - when it feels like the performers and the participants are equally together in what's happening and are equally inside the dream space that's been created.  Photo: Marc Tsang IR: We need to ask you about the set design for the show. It's basically made up of a curtain and two sets of chairs. Did it go through several different iterations during its development before you landed on this design? Jack: We’ve tried to free it entirely from naturalism. A big part of the development process has been working with the designers and collaborators to rid the show of set pieces, props, anything that was a direct, mimetic, naturalistic representation of reality so that the participant is fully creating the whole world in their own mind as they go along with it. The possibilities are limitless when you approach it that way.  It was a hilarious process with the scenographer, Min Feng, who's an incredible designer. We started off looking at making walls and doors and an office. Each time I'd meet with her, we ended up taking something else out. This is definitely the best version of the set. It's so simple, it leaves everything else to the imagination. It's just light, darkness, and the curtain. I also think that the red curtain is very powerful as a symbol. It's great because it's in the space as a symbol of theatre, and the imagination element of theatre. It also provides the very satisfying action of parting the curtain and passing through it as a threshold - it's sort of a palate cleanser. Each time you go through it, it’s as if we have 30 different rooms that you're going into when really it's just one room. The curtain makes it feel like you're imagining a whole new space each time you pass through it. Even if we got a bunch of money all of a sudden, we would just stick with that one single red curtain hanging in the space. IR: We’re in a venue run by Parabolic Theatre. Similarly to The Manikins, Crypt hosted another immersive show last year that was born out of someone's studies - Bacchanalia by Sleepwalk Immersive. How has it been working with them on this run of the show? Jack: I can't speak highly enough of Parabolic, they're awesome. Everyone on the team is just the nicest people ever. When we did the show a year ago, Danny Romeo, who now writes on Phantom Peak, saw an early workshop version of The Manikins. He introduced me to Tom Black, who was an awesome participant and did some really fun stuff. He loved the show and ended up putting me in touch with Owen [Kingston, Artistic Director of Parabolic Theatre] in the fall. At the time, I had been extremely frustrated by trying to find a space to perform in that was affordable or to get someone to program us.  When Owen said he was interested, I was expecting maybe like a week or two at best. We talked and he ended up offering us six weeks. That was the exact opportunity that we needed. There is literally no one else in London or as far as I know, in the UK, who would have made us that offer off the strength of a script and off the strength of his colleague having seen the show. It was such a rare and brilliant opportunity, and I'm totally indebted to them. Beth Atkinson - who is part of their team - has been stage managing the show and she's been brilliant. She's made the show so much better and more efficient by working on it. IR: We mentioned in our review that a logical comparison for people to have made when the show was first announced was with Punchdrunk. In reality, the only thing the two shows really share is 1:1 interactions. Was that comparison something you thought about when writing the show? Jack: It's an interesting one. The first Punchdrunk show that I saw was The Burnt City, and we were already well into the development of The Manikins. I've read a lot about Punchdrunk and their work, and I did finally manage to see Sleep No More when I was in New York last year, but that was also well after the show had been written. When I was still an undergrad, a mentor of mine who had worked on props at Sleep No More back in the day told me about Punchdrunk and Sleep No More. I'd heard of site-specific theatre, but I had never even heard of immersive theatre until I was probably 21/22. She told me about it and the concept just blew my mind. Then lockdown hit and I couldn't see any immersive theatre, so I had a couple of years where I was just imagining what it would be like, reading about it and imagining what is the potential, what would I want to do in that form. I knew that within Punchdrunk shows they had 1:1 interactions, and I also knew that that was what I was most interested in about what I understood about Punchdrunk. But I also knew that it was a very particular style of interaction in those 1:1s. I've only personally ever been in a single 1:1, but my understanding was that there wasn't that much room for the participant to structure the narrative in those moments or talk in those moments. In my mind, in drama and in theatre, it's the verbal argumentation that is the core of it.  I was interested in trying to take what I thought were some really exciting ideas in the Punchdrunk 1:1 scenes, especially the dream-like nature of it. That was something I've always been really interested in - using theatre to recreate a dream space and a dream mentality, and I think Punchdrunk does that so well. I was interested in how could you combine that with conversational interaction, because they on their face seem to be almost clashing with each other. It would be really difficult to create a dream-like interaction if you're talking and articulating yourself heavily. But I thought maybe it might be possible. The idea of The Manikins being like a 90-minute 1:1, I totally see that as a comparison. Of course, on a technical level, and in terms of what the experience feels like, is completely different. I've seen something that Katy [Naylor of voidspace ] has said about it in an interview where she was talking about the show being like the dream-like feeling of a Punchdrunk show or Punchdrunk 1:1 but with the facilitated space for full agency. --- Part 2 of our conversation with Jack Aldisert is available to read here . The Manikins: a work in progress runs at Parabolic Theatre's Crypt in Bethnal Green from 3rd June to 13th July 2024. Tickets are currently sold out, but you can visit themanikins.com  to find out more about the show.

With A Most Mechanical Murder returning for one night only this June at Phantom Peak, we interrogate Moonstone Murder Mysteries Creative Director Sam Emmerson on how to craft the perfect immersive murder mystery event. Immersive Rumours: Hi Sam. Thanks for sitting down with us today. Do you mind letting us know how long Moonstone Murder Mysteries has been running and how many shows you've launched since it first started? Sam Emmerson: It was Halloween 2017 when we first launched in London and the Southeast, but there's a Moonstone Theatre company in the South West of England that's been going for 15 years now. I was with them for a couple of years before starting it up here. Moonstone Theatre Company very much comes from a dining experience background, and it's in the last few years that we've moved more into the immersive experience game. I actually lost track of it at one point, but we've launched around 30 shows to date. IR: How do you go about devising and scripting that many shows? Sam: Generally, either a strong coffee or a large glass of wine tends to help. One of the things that's quite interesting about how we work - although we do the big immersive experiences like we've got coming up with A Most Mechanical Murder, and when we previously did Cyanide In The Speakeasy last year, we mainly do things for private parties and a lot of it is bespoke stuff. For about 1/3 of our shows, the clients will say 'Look, we want to do a show for our venue' or 'It's our 60th birthday' or 'We're getting married. We'd love to do a murder mystery in this sort of world, or this sort of theme' so you get a bit of a jumping-off point there. Alternatively, for the two new dining experiences that we've got for this year, we were just spitballing ideas and going, "What areas have we not touched yet that we think would be popular?" That's why we've got a show set around horse racing and the other one set like in a Renaissance Fair LARPing festival. So do you typically start at a concept or setting and work backwards? Sam: That's the way of creating shows that I find works best because ultimately - for a murder mystery in particular - although there are so many different avenues you can go down, in terms of creating motives there are only really 10 different categories that it can fall into. The order I always go in is to figure out the world that you're in, and then who would then fit into that world. Once you've got that established, then you find the link. That's why the more unique the setting, the more fun you can have. The hardest ones to write, to be honest, are the really generic ones. If it's set in an office, we've got nothing to build off. We did a live lockdown series on Zoom for 12 weeks where we played a new show every week and some of them were 'What are the strangest settings we can think of?'. One was set on the sound stage of a children's TV studio where a clown had been suffocated with a custard pie. Because of the bizarreity of it, you can be so playful with the options there. Moonstone Murder Mysteries Zoom Shows. Photos: Moonstone Murder Mysteries At the end of June you're running A Most Mechanical Murder at Phantom Peak in Canada Water. Can you give us a brief overview of the storyline for the show? Sam: The premise of A Most Mechanical Murder is that the town of Phantom Peak has gathered for the funeral of a murdered robot. However, as the last rights and the user warranty are being read, they realise someone's not there and the Health and Safety Officer of the town has also been found murdered. Fortunately, Inspector Rutherford just happened to be in town at the time, and goes 'Whilst I'm here, I've called on my detectives across the land to come into Phantom Peak to solve the case'. So the audience then set about solving both a human murder and a robot murder at the same time. With A Most Mechanical Murder, the show is set within the universe of Phantom Peak. What kind of things did you have to consider when taking over another shows space for one of your shows? Sam: Firstly, the venue is amazing. Because Phantom Peak is such a unique and big world, it gives us so many different ideas about where we could go. The challenge is making sure that anyone who'd been to Phantom Peak before believed that this had some link to that world without getting too bogged down in the huge amount of lore and information that it already has within it, while also having it so people who'd never been to Phantom Peak before weren't isolated. When we ran it previously, about 1/3 of the guests came because of Phantom Peak, 1/3 came because of us, and 1/3 had just booked because they liked the look of the show but hadn't been to one of our events or Phantom Peak before. It's a little bit of a balancing act with those sorts of shows. Our story is outside of the Phantom Peak canon, and the way we explained that was the dumbest way we could think of. When anyone who had been to Phantom Peak before asked us where the town's usual townsfolk were, we told them they'd gone off to compete as part of the Rhythmic Gymnastics team for the Jonalympics. Photo: Alistair Veryard When you take over a space, how do you make sure it's clear what is part of your world, and what's just part of the venues you've taken over? Sam: Well, the last time we did the show was a little bit like herding cats at one point because Phantom Peak's got things like Videomatic codes written everywhere - we made it explicitly clear that if we tell you it's a clue, it's a clue. If you find it randomly spray-painted in a corner of a dark room, it's not a clue. People would still do it, but I love it despite the confusion it caused because it meant people were really into the game that they were playing. When we did Cyanide In The Speakeasy at the COLAB Tavern in 2023, we had the space for three nights a week. COLAB Tavern had a lot of nooks and crannies from previous shows at the venue, and we had a whole thing where you snuck through the back door to get into the speakeasy. On the first night we did the show, someone found a cabinet filled with fake guns that we didn't know existed, and we also had people coming up to me with random little bottles of poison and I was going "Where did you find this?!" and they'd say "Oh, it was behind that locked door." Cyanide In The Speakeasy at COLAB Tavern. Photos: Moonstone Murder Mysteries This is the second time that you're mounting A Most Mechanical Murder. What were the big takeaways from when it ran previously? Sam: Fortunately, as a whole, it worked very well! There's a couple more interactive elements that we're currently looking to develop so there's always something to do. We only used the indoor space last time, this time we're opening it up to use indoor and outdoor so there's a nicer audience flow. When it's a murder mystery, everyone is 'Okay, go, go, go.' So we're trying to make it clearer to take it at your own pace. You don't have to be running around constantly the whole time because you knacker yourself out by the start of the second half! Sam Emmerson as Inspector Rutherford. Photo: Moonstone Murder Mysteries Your cast is made up of comedic improvisers. How much freedom do they have to go off-script when interacting with guests? I imagine there's a balancing act of improvising and still having to hit specific story beats. Sam: We give our team probably a much longer leash than most companies do. With A Most Mechanical Murder, the actual script is three times the size of a standard Moonstone Murders script. There are scenes that are scripted and will play out - basically the top, the middle and the end of the show where everyone's together. When they're on their own, they have certain points to hit, but they never know what's going to be asked. If an audience member wants to go down a completely random rabbit hole, our actors will go with them. If they want to go and just drill them on facts of the case, they'll also go with it, because it's their night, and it's how they want to play. It's a game within a show, but it's a show at the end of the day. If people get it wrong, that's entirely on them at the end of the night, but if that's the way you people to enjoy our show, we're more than happy to go with them on it. My ethos with our shows is 'Did you get it? Great. Did you get it wrong? Oh well. Did you have fun?'. Moonstone Murder Mysteries run events all over the country. Have you noticed a different between how regional audiences approach the shows compared to London audiences, who might attend immersive experiences more regularly? Sam: Our audience is on the whole quite a broad church and you never quite know what you're going to get. I find London audiences - and I mean this in a good way - they make you work a bit harder sometimes. Whereas sometimes when you go to a place that doesn't have as much available, it's got a different atmosphere to it. I think the great thing with London audiences, especially when you're surrounded with immersive theater fans, is that they will stress test what you've got in every which way. You get a different satisfaction from knowing that things truly do work under that stress test. Murder mysteries seem to have an enduring popularity through all kinds of media. What about them do you think has allowed them to remain so popular and for Moonstone Murder Mysteries to do so well? Sam: One is the curiosity for the morbid in all of us, I think. Because something like murder is so abhorrent, none of us could ever imagine doing it. It becomes almost fantasy, in a sense. That's why our shows are lighthearted - you'd never set a murder mystery experience in a modern-day setting where someone's been in a gang fight or someone's been stabbed. But if you set it on a train in the 1930s and everyone's wearing outfits and doing silly accents and having it off at the back of the train, then that's all kosher - that's good to go. On a lighter level, I think especially the British, we're just very nosy people. So when someone goes 'This has happened, I'm not going to tell you the answer to it.' It's that curiosity of 'I've got to know now', and an actual murder mystery most of the time is just fun. When someone admits to a murder in real life, everyone is appalled. It's a very sombre moment. When someone admits to a murder at the end of a murder mystery event, generally someone will shout 'Hang him!'. You get what I mean? There's a very big difference between reality and fiction. A Most Mechanical Murder runs at Phantom Peak in Canada Water on Thursday 27th June 2024. Tickets start at £36.50 and can be purchased here. Thanks to Sam Emmerson for taking the time to speak with us.

Punchdrunk have today announced Helena Bonham Carter as the narrator for the world premiere of their new production, Viola’s Room. The show opens at the company’s home in Woolwich this May for a limited run. The narration is pre-recorded and audiences will be guided by Helena’s voice, scripted by Daisy Johnson, through headphones. In Viola’s Room, barefoot, and wearing headphones, small groups of up to six at a time will feel their way through a maze-like installation as an unseen narrator guides them on a sensory journey to reveal a story of innocence lost and obsession unleashed. Written by Booker Prize-shortlisted Daisy Johnson, Viola’s Room reimagines Barry Pain’s classic gothic mystery The Moon-Slave for a new audience. Image: Punchdrunk ​ On being part of Viola's Room, Helena Bonham Carter said: Having long been a fan of Punchdrunk, when Felix (Barrett) shared the concept of Viola’s Room with me, I was captivated. How could I resist a gothic fairytale interpreted through Daisy Johnson’s febrile pen, layered with Punchdrunk’s incomparable sensory craft and magic?  It’s an honour to be narrating this truly unique experience.’ Punchdrunk Artistic Director Felix Barrett also said: It was a pinch me moment hearing Helena bring Daisy’s words to life. What an icon - and what a truly mesmerising enchantment she brings to Viola’s Room. I’m beyond thrilled to offer our audiences the chance to have Helena Bonham Carter whisper in their ear and delicately, deviously steward them through our dreamworld.’ 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). ​ Viola’s Room will take place at Punchdrunk’s home at One Cartridge Place, Woolwich. Viola's Room will begin previews on 14th May, and will run until 18th August in Woolwich. Tickets are on sale via punchdrunk.com, priced from £28.50 per person.

A new immersive experience is set to launch in London in March 2024. Bridge Command - which will see participants become the crew of a starship battling to save humanity - is the latest production from Parabolic Theatre, who have previously mounted immersive shows including Crisis? What Crisis? and For King and Country. With two different mission styles on offer - Military Mission and Exploration Mission, the experience with allow for an experience that matches the participants' play style. While both will involve combat, the Military Mission will focus more on ship-to-ship confrontation, with the Exploration Mission seeing the ship go where 'no other craft has gone before'. Professional actors from Parabolic Theatre will join the action as various characters that the crew meet on their journeys through space. Each participant will take on a different role within the ship within four main groups, which are... Operations Team, who are responsible for the overall running of the ship with roles including Weapons, Comms and Helm. Science Team, who will focus on the route of the ship and new findings, with roles including Navigation and Radar. Engineering Team, who will look after the maintenance with roles including Power Management and Damage Control. Command Team, who are responsible for leading the crew and making the big decisions, with roles including Captain and First Officer. The custom-built starship set will respond to events within the story - everything from enemy attacks to ship malfunctions will directly impact the physical set causing systems to break and sparks to fly. Additionally, the experience's episodic format means participants have the opportunity to continue their story in subsequent visits, with events and decisions from previous missions being remembered and influencing the content of return visits. Tickets are on sale now via bridgecommand.space. Previews begin at the end of March 2024, with dates up until mid-June currently available for booking. Prices start at £40 per person Stay up to date on this and everything else immersive in London by following us on Instagram or X.

Later this week The Space near Mudchute will become home to Your Christmas Carol Experience. With only 10 audience members enterting at a time, the show will engage with their own stories, connections, and memories as they encounter the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Ahead of the show opening, we spoke to the show's director, Kelsey Yuhara, to discuss the show's conception, how they've adapted the Charles Dickens classic, and what audience members can expect from the show. Photo: Phokal Hi Kelsey. Thanks for chatting to us. Do you mind telling us a bit about yourself? Sure! I am Kelsey Yuhara, a multi-disciplinary artist working in immersive and site-responsive performance, theatre and improvisation. I am performing regularly with Comediasians, CSI (Crime Scene Impro) and BATSU! London at the Underbelly Boulevard Theatre. Later this week Your Christmas Carol opens at The Space. Can you tell us what inspired the creation of the show? I was taking a walk on a crisp autumn day and just talking about ideas. I was walking past a church nearby where I had thought vaguely, years ago before the pandemic, about collaborating on a walk-around Christmas Carol in various locations.  This year, however, I thought about what would happen if the story was mostly about the ghosts - because I love the idea of ghosts. The more I thought about it, the more enticing it was to dive in and imagine an experience where one would be encountering their own past, present and future spirits. A Christmas Carol is a beloved festive tale, how are you planning on putting a unique spin on the story? As a theatremaker, I'm probably the last person who others would think would want to adapt a traditional tale because I love new writing and contemporary projects.  This take on the classic tale though, is truly modern. There's no Scrooge. It's not taking place in Victorian times. None of the human characters you otherwise have come to associate with Christmas Carol feature either. I explained this to someone the other day and they asked "Well, is it even still A Christmas Carol?" And I feel, yes and no. The audience in this version are in the position of Scrooge and you'll encounter your versions of memories and 'ghosts'. I don't assume that everyone is a stereotypical miser, but I do think there is an element of Scrooge or Scrooge logic in all of us - which is why it's such an enduring tale. The themes and intentions of Dickens' original story I believe come through in this take - but you're going to experience them with many of your senses (except taste unless you stay for a mulled wine in the cafe afterwards!) - and also magic and your imagination!  Essentially, even though it is based on an enduring classic, it is a thoroughly modern take, and it is Your Christmas Carol Experience (emphasis on 'your' and 'experience'). This version, I should note, is also not for the passive watcher. There is, of course, some watching, but you'll be engaging too. Photo: Phokal It's an intimate experience with only 10 audience members entering at a time - can you speak a little about how that allows you to craft a more engaging and immersive experience for guests? I was thinking about why any audience would choose to go to a live performance (as opposed to watching A Christmas Carol on Disney +, which the 2019 miniseries I also, for the record, think is great). Ten is the number in this instance, that we can reasonably fit into some of the spaces we're using. The use of these smaller spaces is also a choice and an opportunity to play with each space as its own atmosphere and world. We want the past, present and future to feel distinct and by moving into different spaces, I feel like audiences will get that sensation of going on a journey.  There is also more close interaction with performers, where dissolving the fourth wall in this case, I hope will make audiences feel more immersed in the experience and a part of it. Can you tell us a bit about the cast for the show? The cast is a wonderful mix of talents all bringing different strengths in dance, puppetry, improvisation & immersive performance, physical theatre, magic & mentalism, clown, music and choir.  It's really, really exciting to have so many skills to draw on and enhance the experiences in each space.  They're all vibrant and proactive creators in their own right and it's an honour to be working with them on this show. We have the following cast performing for you in Your Christmas Carol Experience: Time Keeper – Romer Spirits of the Past – Yuxuan Liu, Noah Silverstone and Ashlee McIntosh Lantern Bearer – Emma-May Uden Spirit of the Present – Andrew Phoenix Present Aide – Hannah Hawkins Spirit of the Future – Mahalakshmi Spirit of Now – Sofia Zaragoza What are you hoping audiences will take away from the show? I hope that, as always, we remember what we are grateful for during challenging and uncertain times; that in the depth of winter, there is a rebirth coming; to find new ones and remember to cherish the connections we hold dearest, and to reconnect with our own power over our destinies. Looking forward to the new year, what projects do you have coming up? Following this run, we would love to grow Your Christmas Carol Experience for the coming years. Lilli and I will continue to be working on Rain Weaver which is a devised production that we started last year. We'll be expanding the casting and hopefully take it to Edinburgh Fringe. There is also some new writing coming up that Lilli is producing and is excited about. At the moment, she is not allowed to disclose when and where but give TO a follow at @toentertainmentltd, and we will keep you posted. Your Christmas Carol Experience runs at The Space near Mudchute on 21st and 22nd December. Find out more about the show here. Stay up to date on this and everything else immersive in London by following us on Instagram or X.

Next month will see the opening of Once Upon A Kingswood Christmas - an immersive Christmas experience in South London. Running from the 16th to 23rd December, Once Upon A Kingswood Christmas is set within Kingswood House - a 19th century, 32-room mansion in South Dulwich. The family-friendly immersive promenade experience is put on by Cerebrum Entertainment, who have previously mounted a version of the show at Wentworth Woodhouse near Sheffield. Cerebrum Entertainment is an immersive events company that has previously produced experiences for the likes of Universal (Halloween Ends in Picadilly Circus) and New Line Cinema (It: Chapter Two at The Vaults). Delve into the magical world of 'Once Upon a Kingswood Christmas' and embark on a journey that will spark wonder and joy in the hearts of both young and old. Our show is a celebration of love, family, and the true spirit of Christmas. Immerse yourself in a captivating tale that will transport you to a winter wonderland like no other. Let your imagination soar as you discover the origins, traditions, and joyous inspirations behind this new and exciting Christmas Fairytale. With every moment you spend, you'll be captivated, amazed, and filled with the warmth of the holiday season. Help Bella find the Fairtyale Alliance, rescue Father Christmas from the clutches of the Snow Queen and save the Festive Season! Here's the trailer for the experience... Tickets are priced at £20 each, or £70 for 4x general admission tickets. Children under 2 years old are free. Once Upon A Kingswood Christmas runs from 16th to 23rd December at Kingswood House in South Dulwich. Find out more about the experience, and book via onceuponachristmas.uk

Sleepwalk Immersive have announced the cast for their debut show - Bacchanalia, an immersive retelling of The Bacchae by Euripides. Set to open later this year at CRYPT in Bethnal Green, each show will see an audience of just 40 audience members explore the space with six performers. Take a trip to the city of Thebes, where King Pentheus believes he has everything under control - that is until his divine cousin Dionysus turns up seeking revenge on the family who have expressed doubt about this upstart god’s status. Witness first-hand the clash between mortals and the divine. You will ask yourself … do you deny a god? The creative team behind Sleepwalk Immersive includes Sebastian Huang as Artistic Director, Ruth Howard as Movement Director, Maya McQueen and Peter Broughton as Associate Directors and Madeleine Houghton as Executive Producer. The cast features Jordan Ajadi (The Burnt City), Ruth Howard (Sleep No More, The Greatest Night of the Jazz Age), Christian Loveless (Phantom Peak, Tomb Raider The Live Experience), Fionn Cox-Davies (The Drowned Man, The Burnt City), Peter Broughton (The West, Phantom Peak) and Fania Grigoriou (The Burnt City, The Drowned Man). Full Cast List: Jordan Ajadi Ruth Howard Christian Loveless Fionn Cox-Davies Peter Broughton Fania Grigoriou Sleepwalk Immersive is also running a Kickstarter campaign for the show that includes rewards ranging from signed posters to show access with 'exclusive access to a one-person pre show experience'. You can back the project here. Bacchanalia opens on 12th November at CRYPT in Bethnal Green. For more information visit www.sleepwalkimmersive.com

After almost a year of silence COLAB Theatre - the immersive theatre company behind shows including The West and Crooks 1926 return later this month with the premiere of The Descent, a one-of-a-kind Greek myth experience set to thrill and terrify audiences this Halloween. Described as a 'journey through the Underworld, where visitors will embark upon a harrowing journey into the unknown', the show will see a limited group of only 20 guests per performance travel with Orpheus on a treacherous journey to the underworld to find his love, Eurydice. It will be an intimate, highly intense experience that will test audience's trust and courage. COLAB Theatre have previously run a series of immersive horror experiences including Echoes (2021), Flicker (2020) and Silence (2019). Artistic Director Bertie Watkins comments... Immersive theatre has the potential to create the ultimate Halloween thrill. We created The Descent to push the boundaries of immersive horror and plunge our audience into the aftermath of an Ancient Greek Myth. Audiences will experience an intimate, up-close, and personal journey, whilst influencing the narrative. The Descent will run from Friday 20th October to Saturday 18th November 2023 at COLAB Bankside. Tickets start at £28 and can be booked via colabtheatre.co.uk