Photo: Callum O'Keefe Have you ever wanted to spend eight hours in a basement watching a mysterious young man perform increasingly desperate rituals in a fruitless attempt to receive a blessing for a murder he already knows he must commit? I think most people would say no. Even to me, an admittedly slightly obsessive immersive theatre fan, seeing the entire show seemed ridiculous. Eight hours following one actor who never takes a break sounds dangerously close to performance art. I had planned to catch the first couple of hours of Ritual and then head off; the show was small, after all, only two rooms and a long hallway. I’d have a quick poke around and then leave. But the longer Ritual, written by Michael Bontatibus and directed by Charlotte Murray, went on, the more determined I was to see it through. What’s the show about? Well, explaining the entire cursed history of the House of Atreus would take a lot more time than I have here, but to cut it down to the essentials: Orestes has been put in an impossible position. His father’s sacrifice of his sister provokes his mother into murdering him. Now Orestes is literally honour-bound to avenge his father by committing his own act of kinslaying, and so the cycle continues. Photo: Callum O'Keefe The domestic setting of an unused basement really drives this home. Orestes (Charlie MacRae-Tod) is surrounded by boxes containing old holiday decorations, childhood toys, and beautifully rendered dioramas depicting his family’s bloody history. I do think this show would be difficult to follow if you weren’t already familiar with the myth, but for those prepared to go digging, the set has been lovingly littered with clues. Tarot cards mark passages in books, pages cover the walls, and a beautifully designed family tree has literally been split in half by the sins of the past. Even the washing machine contains a window into all the past events that are keeping Orestes trapped here. Trapped as he is, Orestes paces between the two rooms, sometimes like a caged animal and sometimes like a lonely child. He splits his time between restoring Apollo’s temple and writing increasingly desperate letters to anyone he can think of, begging for a sign and begging for the gods to speak to him as they once did. Photo: Callum O'Keefe For long portions of the show, he’s silent, and we must piece together what he’s thinking by snatching glances at what he’s writing. Does this ever get slow? Absolutely! I made sure to tell my friends who were seeing the show the next day that any time Orestes picks up a lampshade, they should take that as their signal to head to the loo. But arts-and-crafts breaks aside, the story the cast can tell is impressive and nuanced. The plot is driven by a series of visitors who drop by to offer comfort, advice, or simply violently attack Orestes. Fans of immersive theatre in London will rejoice to see Jack Aldisert (Deadweight's The Manikins) and Lily Jo Ockwell (The Burnt City), among these. There are enough deep cuts to keep classics fans happy (I particularly enjoyed the chilling message from Tantalus), but there are also a lot of creative additions. It was wonderful to see Cassandra and Orestes argue over the extent to which they are both victims of Apollo’s schemes. These visitors add to the surreality of the situation and push Orestes towards a gut-wrenching realisation that everything is not as it seems. From there, it’s a spiral downward. Photo: Callum O'Keefe Orestes is physically and mentally tormented by Lily Jo Ockwell as a Fury and maybe something more. This plays out in a series of increasingly ambitious dances with lots of partner work. These dances, at their peak, are very effective, if occasionally a little under-rehearsed-looking. It all builds towards a cathartic fourth-wall-smashing climax that had me delighted I made it through and a little concerned for the well-being of MacRae-Tod. Do I think this show will ever have mass appeal? Absolutely not. It’s an eight-hour test of endurance for the obsessives. But as one of them, I can tell you this: if you’ve been waiting for bold, genuinely different immersive theatre in London, Ritual is a very good sign. ★★★½ Words: Hannah Jagoe Witness' Ritual ran at COLAB Tower near London Bridge on 21st and 22nd February 2026. To stay up to date on future productions from Witness, visit witnessimmersive.com

Photo: Angelina Cage If you survived the end of the world, what would you be willing to do to stay alive? What would you hold sacred? Would you be able to live with the decisions you had to make? Those are the questions posed in What We Must, an interactive storytelling experience from theatre maker Aaron James Oliver that draws inspiration from tabletop roleplaying games. Taking place within one of COLAB Towers' atmospheric tunnels, What We Must asks the audience to imagine that they're part of a burgeoning post-apocalyptic settlement somewhere in a ruined London and must traverse the city against the clock to not only return to safety but also warn their community of an impending threat. The exact details of who, when and why are left up to the audience, who collectively decide on the finer details of the apocalypse together at the start of the show. On the night we attended, the group decided that for us, the end of the world had been caused by a household AI that gained sentience and set off the world's nuclear arsenal while trying to make some toast, but the potential options for how the world ended are endless and left to those in attendance to decide, with everything from zombies to pandemics and climate change all on the table. Regardless of what is chosen, the world has ended, and we, as a group, are doing what we must to survive. Once the world has been sketched out, the show narrows its focus from collective invention to personal introspection, with each audience member asked to note down on small wooden tokens something their post-apocalyptic character treasures, someone they care about within the larger group, and their feelings towards their present position in the world. Although these notes don't tie directly into the show's story until its final moments, they serve as a grounding exercise to get those in attendance thinking about the toll of existing in the world they've just created and influence their thinking as the story plays out, encouraging them to remain true to the persona they've privately created. Photo: Angelina Cage In the centre of the tunnel, surrounded by the audience, sits a board that depicts the five steps the audience needs to advance through to make it home safely, as well as five lights - one of which is extinguished with each passing day. On each of the five days, a problem stands between the group and progress, and their decision on how to tackle it dictates whether they move forward, stay where they are, or are knocked back. During our playthrough, we came up against a bridge close to collapsing, injured strangers in desperate need of help, rival gangs, and the opportunity to do some much-needed looting for supplies. While they're all fairly well-trodden tropes of post-apocalyptic stories, the conversations and debates they spark force the audience to think about how they'd respond in those situations and state that choice for all to hear. Thankfully, there's nothing within What We Must that would cause raised voices and proper disagreements between the group, but as anyone who's ever played a TTRPG game or taken part in an experience that relies heavily on audience discussions will tell you, the loudest voices often win out and hold the greatest influence. While the group votes on all final decisions, the show's story is set in a world that's unfair and unforgiving. To that effect, everyone can choose to act ruthlessly and in their own best interests by overriding the group's decision and forcing their choice through, thanks to a skull token given to each audience member that can only be played once. If one of these tokens is played, their decision wins out, even if only a single player decided to do so. This selfishness has a cost, though - a die is added to the next day's roll, increasing the chances of rolling a six and lowering the group's chance of future success, potentially derailing their journey home. Depending on your personal feelings towards each of the problems posed throughout What We Must, the idea of being ruthless will land differently. During our playthrough, the group largely leaned towards being selfless and attempting to leave our ruined world slightly better than we found it. On the occasions that some disagreed with that idea, the idea of using a skull token quickly became the focus of the limited time given to talk through each scenario. Those who have a more pessimistic view will likely find themselves trying to gauge where the rest of the group stands and weigh up if others agree to potentially hold off using their skull token until later on, while those in favour of being altruistic will be trying to keep others on side. Photo: Angelina Cage Acting as a gamesmaster throughout, Aaron presents each scenario with fittingly evocative and powerful storytelling. Environmental details, characters and situations are all described in detail, creating a vivid picture in the audience's mind, and with each new day, the intensity increases. By the final days, the decisions got harder, the consequences greater, and the odds of survival slimmer. Alongside communicating the show's world to the group, Aaron deftly responds to every decision and question throughout, adapting and reshaping the story on the fly, meaning every show is unique. Adding to this, there's a live score by Viola Pippin Wood that soundtracks the show. Made up of sustained, minimalist drones, the score works overtime to underpin the story's bleak setting and add weight to every debate and story beat. Come the show's conclusion (which incorporates all of the group's personal notes from the show's opening), it ramps up to an emotive crescendo that complements Aaron's parting words perfectly and gives the final act of What We Must some real emotional heft. Photo: Angelina Cage In recent years, TTRPGs have seen a huge surge in popularity. While admittedly, it's not a world we're well-versed in, their influence and impact on popular culture (driven largely by Dungeons & Dragons) are still clear. The success of venues like RPG Taverns near Borough and The Archanist's Tavern in Hoxton, which both focus on creating spaces for people to engage with TTRPG games outside of their homes, shows that there's a huge number of people looking for meaningful experiences that revolve around communal storytelling, and the use of TTRPG mechanics in live experiences is giving creators new ways in which to create worlds and audiences new ways to experience them. With What We Must, Aaron Oliver has created an engaging and memorable piece of interactive storytelling that's as powerful as it is bleak. It's ideal for those looking to dip their toe into TTRPGs and see what all the fuss is about, fans of post-apocalyptic stories like The Last of Us and The Walking Dead, and those curious to see if their moral compass aligns with others. ★★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] What We Must ran at COLAB Tower from 30th October to 1st November 2025. To stay up to date on future performances, follow Aaron James Oliver on Instagram at @aaron_oliver_storytelling.

With Earth due to be destroyed to make way for the construction of a Hyperspace Bypass, audiences have to hitch a ride to the outer reaches of the galaxy in this immersive staging of Douglas Adams' much-loved sci-fi series. Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the best-known and most-loved sci-fi series of all time. Starting life as a BBC radio series in 1978, it later spawned a series of novels, a television series, a feature film and a highly successful video game. Along the way, Adams' series gained a devoted following, became endlessly quoted online, and influenced a lot of the technological developments we've seen unfold over the last few decades (X's Grok is said to be directly inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide, Google's AI research lab took its name from Adams' work, and Wikipedia is basically our modern-day version of The Guide, to name just a few examples). Now, for the first time in several decades, a proper live stage version of The Hitchhiker's Guide has opened in London. Taking over Studio 2, Studio 3, and the connecting corridors of Hammersmith's Riverside Studios until 15th February 2026, this immersive promenade production, written by Adam's protégé, Arvind Ethan David, invites guests to join Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect as they hitch a ride off a soon-to-be destroyed Earth and begin their search for the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. While the Live Show's story largely follows the main beats of Adams' original novel, it plays around with its timeline, adds a number of musical numbers, and incorporates elements and characters from some of the later books in the series. Most notably, the character of Fenchurch, who is mentioned on the first page of the original Hitchhiker's novel as an unnamed character and doesn't return until the fourth book, is front and centre in this production as Arthur's love interest. Our condolences to those whose favourite character is Trillian... Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West For long-time fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide, this rather dramatic reworking of Adams' original series might seem sacrilege, but by Adams' own admission, it has been the norm for Hitchhiker's since its inception. In preparation for attending the Live Show, we re-read our copy of the original novel, which features a 'Guide to the Guide' from Douglas Adams as a foreword. In it, he explains, "The Guide has appeared in so many forms... each time with a different storyline that even its most acute followers have become baffled by at times". He then explains how all the different versions of the story contradict each other over the following page and a half, so take the Guide's advice and Don't Panic just yet... The experience begins with guests gathering in The Horse and Groom for Arthur Dent's Surprise Farewell Party. Arthur's best friend, Ford Prefect, is a ball of energy, frantically running around, welcoming guests and putting together the finishing touches. Behind the bar, everything from warm lager to Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters are being served. For Arthur, who's already had quite the morning dealing with a bulldozer trying to knock down his house, this party is surprising for two reasons - the audience all scream 'Surprise!' as he enters the room, and he's not planning on going away anytime soon. For Fenchurch, who's also at The Horse and Groom to meet Arthur for a date, their mind is elsewhere, as they were on the cusp of having a world-changing revelation, which has seemingly slipped their mind entirely. An announcement on the pub's TV screens from the Vogons (voiced by Sanjeev Bhaskar) - an alien race employed as the galaxy's bureaucrats - decrees that Earth is due to be destroyed to make way for the construction of a Hyperspace Bypass. With the clock ticking, Prefect sticks out his thumb, and the farewell party, along with Dent (but notably not Fenchurch), hitch a ride on a passing ship and begin an adventure across space that ultimately leads them to Magrathea, an ancient planet long thought destroyed. Along the way, there are encounters with two-headed President Zaphod Beeblebrox, the much-loved Eccentrica Gallumbits, designer of planets Slartibartfast, and the depressed robot, Marvin the Paranoid Android, amongst numerous other intergalactic characters. Photo: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy While admittedly, it's a pretty unenviable task trying to condense the essence of 700+ pages, a feature-length film and 30+ radio episodes down into a 90-minute live show that mirrors Adams' voice and humour while remaining accessible to newcomers, on the whole, Arvind Ethan David has done an admirable job of trying to distill all of that source material down into something that works, even if it glosses over a lot of the novel's finer points. Many of the ideas fans would expect to be included, including babblefish, the exodus of the world's dolphin population and Arthur's endless hunt for a good cup of tea, have been omitted for the sake of time and barely get a mention. Superfans will be glad to hear that the show's use of The Guide, which is voiced by Tamsin Greig, is skilfully deployed throughout. After Prefect leaves his bag with a guest aboard the Heart of Gold, a voice cries out from inside asking to be charged up. When pulled from the bag, it flashes with a low battery warning and begs to be plugged into a charging station, which causes its catalogue of endless knowledge to be projected onto the ceiling of the space, delivering some rapid-fire context on the now-destroyed planet guests have just left behind. Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West It's worth mentioning that throughout the show, there are a number of musical moments, none of which give thanks for the endless supply of fresh fish. Starting in The Horse and Groom with a duelling performance between Prefect and Fenchurch that uses 4 Non Blondes' 'What's Going On?' and Gnarls Barkley's 'Crazy', right the way through to 'Amazing Grace' and Kenny Rogers’ 'Just Dropped In' later in the show, Hitchhiker's musical selections are wide-ranging. All of these songs are performed live by the show's cast, who give it their all, but their inclusion is, at least at first, slightly baffling. Whether it's down to the Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters or our increased investment in the show's characters by its conclusion, we found ourselves won over by the show's musical moments and walked away from the experience feeling like they worked, even if they're a left-field addition to a story that's already struggling to fit everything in. Of course, your mileage on this will vary depending on your feelings towards musical performances in theatre. Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West Benjamin Durham's portrayal of Arthur Dent, who acts as the audience surrogate in the opening scenes, is wonderfully charming and throughout, he has the energy of a lovesick puppy as he shows far more concern for kindling a relationship with Fenchurch than for the impending destruction of Earth. Tamara Saffir's interpretation of Fenchurch effectively sells the blossoming relationship between her and Dent, even if Fenchurch's role in the story is pushed to the sidelines in the second act. Lee V G's dual-headed Zaphod Beeblebrox, who appears both in person and through pre-recorded video content, balances having all the bravado and bluntness you'd expect for the President of the Galaxy with a far softer and more approachable side, depending on which head is awake in any given scene. Of all the main cast, Matt Colyer's performance as Ford Prefect stands out as the strongest. With years of experience improvising with guests as Halloway in Phantom Peak, it’s no surprise that they’re right at home in the most interactive moment of Hitchhiker’s Guide, weaving through the audience and striking up conversations at every turn. Throughout the show, Colyer's Prefect regularly reference previous conversations and calls on guests by name, on top of delivering an energetic performance as one of the most extraverted aliens this side of the Hyperspace Bypass. Andrew Evans's puppetry and voicing of Marvin the Paranoid Android also shine through as a particular highlight, with large crowds forming around Marvin in the hope of speaking to them one-on-one. Their repeated asking of people's names, only to dismiss their answers as unimportant, and go-to party trick of claiming to know every song in the known universe, then completely butcher its delivery, drew some big laughs from the audience. As a piece of puppetry design, Martin's mix of exposed wires and rusted exterior is a far cry from their sleek, spherical portrayal in the 2005 Touchstone Pictures film, but they contain just as much contempt and self-loathing, regularly sharing their self-diagnoses with guests. Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West The show's supporting cast, whom guests encounter upon arriving in the cargo bay of the Vogon Construction Fleet, also provides further chances for one-on-one interactions. Set across several bays, there’s the snot-worshipping Jatravartids, stirring up a bowl of the green stuff and asking for further contributions, the three-breasted Eccentrica Gallumbits (Briony Scarlett), who roams the space striking up conversations with potential customers, and the Vogon Complaints Department, where guests can take a queue number and explore their desks and endless bureaucratic documents. Guests have between 10-15 minutes to explore this open space at their own leisure, which also contains a merchandise stall decorated to be a campaign stall for Zaphod, and grab themselves a drink at the in-world bar. One of Hitchhiker's Live's weaker elements is the set design, which sadly feels pretty barebones throughout. Large black curtains cover some of Riverside Studio's studio walls, which goes some way to contain the show's world, but at times, the guts of the studios are still on display with next to no dressing covering them. Moving between the show's main spaces (particularly from The Horse and Groom into The Heart of Gold) feels like walking down a nondescript TV studio corridor, and the later transition into the Vogon Construction Fleet ship has guests walking past numerous studio wall boxes. While most shows don't have the kind of budget Secret Cinema has, comparing the off-world portions of Hitchhiker's Live to Secret Cinema's past sci-fi offerings, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, feels like night and day. At no point does it feel like the audience has actually left Riverside Studios, let alone Earth, which is disappointing given the size of the spaces Hitchhiker's Guide has taken over, and its potential to be completely transformed. Photo: Jason Ardizzone-West While long-time fans of the series will likely have issues with the live show's omissions and changes, for us, The Hitchhiker's Guide Live is an enjoyable and entertaining romp that (mostly) succeeds at adapting Adams' source material into a 90-minute show. Even if we didn't feel like we ever truly left Earth behind, the show's strong performances, fun interactions and hugely likeable cast make this an experience that's worth jumping on board a stranger's ship for. ★★★½ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Live runs until 15th February 2026 at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Standard tickets are priced from £42.00, and VIP tickets are priced from £72.00. For more information and to book tickets, visit hitchhikerslive.com For more reviews of immersive experiences like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Live, check out our recent Reviews.

Phantom Peak caps off the year with another set of exceptionally fun festive trails in their top-tier Christmas offering, Wintermas. Photo: Alistair Veryard Hot on the heels of its recent Halloween season, Phantom Peak returns with its annual festive offering, Wintermas. Running until 18th January 2026, this Christmas edition of the open-world immersive experience brings with it 11 new story trails, a festive retheme to the town, and the latest developments in its three-year-long overarching storyline, which is close to reaching a climax with the much-teased 'Great Undoing' now on the horizon. As an experience, Phantom Peak continues to offer excellent value for money, endless opportunities for engaging and fun interactions with the show's cast, and some of the sharpest and funniest writing available in any production, anywhere in the country. With Wintermas, the show's creative team have delivered another stellar collection of trails that are up there with some of the best they've ever produced. Photo: Alistair Veryard Regular visitors to the mining town will be familiar with the show's tried-and-tested formula, which has been continually tweaked and refined with each passing season. Four times a year, there's a town-wide retheme, accompanied by a fresh batch of story trails that deepen the town's already dense lore. Through these trails, guests explore the 30,000 sq ft town, interact with Phantom Peak's 15+ residents, engage with the numerous pieces of off-kilter tech, and solve puzzles over the show's 4-hour duration. While the focus of each storyline differs wildly from trail to trail, they're all packed full of humour and lead you down a rabbit hole far more bizarre, irreverent and offbeat than the starting point ever suggested. For those keen to collect all of this season's individual trail cards, which are given to guests upon completion of each storyline, it'll take at least 3 visits. That's without giving yourself time to sink your teeth into the various other distractions on offer around town, which this season include a trio of carnival games, fully functional in-world arcade machines, communal competitions, the ever-popular competitive sport of Platyhooks, and, of course, a visit to Father Platmas' Grotto (which is an additional upcharge). Photo: Alistair Veryard Picking up the ongoing storyline from Phantom Peak's Hallowed Peak season, this year's Wintermas finds the town reeling from Mayor Pocket's recent removal from office after failing to capture several fugitives wanted by JONACO - the all-knowing corporation that oversees Phantom Peak. At the top of the Most Wanted list was the sausage-fingered Dr Furbish, the town's previous Mayor. Previously thought to have died years earlier in a blimp crash, Furbish is in fact alive and well, living in puppet form and currently taking part in a reality dating series on the Moon (stay with us here…). For Wintermas, JONACO's Head of Marketing, Lovehart, has assumed the role of Temporary Mayor, and as usual, demi-god Father Platmas has returned to town, ready to wreak havoc and decree who's made it onto the Naughty and Nice lists. Those already feeling overwhelmed at the mention of well-established lore, backstories and power struggles can rest assured that, despite already having 160+ trails under their belt, Phantom Peak goes out of its way to ensure that newcomers to the town can follow what's going on. Besides needing to become familiar with which townsfolk are which and where to find them within the town (both of which are covered by the Town Noticeboards and physical Town Maps), progressing through the trails is a surprisingly intuitive process that offers little in the way of true obstacles. Photo: Alistair Veryard While Wintermas should be the happiest time of year in Phantom Peak, many of the townsfolk once again find themselves facing major problems that can only be solved by the town's tourists. For General Store owner Datchery, the proposed construction of a railway station in Phantom Peak by Ebenezer Scrooge-like railway tycoon Myne Bland is threatening to see their store knocked down. JonaPost worker Littlefield isn't having a much better time, with an ever-growing backlog of correspondence passing their desk and the recurring issue of mail mysteriously transforming upon delivery. For Pergiate, the town's resident administrator, their issues are of the familial kind, as they scramble to keep their overbearing parents away from their new partner. Capitalism and consumerism also play a part in this year's Wintermas, with each townsfolk ready to write a cheque when needed to get things done. 'Coffee is for Closers', which focuses on Loveharts' attempt to hold onto their job as Head of Marketing for JONACO, sees guests trying to sell plastic figurines to the townsfolk and gives them a chance to unleash their inner Jordan Belfort in an attempt to secure the largest order possible. Photo: Alistair Veryard Although Phantom Peak's core mechanics have largely remained the same since its first season back in 2022, the overall experience remains hugely engaging and entertaining thanks to the ever-changing selection of trails that come with each new season. Working through the trails on offer this season, guests will find themselves shapeshifting constantly, stepping into the shoes of everything from temporary postal workers and journalists to undercover railway workers and toy experts at a moment's notice in order to progress through the variety of stories on offer. We can say with some certainty that Phantom Peak is the only immersive show to ever exist that has asked its guests to roleplay as plumbers to save a half-man, half-fish trapped in a pipe, and that's only one of the many bizarre situations guests may find themselves in this Wintermas season. Photo: Alistair Veryard Each of the trails on offer this Wintermas moves at a brisk pace, taking anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to complete (depending on how quickly groups want to work through them) and provides plenty of chances to interact with Phantom Peak's townsfolk, who are the backbone of the experience. With a cast fully committed to improvising and responding to whatever tourists are asking them, every interaction with the town's residents has the potential to be the highlight of a visit. As with so many immersive experiences, the more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it, so don't shy away from interacting with the show's cast whenever you get a chance, even if they're not directly tied into the trail you're working through. Outside of the trails, the show's closing ceremony features the traditional group sing-along of the Wintermas carol 'Platypus In The Snow' and a showdown between Mayor Pocket and Father Platmas. While earlier seasons of Phantom Peak would often tie up a lot of loose threads from its story trails during the closing ceremony, recent seasons have moved away from this in favour of large-scale dance numbers performed by the townsfolk. This Wintermas, this final performance sees Father Platmas possess all of the townsfolk to ridicule Pocket and give a final judgement on which list both the townsfolk and tourists are on. A final Wintermas wish is granted, with the arrival of snow in the Town Square, which closes out the 4-hour-long experience. Photo: Alistair Veryard As part of Phantom Peak's ongoing, multi-season storyline, there are several nods to The Great Undoing - an event that's been teased for well over a year and will usher in the end of Phantom Peak's time in their Canada Water venue sometime in 2026. While details of where the show will be moving to remain under wraps for now, Phantom Peak's producers are clearly confident that there's still a lot of story left to uncover in the mining town, and their upcoming change of venue has allowed the show's storyline to carry far greater stakes for both the town and those who inhabit it. With Wintermas, Phantom Peak has delivered another outstanding season. Through its open-world, free-roaming design and unique story structure, which lets guests work at their own pace without fear of missing out on anything, the show's creators have landed upon a winning formula that season after season produces some of the most engaging, rewarding, and hilarious encounters available in the immersive world. ★★★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] Phantom Peak's Wintermas runs until 18th January 2026 in Canada Water. To find out more and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com For more reviews of immersive experiences like Phantom Peak's Wintermas, check out our recent Reviews.

Photo: Secret Theatre The Nutcracker Noir, produced by Secret Theatre and DesignScene, is an immersive dining experience at Protein Studios, a short walk from Shoreditch High Street. Running until 21st December, it combines immersive elements, live on-stage performances from a cast of West End talent and a five-course meal designed by Feast & Fable's Jenny McNeill to create an experience that's indulgent, classy and, most of all, incredibly entertaining. Guests enter Club Noir via a secret entrance within the Merry & More Mart, a pop-up cafe and Christmas shop that's open to the public outside of performances. With bright colours and bold graphics, it's got a touch of Meow Wolf's Omega Mart to it, with various fake products like Reindeer Milk, Sno'J and Yule Log Pine Bleach on display. The majority of products in store, however, are real and available for purchase, including homeware, candles and customisable Christmas goodies from numerous independent London businesses. On the way into the space, there's a generously sized welcome shot of gin, mulled spice and clementine tonic (a non-alcoholic option is also available) and a bite-sized canapé with pastrami, smoked cheese and sugar plum jam inspired by Katz's Delicatessen in New York, which set the tone for the evening. Photo: Secret Theatre Moving through the secret entrance into Club Noir, guests pass through a series of immersive rooms in groups of 20, which set up Nutcracker Noir's narrative and introduce guests to the show's main characters. Their first encounter is with the towering Elf Eldar (Christopher Howell), who asks the audience to place the Christmas wishes they wrote down moments earlier in the queue into a box in the centre of the room. After picking an audience member from the crowd, Eldar performs an impressive feat of mentalism for the audience. Clara (Anita Nicole), the show's protagonist, awaits guests in the next space. Standing on a raised plinth in the centre of the room, she shares her story - as a child, she was abandoned on Brick Lane along with a note from her late mother and has spent the subsequent years searching for a family (chosen or otherwise) of her own. She now finds herself working at Club Noir as a choreographer for their latest show, which awaits audiences. There are 360-degree projections on all four walls of the room, which add a fittingly festive visual element to Clara's tale and elevate this encounter from being a pure exposition dump. The final immersive room prior to arriving in the Club Noir is the office of Frank Zane (Jairus McLachlan), who's the son of club owner George. With talk of auditions still being open for a couple of roles in the show, Frank asks for a volunteer to belt a tune. As soon as the last note echoes, the self-proclaimed 'ruthless theatre critic' Madame Zel (Jessica Alonso) bursts through the door, high kicking and twirling with every other step. For Frank, Madame Zel's arrival does little to calm his nerves ahead of the show's opening and only ups the pressure for it to be a success. Photo: Secret Theatre Inside Club Noir, guests are seated at pre-assigned tables, which flank a thrust stage. As you'd expect, VIP seats are right next to the action, with Club seating further back in the space. Regardless of where you sit, the decor inside Club Noir is gorgeous, with red drapes and chandeliers throughout, and there are good sightlines from all the seats. The show's on-stage performances, which run for roughly two hours with short breaks and an intermission, draw from a wide range of songs. With live vocals throughout, Frank, Clara, and MC Roz (Nic Myers) share singing duties for the show's contemporary tracks, performing everything from Lady Gaga's 'Abracadabra' to Doechii's 'Anxiety' and Rihanna's 'SOS' across the evening to rapturous applause. As for the club's owner, George (David-Michael Johnson), their performances hark back to the past, with Judy Garland's 'Life Is Just A Bowl of Cherries' and 'O Holy Night' amongst their repertoire. Accompanying the main cast on stage are Club Noir's resident dancers, made up of dance captain Axl (Alex Codd), Angie (Chris Vasileiadi), Jax (Patrick Wilden), Future (Tianna Jewiss) and Flow (Phoebe Coray). While every performance within The Nutcracker Noir is great, the highlights include a rock-infused reworking of 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' in the second half, which has the show's supporting cast scurrying through the audience and bounding onto the stage in leather mouse masks wielding weapon-sized candy canes, and Roz's rendition of 'Pink Pony Club', which elicits a huge response from the audience. The choreography comes from the show's co-director, Gary Lloyd, who's previously worked on West End shows like Thriller Live and Heathers: The Musical. Photo: Secret Theatre Shining just as brightly as the on-stage performances is Rob Jones' costume design, which feels like a mix between Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and ballroom culture. There's a huge range of bold shapes, flowing materials and silhouettes amongst the cast's costumes, with everything from huge flared peplum trousers to knee-high boots on display. Club owner George's outfit nods to the show's East London location and Clara's backstory, taking direct inspiration from Pearly Kings and Queens, whose origins lie in Henry Croft, an orphan and street sweeper who adorned his suits with pearls to draw attention while fundraising for orphanages and hospitals in the 1870s. Peppered throughout the show's musical numbers are several narrative scenes, continuing the overarching story established in the earlier immersive rooms. A brief flirtation between Clara and Frank is quickly shut down by George for reasons that save the pair from a kiss that they'd both regret for the rest of their lives, Clara's search for family at her mother's former workplace turns up unexpected results (you can see where we're going here...), and in the show's conclusion, the reunited Noir family, which has now gained a sister, comes together with Clara declaring she's found what she always hoped to find. It's a pretty basic story and not all that emotionally affecting, but The Nutcracker Noir's musical numbers and strong performances carry it through all the same. Despite claiming to be an adaptation of The Nutcracker, the show's connection to Tchaikovsky's ballet is minimal, with only minor details like Clara's name carrying over. Photo: Secret Theatre The Nutcracker Noir's five-course meal has been designed by Feast & Fable's Jenny McNeill, who has previously worked with immersive dining legends Gingerline and Heston Blumenthal's triple Michelin-starred Fat Duck. Things start simple enough, with Brick Lane Butter and Sourdough bread, which on the surface sounds pretty standard, but the whipped butter, which is infused with panch phoron, roasted garlic, crispy onion and tempered curry leaves, is honestly amazing and serves as the perfect entry point for the menu's upcoming dishes. A duo of trout starters soon follows, with the Club Classic (treacle-glazed Chalk Stream trout with celeriac, brussels sprout remoulade) and Contemporary Cooking (nori and brown sugar-cured Chalk Stream trout) coming out in quick succession. For vegetarian and vegan guests, the trout is substituted with a treacle-glazed beetroot tarte tatin in the Club Classic and candied beetroot with carrot in Contemporary Cooking. The Nutcracker Noir's main course comes in the form of slow-braised beef cheek (spice-roasted cauliflower for vegetarians) with BBQ reduction, crème fraîche, blackened corn and soused root vegetables, which is cooked wonderfully and hugely flavourful. Rounding things off is a baked Basque cheesecake with Spanish brandy, sherry, orange and vanilla-plumped prunes, which ties directly into the on-stage story, with the recipe coming from Clara's mother. Photo: Secret Theatre By way of refreshments, The Nutcracker Noir's drinks list has everything you'd expect. The standout items are the cocktails, which thematically tie into the show's story. Our favourite from the cocktails we sampled was the Frostbite, a wintery take on a margarita, with tequila, mezcal and Velvet Falernum served over ice. Winter Bloom, which is made up of aged rum, sweet vermouth, pineapple, ginger and winter spice, was another highlight, not least due to the gingerbread cookie clipped to the side of the glass, which was a welcome surprise. Throughout the evening, the service from Club Noir's hosting team was also incredibly attentive. Alongside the regular check-ins asking if we needed anything and speedy delivery of drinks, each course was delivered exactly when intended, coinciding with the performances and on-stage references to the dishes. It's far better service than we've received in a lot of proper restaurants, and operationally, for us at least, it was flawless, with a welcome drink and starter served within moments of us taking our seats. Photo: Secret Theatre While the price of entry for The Nutcracker Noir is certainly high (starting at £115 per person for access to the show and the five-course meal), it's evident that the money is being put to good use, with a company made up of West End talent, a gorgeous setting and enough food to satisfy even the most ravenous of guests. When compared to other Christmas dining experiences, most notably The Lost Estate's long-running The Great Christmas Feast in West Kensington, The Nutcracker Noir stands shoulder to shoulder, despite this being its debut year. As a piece of counter-programming, it also offers an experience that's the polar opposite of The Lost Estate's moody and atmospheric one-man performance, with big group numbers, extravagant costumes and enchanting design, even if it's not quite as overtly 'festive' as spending an evening in Dickens' home as they share the tale of A Christmas Carol. An excellent choice for a couple's date night or festive get-together with friends, The Nutcracker Noir is one of the best nights out we've had in ages and more than delivered on its promise of quality food, amazing performances and killer cocktails. Madame Zel may have turned her nose up at it, but we loved every minute. ★★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] The Nutcracker Noir runs at Protein Studios near Shoreditch High Street until 21st December 2025. Tickets are priced from £48 for Bar Seating (Show Ticket) and £115 for a shared Club Table (inclusive of a three-course meal). To book tickets, visit nutcracker-noir.co.uk

Backyard Cinema's festive film season near London Bridge invites audiences to step into a wonderfully themed winter wonderland before screenings of Christmas classics. Photo: Grant Walker Christmas at Backyard Cinema is the latest festive offering from long-running 'alternative cinema experience' company Backyard Cinema. Previous events from Backyard Cinema have seen them take over spaces within venues such as Mercato Metropolitano, Winter Wonderland and Camden Market, but they're perhaps best known for their much-loved Romeo + Juliet live cinema experience, which sees Baz Luhrmann's 1996 cult classic screened alongside performances from a live choir and band. For this Christmas season, they've taken over the ground floor of 49 Tanner Street (a venue which is also home to The Magician's Table) for a month-long residency of enhanced festive film screenings with five showings a day, running until 31st December. As a company, Backyard Cinema has always included light immersive elements in its pre-shows, with everything from Miami Beach hotels and intergalactic starships to remote abandoned churches previously featuring in seasons of years gone by. This festive run has scaled up its immersive offerings into a fully-fledged experience in its own right. Lasting roughly one hour, Christmas at Backyard Cinema's pre-show gives guests the freedom to explore the venue at their leisure, discover hidden areas and enjoy live performances from a troupe of talented musicians and several routines from an aerialist before heading into a screening of festive favourites complemented by a flurry of indoor snow as the opening titles begin. Photo: Grant Walker Entering via the Christmas Cabaret Room, guests are immediately greeted by live performances from The Mistletoes (AJ Jenks, Madeline Wilshire and Matthew Kent) on a circular stage adorned with mistletoe and wrapped presents in the middle of the space. The room, while large enough to accommodate a good percentage of each screening's audience, maintains an intimate and cosy feel thanks to the cabaret-style seating and clear sightlines throughout. The trio performs an impressive number of classic Christmas songs accompanied by acoustic guitar, piano and saxophone across the hour, skilfully covering everything from Fairytale of New York and Feliz Navidad to Driving Home for Christmas. While their opening songs have a fairly laid-back feel as people still arrive and settle in, the energy of their performance ramps up throughout, culminating in a medley of Christmas songs that has The Mistletoes doing a lap of the space with the bar staff in tow, clapping and cheering just ahead of audiences being ushered into the screening. Thanks to strong performances across the board, the upbeat atmosphere and table service being available through the Christmas Cabaret Room, there's a case to be made for settling down and staying put for the entire pre-show, but there's far more to discover deeper inside the venue... Photo: Grant Walker Hiding between two fairly nondescript doors in the corners of the Christmas Cabaret Room lies The Enchanted Forest, which is home to the most 'immersive' parts of Christmas at Backyard Cinema's pre-show. After passing through a tunnel of fir trees, guests emerge into a wintry woodland-themed space. With a thick layer of bark scattered on the floor and moody, blue lighting throughout, it's the far more atmospheric and Instagrammable of the pre-show's two spaces and benefits from some excellent theming, with cherub statues and several cosy nooks hidden amongst the space's towering foliage. In the centre of the forest sits a free-standing aerial hoop, which plays home to several impressive performances from an aerialist (Jessica Catherine/Ellen James) that see them contort and balance on the hoop as it spins, as well as routines with hula hoops on a smaller stage elsewhere in the main space. Nestled amongst the trees that line The Enchanted Forest is also a second (much quieter) bar, a two-tier seating area with heaters that overlooks the aerialist's performance area, and a recreation of a homely, decorated living room, which hosts members of The Mistletoes for intimate solo performances. With the pre-show's four-strong cast all working pretty flat out throughout the hour-long experience, there's rarely a moment when there isn't something going on somewhere inside the venue, but as is often the case with family-focused experiences, it's a dice roll as to whether or not the pre-show will offer enough to keep younger visitors enthralled for its duration. Photo: Grant Walker While there's certainly no shortage of places across the capital screening films like Home Alone, Love Actually, and The Grinch throughout December, this run of screenings at Backyard Cinema goes some way to elevating the movie-going experience into something more engaging, elaborate, and most importantly of all, more festive. Those hoping for Backyard Cinema's festive offering to have a storyline or proper interactions between the show's performers and audience may find themselves disappointed, with the pre-show focusing purely on creating a Christmassy atmosphere. With that goal in mind, however, it achieves what it set out to do in spades and offers an experience far more festive than turning up at your local Cineworld and sitting through 30 minutes of adverts before the film even begins. Given the kind of experiences we typically cover on Immersive Rumours, we'd love to see Backyard Cinema build upon its tried-and-tested format more in the future and create an experience with a proper narrative and deeper audience interaction, but as a light-touch, family-focused experience for the holiday season, it ticks enough boxes to make it a worthwhile visit if you're looking to enjoy a Christmas film away from the comfort of your sofa this festive season. ★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] Christmas at Backyard Cinema runs until 31st December 2025 (Closed on 25th and 26th December) at 49 Tanner Street near London Bridge. Tickets are priced from £26.50 and can be booked via backyardcinema.co.uk

Punchdrunk Enrichment's family-focused festive offering is a stark reminder of the power that sharing stories with one another holds. Photo: Nina Photography Anyone who's engaged with London's immersive theatre scene over the last decade will know that often, shows pop up in unexpected places. From railway arches and church basements to disused fire stations and factories, it's typical to find yourself venturing to corners of the city you had no idea existed in pursuit of new experiences. A stone's throw from Wembley Stadium, in the middle of a nondescript industrial estate, sits one such space - a former car garage - that's home to a theatre company born out of the world's best-known immersive creators, Punchdrunk. Founded in 2008 by Peter Higgin, Punchdrunk Enrichment was established to bring the practices and methods used by Punchdrunk to families, schools, and communities through public performances and workshops. Past productions from the charity, which now operates as a separate entity from the Woolwich-based immersive juggernaut, include The Lost Lending Library and Enitan's Game, which ran at their Wembley Park venue throughout Summer 2024. Their latest production, Fireside Tales, written and directed by Steve McCourt (the charity’s incoming Artistic Director), is aimed at children aged 7-11 and inspired by the age-old practice of people getting together to exchange stories as the nights begin to draw in. The hour-long show, which features big-hearted performances, stunning set design and plenty of opportunities for younger guests to get involved, is a love letter to the power of storytelling, our imaginations, and the importance of community. It's also utterly magical for children and parents alike. Photo: Nina Photography With the show beginning on the street outside the Punchdrunk Enrichment Store, audiences first meet an apologetic but nonetheless welcoming Ali (Amari Harris), who emerges from the store's front door with a bucket and mop in hand. A recent delivery has flooded the store, and he's only just got the last of the water out moments before a brave, young audience member knocked on the door. After being ushered inside, guests are introduced to Cosima (Rebecca Ella Clark), the store's second custodian, who works alongside Ali to catalogue and archive every story the store takes delivery of into one of four elemental categories. While air, earth and water stories arrive at regular intervals, accompanied by gusts of wind and the occasional leak, the volatile and generational fire stories are far more elusive. As Cosima and Ali tell the audience more about some of the stories they've recently received, placing large leather-bound books on the room's central table, younger members of the audience are gently invited to contribute and become part of the story. Cosima and Ali speak to them one-on-one, prompt them to answer a ringing rotary phone (which is unknowingly held up upside down, to the delight of the adults in the room), and, amongst other interactions, encourage a child who was given a blue feather earlier in the show to recount their story about space peacocks for the rest of the group. These interactions all reinforce a key idea laid out early on by Ali - that everyone has a story to tell and a right to be heard. Soon, word of an unexpected story delivery comes through, and it’s all hands on deck to receive the store’s first fire story. Some excellent lighting design from Sarah Readman depicts its arrival, first igniting a candle overhead before swiftly jumping around the room from light source to light source in quick succession. Photo: Nina Photography As anyone familiar with Punchdrunk Enrichment's sister company will expect, the set design (courtesy of designer Mydd Pharo) and attention to detail throughout Punchdrunk Enrichment's Store is exceptional. Floor-to-ceiling shelves are packed to the brim with trinkets and household items, all accompanied by handwritten place cards indicating their date of arrival, place of origin and history. Huge piles of papers, cassettes and newspapers are scattered throughout the space. In the Store’s entrance hallway, there's a map of the area covered in criss-crossing pieces of string, trying to track the movement of Haggins, an adventurous local cat. Fittingly for a space that deals in story-building materials, every item in the space seemingly has a tale to tell. This detailed design continues as the audience moves through to the show's second space - an overgrown yard behind the store, complete with a makeshift wooden storage hut, first-floor terraced flat windows overlooking the space and an abandoned car surrounded by foliage and discarded tools. It's in this space, with the audience all resting on tree stumps and benches surrounding a central fire pit, that they collectively try to tempt the fire story down from an overhanging lamp. Of course, the best way to put a nervous story at ease is to share stories of our own. Ali recounts a childhood memory of scoring the winning goal in a high-stakes five-a-side game to the soundtrack of cheers and boos coming from Wembley Stadium. Cosima recalls how, as a child, she hurt herself trying to stoke a fire and later lied about how she injured herself. While it's no doubt a cautionary tale, speaking to the danger of untruthfulness and how lies can quickly spread, it's told with such care and vulnerability that it never feels preachy. Later in the show, the audience gets a chance to contribute their own stories, being given a piece of paper and charcoal to sketch out what the idea of 'home' means to them and encouraged to share it with those sitting close to them. While it's a small and personal moment of contemplation and connection for the audience, within the wider context of the show, it carries a surprising amount of weight. Photo: Nina Photography Adults without children who are keen to try and scratch that Punchdrunk itch without having to hide from guards in a dark corner of the company's Woolwich home as part of LANDER 23 can attend one of several 'grown-ups only' sessions on select dates across December and January. The content of the show remains the same for these performances, but they include a Q&A with some of the show's creative team and a post-show drink as part of the experience. With a message that'll stay with audiences, beautifully detailed sets and generous performances from its two-strong cast, Fireside Tales is a wonderfully realised piece of immersive theatre that's been created with the utmost care. Atmospheric, reflective and magical, it's also a poignant reminder that giving each other the space to share our stories can turn that spark inside all of us into a flame, if we continue to tend to it. ★★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] Fireside Tales run at Punchdrunk Enrichment Stores in Wembley Park until 4th January 2026. Tickets to all-ages shows are priced from £15, and can be booked via punchdrunkenrichment.org

This revival of Dante or Die's 2013 site-specific piece set within a working hotel is a potent mix of intimacy and drama that you'll want to relive again and again. Photo: Greta Zabulyte Anyone who's ever been married or part of a bridal party can tell you that despite everyone's best efforts, weddings are often messy affairs. Emotions run high, there's a huge amount of pressure on those involved, and even the most angelic couples can't insulate themselves from the potential drama that bubbles under the surface of what's meant to be both the biggest and happiest day of their lives. In Dante or Die's I Do, which first debuted in 2013 and returns now as part of the company's 20th anniversary year, the inherent drama and chaos of a wedding day is dialled up to an extreme and offers audiences the chance to voyeuristically look on at the unfolding chaos surrounding the soon-to-be-wedded Georgina (Carla Langley) and Tunde (Dauda Ladejobi). Directed by Daphna Attias and presented in London as part of Barbican's Scene Change season, this site-specific production takes over six rooms and the adjoining corridor of the Malmaison Hotel near Farringdon until 8th February, before transferring to Malmaison's in Reading and Manchester next month. Photo: Greta Zabulyte Upon arriving at the hotel, audience members are each given a coloured buttonhole and assigned a group, which they remain with throughout the show. Each group of up to 12 rotates through all six hotel rooms over the course of 90 minutes (though the order in which they do so differs for each group) and watches the same ten-minute period unfold from a different perspective each time. In between each room change, the audience all gather in the hallway as the floor’s cleaner (Rowena La Poer Trench) winds back the clock, wiping down surfaces and tidying in reverse. For the best man, Joe (Manish Gandhi), the final run-throughs of their speech couldn't be going much worse. At the eleventh hour, Tunde, who unbeknownst to everyone else is experiencing a severe case of cold feet, has given him a list of anecdotes from their shared past that can't be included, and with very little left beside a handful of empty platitudes, Joe quickly begins to spiral as nerves get the better of them. Equally nervous is bridesmaid Lizzy (Alice Brittain), who's impatiently (and secretly) waiting out the two-minute timer after doing a pregnancy test amidst last-minute preparations with the bride, and Georgina's father, David (Jonathan McGuinness), whose attendance is in doubt as they weigh up bailing on the day altogether and getting on the first flight back to Menorca. Elsewhere in the hotel, Georgina's grandparents, Eileen and Gordon (played beautifully by Fiona Watson and Geof Atwell), both find themselves increasingly frustrated by Gordon's physical limitations; mother of the bride Helen (Johanne Murdock) has a surprise knock at the door from an old flame; and best friend-cum-bridesmaid Abigail (Tessie Orange-Turner) grapples with the fallout of opening up her marriage. Photo: Greta Zabulyte While none of the characters or individual plotlines found within Chlöe Moss' script would feel out of place in an episode of EastEnders or Coronation Street, the real magic of I Do lies in how tightly all of its characters' stories are interwoven together. Members of the wedding party will enter and exit each other's rooms without a moment's notice, inserting themselves into other people's storylines, and regular texts/phone calls/voice notes between guests offer up only one side of each conversation. Regardless of whether the payoff to what a character said or got up to outside of any given room takes 10 minutes or an hour to come around, there's a real joy to seeing how every piece of I Do's carefully constructed narrative slots together as each subsequent room is experienced and the full picture comes into view. With the audience’s presence never acknowledged by any of the wedding guests, they’re given free rein to position themselves wherever they’d like in each room. For the most part, this results in audience members relegating themselves to the corners, perching on windowsills and leaning against wardrobes, but they're encouraged to sit or stand anywhere there's available space, even if it seems to be encroaching on where the cast will soon be. Photo: Greta Zabulyte The audience can also freely rummage around each room, opening drawers and picking up items from desks and bedside tables to learn more about the show’s characters and their relationships to one another. Those feeling extra nosy can also take a look at characters' phone screens as the wedding party anxiously texts and voice notes each other and read any of the numerous handwritten notes that change hands around the hotel, which offer further context to their inner thoughts and feelings. The concept of an audience silently watching on as scenes unfold across multiple spaces certainly isn't a new one for immersive theatre fans, but the intimacy on offer in I Do proves to be far more potent than in any of Punchdrunk's masked offerings, in large part due to just how closely the performers and audience are to each other for sustained periods. In quiet moments, you can hear a pin drop, and every one of the bridal party's confessions, whether screamed into a pillow or whispered under their breath, can be heard by everyone present. Photo: Greta Zabulyte When I Do first debuted back in 2013, it marked a turning point for Dante or Die, as they began to shift away from movement-based work into narrative-driven theatre. Some 13 years on, that decision is still bearing fruit, and the work they've produced since has continued to push the boundaries of site-specific theatre. While we eagerly await their next project, which is due to launch in the second half of 2026, this rare chance to revisit one of the company's best-loved pieces is an opportunity worth taking full advantage of. ★★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] Dante or Die's I Do runs at London Malmaison near Barbican station until 8th February 2026. Tickets are priced from £35.00. To find out more and book tickets, visit barbican.org.uk.

The Great Undoing spells the end of Phantom Peak as we know it in this shortened final season at their Canada Water home. Photo: Alistair Veryard If the recent final episode of Stranger Things has reminded us of anything, it's that wrapping up a long-running story in a satisfying way is a lot easier said than done. Whether it's down to unrealistically high expectations from fans, too many narrative threads to tie up, or just good old-fashioned bad writing, the odds of sticking the landing and delivering a satisfying conclusion that's adored by fans are low. Time and time again, history seems to repeat itself, with series like LOST, Dexter and Game of Thrones all ending in similar circumstances. For Phantom Peak (the closest thing the immersive world has to a long-running episodic series), the time has come for it to conclude this sixteen-season-long chapter in its sprawling ongoing narrative. With Phantom Peak's all-seeing leader, Jonas, ready to enact his plan to rebuild the town from scratch in his own image, the stakes have never been higher for both fans and the town's residents. So how does it stack up against its televisual counterparts? With The Great Undoing, Phantom Peak offers up a conclusion to its time in Canada Water that stands comfortably alongside the show's strongest seasons. It's no secret that the show's approach to storytelling has always been ambitious and self-assured, with it constantly reinventing itself season after season, but to see the show's writing team bring three-and-a-half years' worth of stories to a close with such confidence still feels miraculous. It's the culmination of everything Phantom Peak has been working towards since the beginning. While many of the show's biggest mysteries remain unanswered for the time being - no doubt waiting to be explored once Phantom Peak's move to Westfield Stratford City is complete - the show's assured continuation never undermines the impact of this final chapter. It’s heartfelt, humorous, and often, hugely emotional. Photo: Alistair Veryard Bringing a story this large to a close while still catering to new and first-time visitors means that structurally, The Great Undoing works a little differently from past seasons of Phantom Peak. For the first time, the bulk of this season's content has been carried over from a previous season, with seven of Wintermas' trail line-up sticking around for a little longer than we initially thought. They've been tweaked in places to account for changes around the town - not least the departure of Phantom Peak's festive demi-god Father Platmas - but as ever, they offer just as many pop culture references and unexpected twists as audiences have come to expect. (You can read our full five-star review of 2025's Wintermas season here). The remaining four spots on the JonAssist are all taken up by Great Undoing-focused storylines that serve as the true 'final season' of the show's Canada Water run. While they don't shy away from embracing Phantom Peak's signature style of humour, they also deliver several moments of real sincerity, which, for long-time fans of the show, will hit them like a tonne of bricks. Photo: Alistair Veryard There’s no such thing as a ‘main character’ in Phantom Peak, but this season’s collection of new trails places a deliberate focus on a select few. ‘Access Denied’ revolves around the ever-vexed Dr Winter (Daniel Pirie), who has played a pivotal role in JONACO’s rise to power over the course of the show. Typically, they're two steps ahead of everyone else in town, but this season finds them on the back foot as they grapple with a last-minute betrayal from on high that threatens their safety. In ‘Back to the Furbish’, the perennially disliked Mayor Pocket (Mandi Harkett), who's only just made it back into JONACO's good books after having their mayorship removed at the start of Wintermas, has one final chance to defy expectations and act in the town’s best interest thanks to some collusion between the puppetized Dr Furbish and Madame Mechanica, a fortune-telling robot who's been largely absent since the early days of Phantom Peak. ‘My Dinner with Jonas’ sees Cogwright (Margot Victoria Cadic), the one-time Jonagraph Operator and resident tinkerer, return to town at the eleventh hour, only to play right into Jonas' hands inadvertently, and ‘Homeward Bound’ chronicles the fallout of bar owner-turned-lawyer Giffard (Tom Shah) having gone against JONACO and secretly harboured their fugitive father, Dr Furbish, in recent seasons. While all four of these trails explore different aspects of the town's final hours, the common thread that runs through them all is that the actions of the townsfolk over the past sixteen seasons have had consequences. For better or worse, they're all now paying the price. While there's comfort for the audience in helping them achieve small victories ahead of the town's destruction, Jonas set out to build a perfect town full of perfect people. The characters that inhabit the town have often been anything but. Photo: Alistair Veryard The inevitability of the town's demise has been signposted for some time now, but it hasn't stopped regular visitors from growing hugely attached to its inhabitants. While much of this is down to Phantom Peak's wonderfully talented cast, who have all embodied the show's characters with a huge amount of personality and warmth from its very first performance, the staggering number of storylines on offer since the show first opened its doors back in 2022 has also played a key part. Completing every trail from the show's opening season to today would take over 150 hours - a figure that's frankly tough to get your head around. Only a small percentage of visitors will have completed every single trail, but many people aren't far off, and even casual repeat visitors have likely spent over a dozen hours interacting one-on-one with the town's characters and seen their struggles and triumphs unfold over the course of several years. It's this long-term relationship between the audience and Phantom Peak's population that makes its impending demise all the more impactful and the stakes that much higher. From the outset of The Great Undoing, it's made clear that the townsfolk's fates are anything but guaranteed. If Jonas has anything to do with it, these final interactions with some of them may well be our last. Photo: Alistair Veryard Given the unease simmering through the town ahead of The Great Undoing, it’s no surprise that the closing ceremony strikes an emotional chord. While previous closing ceremonies have indulged in everything from conga lines and snowfall to nativity plays and full-blown dance routines, this season's conclusion is a more understated affair and revolves around each character getting a final moment in the spotlight before stepping into the unknown. It’s a farewell that honours not only the town and its residents but the audience’s sustained investment in the world. Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak may have been a failure in Jonas' eyes, but for the rest of us, that couldn't be further from the truth. From the opening trails of Season 1 to the final moments of The Great Undoing's closing ceremony, Phantom Peak's time in Canada Water has proven itself to be an outstanding piece of long-form immersive storytelling. Ambitious, hilarious, and profoundly human (despite the numerous puppets and talking animals), the show's world has been somewhere where every interaction has mattered, a passionate community of devoted fans has formed, and most importantly, a long-lasting, meaningful connection between the audience and the story has been made. Those who have spent their evenings and weekends following the trials and tribulations of Phantom Peak's townsfolk over the last sixteen seasons have been rewarded with an experience that's truly second to none. In an industry full of shows that often disappear as quickly as they arrive, Phantom Peak's longevity has allowed it to do incredible things. The Great Undoing should be considered an essential visit this February. It's the final chance to experience London's best immersive show in its original form, and we doubt there will ever be anything quite like it ever again. ★★★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] Phantom Peak's The Great Undoing runs until 28th February 2026 in Canada Water. The show will reopen later this year at Westfield Stratford City. To find out more about The Great Undoing and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com

Photo: Luke Dyson With over 3.5 million visitors having already attended in Brazil, Mexico, Spain and Belgium, Mundo Pixar has now arrived in the UK. Set within a custom-built venue a stone's throw from Wembley Stadium, this self-guided walkthrough exhibition contains 13 immersive sets depicting scenes from classic Pixar movies and includes over 25 life-sized sculptures, with fan favourites like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Dory, and Nemo all featured. With attendance figures in the millions and a line-up of beloved characters, expectations for Mundo Pixar are understandably high, and it's easy to see why Disney fans would be eager to attend, drawn in by the opportunity to step inside the worlds of their favourite films. At its core, Mundo Pixar is a visually immersive, photo-friendly experience, which prioritises impressive sets and striking design over the type of interactive engagement that London audiences have grown accustomed to thanks to the success of shows like The Paddington Bear Experience. Whether or not this is a problem will, of course, depend on your age and expectations going in. For little ones, it's likely going to be a fun-filled hour of exploring scenes from some of their favourite films and getting some cool photos, but for the parents footing the bill, it might leave them wanting a little more. If you're aware going in that Mundo Pixar is a Madame Tussauds-style experience and are happy to go without the level of insight and archival detail present in the likes of Disney100, you'll likely walk away with your expectations met. Photo: Luke Dyson The exhibition boasts a pretty formidable line-up of spaces, covering everything from Toy Story and Monsters Inc. to Coco, Inside Out, Ratatouille, and Finding Nemo. Within each of them, there are a couple of meticulously made sculptures of the film's standout characters, supported by 360-degree sets, background music and, in some cases, scents. Although every corner of each room could feasibly work as a photo op, there are marked-out spots on the floor that highlight the best places to stand for photos, and throughout the exhibition, there's over a dozen hidden Pixar balls waiting to be spotted as guests move from room to room, which adds a light scavenger-hunt element. The exhibition's standout spaces are without a doubt the two Toy Story-themed rooms, which recreate Andy's bedroom from the original film, and the Sunnyside Daycare from Toy Story 3, which has been created specifically for the London run. Photo: Luke Dyson Guests explore these rooms from the perspective of toys, with everything around them, from personal items and furniture, all scaled up to be truly larger than life. The change in scale is cleverly handled, creating playful optical illusions that produce some of the exhibition’s strongest photo moments. The collection of sculptures on offer in this room - made up of Woody, Buzz and Jessie - is equally strong, with all three being amongst Pixar's best-loved characters. Lots-o' is also there, but he rightfully isn’t as well loved, as he was kind of mean… Elsewhere in the exhibition, some spaces haven't received quite the same level of love and attention. A subway car inspired by 2023's Elemental, which features Wade and Ember, is by far the smallest of the lot and is pretty rough around the edges, with low-resolution, pixelated vistas visible through the subway car's windows. Similarly, the area dedicated to 2021's Luca relies heavily on printed backdrops to suggest Portorosso’s shopfronts, with balconies and windows rendered in two dimensions, which is a far cry from the level of detail present in the exhibition's biggest spaces. Photo: Luke Dyson Alongside omitting several of Pixar’s best-loved films, including The Incredibles and WALL-E, the exhibition also excludes many characters from the properties it does feature, boiling each film’s cast down to just a few essential characters. Andy’s bedroom only features Woody and Buzz; the Scare Floor is completely absent of Boo or any monsters besides Mike and Sully, and the exhibition's final space, depicting Finding Nemo, is missing everyone but Dory and Nemo. Weirdest of all, Remy is completely absent from the Ratatouille room and is only visible as a silhouette inside a huge chef's hat. It’d be unrealistic to expect every character from every film to be present throughout Mundo Pixar, but to have comparatively few characters on display feels like a missed opportunity, especially given the size of the exhibition and the number of people vying for photos in each room. In terms of interactivity, Mundo Pixar provides a light amount of engagement beyond taking photos, with several items reacting to visitors throughout the experience, including the Scream Canisters and Closet Doors from Monsters Inc. and foot-operated pedals inside Carl's floating house that play a tune. Clearer signposting around what can and can't be interacted with could help ensure these moments are more widely discovered, as they add some welcome moments of connection, but the staff on hand within each room are more than happy to point the most curious guests in the right direction if needed. To get the most out of Mundo Pixar, we'd suggest hanging back once your group are let loose to explore, and taking your time in each room - you'll be able to appreciate the smaller details far more, and likely get better photos too. Photo: Luke Dyson While it's far less hands-on than the likes of The Paddington Bear Experience and last year's Jurassic World Experience, Mundo Pixar is likely going to be a hit with Disney fans of all ages, if only for the nostalgia and Instagrammable nature of the exhibition. Despite its shortcomings, it’s hard to deny that there’s something pretty magical about stepping into recreations of Andy's bedroom or the Scare Floor and coming face-to-face with life-sized versions of the beloved characters you’ve grown up with, even if the experience has been designed first and foremost as a collection of photo opportunities and not as a fully-fledged immersive experience. ★★★ [Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review] Mundo Pixar Experience (London) runs on Fulton Way in Wembley Park until 28th June 2026. Tickets are priced from £24.00 for Adults and £18.00 for Children. To learn more and book tickets, visit mundopixar.com For more reviews of immersive and interactive experiences, check out our recent Reviews.

Photo: Luke Dyson The global phenomenon Mundo Pixar Experience has officially opened in London today, bringing the largest immersive Pixar exhibition on Earth to the UK for the very first time. Now open in a spectacular purpose-built venue in Wembley Park, this landmark attraction invites families, film fans and Pixar lovers of all ages to step inside the movies that have shaped generations. The exhibition spans more than 3,500 square metres, and features 14 Pixar universes, including over 25 sculptures, inviting guests to explore meticulously recreated environments from Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Cars, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, Coco, Up, and many more fan favourites. Each space combines detailed set design, ambient music, and specially crafted scents to immerse visitors in Pixar’s most beloved stories. Photo: Luke Dyson Visitors can shrink down to toy size in Andy’s Room from Toy Story, explore the Scare Floor at Monsters, Inc. with Mike and Sulley, race into Flo’s Café from Cars to meet Lightning McQueen, or soar through the skies with Carl Fredricksen from Up. They can also visit the Headquarters of Riley’s emotions from Inside Out 2, and journey from Coco's Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead. The London exhibition also introduces a never-before-seen environment: Sunnyside Daycare from Toy Story 3, featuring beloved characters such as Jessie, Lotso, and the Aliens. The experience will also showcase additional characters appearing for the first time, including Dory from “Finding Nemo” and Tow Mater from Cars. Mundo Pixar Experience runs from now until June and is open every day except Tuesdays. Daily time slots begin at either 9am or 10am (depending on the date) and run until 7pm. During UK school holidays, the exhibition is open daily, including Tuesdays. Photo: Luke Dyson Beyond the immersive sets, guests can take part in a special Pixar Ball Treasure Hunt, searching for the famous yellow ball with a red star hidden throughout the exhibition — a playful nod to the beloved Easter egg that appears in many Pixar films. Mundo Pixar Experience is accessible for visitors with motor, hearing, visual, and neurodivergent disabilities, ensuring that everyone can share in the creativity and joy of Pixar’s storytelling. This trailblazing exhibition is a heartfelt journey through 40 years of imagination, emotion, and innovation - celebrating the timeless stories that continue to inspire children, families, and fans around the world. The exhibition is curated by Pixar Animation Studios, produced by Golden Peak in collaboration with Proactiv Entertainment promoted by RG Live, Senbla, and Luna. Photo: Luke Dyson Photo: Luke Dyson Photo: Luke Dyson Photo: Luke Dyson Photo: Luke Dyson Photos: Luke Dyson Mundo Pixar Experience runs on Fulton Way in Wembley Park until 28th June 2026. Tickets are priced from £24.00 for Adults and £18.00 for Children. To learn more and book tickets, visit mundopixar.com

Photo: Outernet Following the success of the multi-sensory masterpiece The Summer Palace, acclaimed digital artist Agustín Vidal Saavedra returns to Outernet today with his most ambitious project to date: The Intelligence Garden. Through spectacular visuals on Outernet’s free, 4-storey high, 16k screen surface screens, The Intelligence Garden guides audiences on a journey from simple, early forms of intelligence to human consciousness, framing intelligence as an emergent property of complex systems. Agustín Vidal Saavedra is Creative Director at GLASSEYE, an award-winning creative technology studio based in Ireland, specialising in the production of immersive experiences at architectural scale. Working across large-format LED environments, XR and interactive media, the agency is known internationally for combining technical innovation with strong creative vision and narrative depth, creating experiences that are both memorable and meaningful. Agustín Vidal Saavedra, Creative Director at GLASSEYE, said: The way we think about intelligence is changing. The Intelligence Garden is not only a large-scale visual and technical work, but a reflection on how intelligence and artistic creation itself, is being rethought today. Photo: Outernet Using the metaphor of a garden - a site of growth, interconnection and transformation - the experience visualises the evolution of thought, perception and creativity. Moving fluidly from microscopic life to abstract human cognition, the work unfolds as a visually rich, living and evolving digital ecosystem. Commissioned by Outernet London - the most visited cultural attraction in the UK - The Intelligence Garden has been conceived specifically for The Now Building, a landmark 23,000- square-foot, four-storey, 360° LED environment with wrap-around walls and ceiling, rendered at ultra-high 16K resolution. Located in the heart of London’s West End, the building offers one of the most ambitious and technically advanced immersive canvases anywhere in the world. Photo: Outernet Produced using a hybrid creative pipeline that combines real-time, game-engine-based systems with cinematic animation and compositing techniques, The Intelligence Garden blends architectural-scale visuals, spatialised sound and responsive systems to create an experience that is at once technically mesmerising, emotionally resonant and conceptually rich. Agustín Vidal Saavedra’s previous work, the hugely popular The Summer Palace, was a beautiful combination of Renaissance paintings, animation, particle simulations and 3D visuals. The Intelligent Garden runs daily at The Now Building, Outernet, next to Tottenham Court Road station. Admission is free, and no booking is required. For more information, visit outernet.com