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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 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 .

From serving time behind bars, to out-of-this-world journey to other planets, London has no shortage of great immersive cocktail experiences. Here's our pick of the best on offer in the capital this year. Being immersed is often thirsty work... so we recently set ourselves the challenge of trying out some of the biggest and best immersive cocktail experiences that London has to offer. It goes without saying that this was a very rigorous undertaking, and the fifteen or so cocktails we've had over the last few weeks were purely for research purposes. We took no pleasure in drinking them, even if they were all delicious... Hexmoor: Immersive Wizarding Prison Photo: Inventive Productions Having opened in September 2025, Hexmoor is the latest experience from Inventive Productions. Already the city's foremost immersive cocktail experience creators, this new production is their most ambitious yet, and invites guests to don jumpsuits and serve their time behind bars in a wizarding prison. Upon entering, guests will be met by Cordelia Constance-Xanthe, a powerful sorceress and the Head of Hexmoor Penitentiary, who will introduce the inmates to their new life behind bars. As the immersive experience unfolds, inmates will enjoy three magical cocktails crafted by a team of mixologists, or more appropriately, hexologists. Intended to dampen abilities, with the right hex, these potions will enhance your time behind bars and may well aid in your escape. Expect to cross paths and collude with the wizard prisoners of Hexmoor and the guards who contain them, discover secret areas and travel through an ethereal portal, hidden within a fireplace in Hexmoor, to a real working Wand Shop. Combining immersive theatre, film-like set design, magical special effects and world-class cocktails, Hexmoor will transport you to a world full of dark magic and alchemy, and is one of the most exciting additions to London's immersive cocktail scene in recent years. Photo: Inventive Productions Your magical misdeeds have led you to a previously unknown wizarding prison. Will you play by the rules and see the light of day again, or descend into darker depths? Explore Hexmoor and you will find out soon enough. Experience a world of mysticism and alchemy at Hexmoor, the world’s first immersive, wizarding prison bar. Don your official jumpsuit and rub shoulders with the notorious dark arts wizards who call Hexmoor home. Combining immersive theatre, film-like set design, magical special effects and world-class cocktails, Hexmoor will transport you to a world you can only imagine. Photos: Inventive Productions 📍 Hoxton 💰 From £53.95 (includes 3x cocktails) 🕒 Ongoing 🎟️ Book via hexmoor.co.uk Avora: A New World Immersive Experience Photo: Avora Also from Inventive Productions, Avora invites guests to travel off-world to another planet inhabited by alien creatures and bioluminous foliage. Located in Hoxton, this 105-minute-long experience is the most visually stunning of Inventive's shows. Set across three main spaces in their basement venue, it's taken a healthy amount of inspiration from the Avatar film series, and is the closest thing you can get to visiting Pandora this side of the Atlantic. Guests are all given a jumpsuit upon arrival that's embroidered with the logo of Roscorp - a tech conglomerate they'll be acting on behalf of during their journey. We'll leave it up to you to decide if Roscorp's true intentions for exploring far-off planets are noble or nefarious (spoilers: they're not good..), but at least you're there in good faith, acting as scientists on a fact-finding expedition. Starting in the Roscorp laboratory, there's a bit of hands-on mixology as you mix various test tube liquids to create your first cocktail, which billows smoke once combined. Later in the experience, you come face-to-face with the native Avorans who take a real interest in your lives back on Earth. Intent on learning all they can from their new human visitors, you may find yourself trying to explain the most basic of human concepts to them with mixed results. These interactions are all infused with humour and playfulness, and are the stand-out part of the show. Without spoiling what unfolds in the latter half of Avora, the new equilibrium with the Avorans and Humans being on good terms is short-lived, and you're soon confronted with Roscorp's true reasoning behind these expeditions to the luminous planet. Photo: Avora Avora is a first of its kind cocktail adventure where guests can discover a brand-new world engulfed in mystery and wonder, brought to life through awe-inspiring theatrical sets, unique cocktails and a cast of talented actors. Step through the newly discovered gateway into the magical world of Avora! Meet with locals and explore the world to discover three extraordinary cocktails you will enjoy. Watch in awe as the world turns from day to night, and witness the mysterious and magical beauty of the lush new land. Be prepared, things are not what they seem, and you will have to make a decision on the fate of the world! Will you look to exploit it or will you help protect Avora! Photos: Avora 📍 Hoxton 💰 From £40.50 (includes 3x cocktails) 🕒 Ongoing 🎟️ Book via feverup.com Moonshine Saloon: Immersive Wild West Experience Photo: Moonshine Saloon It's 1904 in the town of Coldwater. The sun is setting on the glory days of the Wild West, and everyone's attention has turned to what is next for those trying to achieve the American Dream. Within the confines of Moonshine Saloon, tensions are high between the Cassidy family and the local law enforcement. It's a year to the day since the Saloon's previous owner was gunned down in cold blood, and the Cassidy family are still looking for answers. You've been invited by Clyde Cassidy, who is looking to expand their moonshine business nationwide. Though their wife isn't best pleased with the fact Clyde has been operating this clandestine operation out the back of the bar, business appears to be booming, and you're there to ink a deal and get in on the action. Across this 1 hour 45 minute experience, numerous scenes play out both in the main Saloon and several hidden spaces within the Saloon. It's the classic story of the outlaw and local law enforcement butting heads, complete with shootouts and plenty of raised voices. Guests are kitted out with cowboy hats and ponchos upon entering, and their choice of spirits (which need to be brought with them to the venue) is incorporated into four cocktails across the show. Those looking to be slightly more involved in the narrative can purchase option character add-ons, including becoming The Mayor, Deputy Sheriff or Brothel Keeper. Ideal for the outgoing types, they'll be called on throughout the show to add an extra layer of interaction. For our visit, the Mayor had to deliver a series of campaign pledges to ensure their re-election. Photo: Moonshine Saloon Howdy, y’all! Behind the swinging doors of the Moonshine Saloon, new outlaws can rub shoulders with the locals, try their luck at cards or dice games and enjoy a barrel load of illicit drinks. Just be sure to keep yourself quiet if the Sheriff is in town and asks any questions… he’s come close to catching Cassidy before! Photos: Moonshine Saloon 📍 Liverpool Street 💰 From £35.99 (includes 3x BYOB cocktails) 🕒 Ongoing 🎟️ Book via feverup.com Alcotraz: Immersive Prison Cocktail Bar Photo: Alcotraz Likely the most well-known of Inventive Production's immersive cocktail experiences, Alcotraz has been a mainstay of the London immersive experience scene since 2017. Guests are invited to don orange jumpsuits before serving them time in this underground prison-themed bar, which will see them play a part in a rebellion against the venue's Warden, who has a firm dislike for all things alcoholic. Upon entering, you're placed in a holding cell while you await processing. Soon, you're led through a metal detector and handed your orange jumpsuit - a staple of the experience since its inception. Alcotraz operates as a BYOB venue, so your first task is sneaking your spirits into the cells without arousing suspicion - something that's made a lot easier thanks to the hollowed-out Bible you're handed by one of the prison's crooked guards. Once inside your cell, there are 4 cocktails prepared for you with the spirits you smuggled in across the 1-hour 45-minute long experience. The wider story that plays out around you is a power struggle between Cassidy, one of the inmates whose parole has just been denied, and the Warden, who is hell-bent on maintaining order within Alcotraz. There's a good amount of interaction with Cassidy, the Warden and the guards throughout the experience, who will all keep you occupied with a variety of tasks. We found ourselves folding laundry at one point, which led to us finding a blueprint inside one of the jumpsuits. There are also a couple of short excursions outside your cell, including getting your mugshot taken and, for us, a visit to Cassidy after they're locked in solitary confinement. A potential visit to the Warden's office is also on the cards to plead your innocence or guilt. Photo: Alcotraz Following a life of crime, the law eventually caught up with Mr Clyde Cassidy and his gang of moonshiners and bootleggers. After a decade of running America’s most notorious liquor smuggling empire, their criminal activity eventually led them to life behind bars at the newly established Alcotraz Penitentiary. Most of the details of the Penitentiary remain only in the knowledge of a select few Government Officials, however, what is known is that there are a collection of secret Cell Blocks dotted all over the country, which serve as home to the worst of the worst. Sometimes incarceration can’t change bad habits and the Cassidy gang have managed to turn the Guards of Alcotraz crooked, bribing them to help newly convicted inmates successfully smuggle in liquor past the Warden. Will you join the gang and smuggle liquor behind bars? Photos: Alcotraz 📍 Hoxton 💰 From £48.50 (includes 4x BYOB cocktails) 🕒 Ongoing 🎟️ Book via alcotraz.co.uk Phantom Peak's Cocktail Trail Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak is an immersive experience we've covered extensively on Immersive Rumours over the past three years. With four brand-new seasons on offer each year, it's a show that's constantly developing and changing. Guests can explore the 30,000 sq feet town of Phantom Peak for up to 4 hours at a time, jumping into any of the ten different storylines on offer at their own pace. With a large cast of actors scattered around town, guests can easily end up speaking to a dozen of Phantom Peak's townsfolk in one visit and only scratch the surface of what's on offer here. Alongside the ten main storylines available each season, Phantom Peak also offers a cocktail trail for those willing to put in the steps for their drink. The storyline of these cocktail trails changes each season, but typically they have guests exploring the town to uncover which ingredients make up the final reward for their hard work. Just like with every other storyline at Phantom Peak, these cocktail trails are wonderfully written, irreverent, and with a stellar cast of actors across the town, hugely engaging. Considering the cocktails at Phantom Peak will run you anywhere from £9.50 to £11 each, and with an exclusive cocktail only available to those who take part in the trail, it's good value if you want to indulge in one of them anyway. For the avid Phantom Peak card collectors, there's also a trail card included for those who take part. Photos: Alistair Veryard A brand new cocktail experience, courtesy of JONACO. Explore the town to discover a new story each season, before meeting back at the Thirsty Frontier Saloon to make your own cocktail (or mocktail) to enjoy. 📍 Canada Water 💰 From £30.00 (Show Admission) + £19.99 (Cocktail Experience Add-On) 🕒 Ongoing 🎟️ Book via phantompeak.com For the latest news and updates on all things immersive in London, follow us on Instagram .

Photo: Ludovic des Cognets Marking the 20th birthday of Dante or Die, the company’s hugely successful immersive hit I Do returns for a brand-new tour across the UK - reimagined for a new decade of love, secrets, and celebration. It will run at the London Malmaison from 20th January to 8th February 2026 as part of Barbican's Scene Change season, before heading to sister Malmaison hotels in Reading (11th to 14th February) and Manchester Deansgate (18th to 22nd February). Photo: Ludovic des Cognets Set in a working hotel, I Do invites audiences to step inside six rooms where the final moments before a wedding unfold in parallel, each a jigsaw piece revealing a different view of the same tense moment in time. The best man’s speech is collapsing under pressure, the bride is torn between nerves and expectation, and family secrets ripple through the corridors. Split into small groups, audiences move between rooms, uncovering fragments of a tangled family story as they become voyeurs to a series of intimate, overlapping stories; from old flames to hidden pregnancy tests. Every glance, touch, and whispered secret counts. Photo: Ludovic des Cognets Created & conceived by Daphna Attias  and Terry O’Donovan , with text by Chloë Moss , I Do is a celebration of the beautiful mess of human connection - an intricate portrait of love and fear, told through Dante or Die’s signature blend of intimacy, detail, and cinematic theatricality. The full cast is Geoff Atwell (Gordon), Alice Brittain (Lizzy), Fred Fergus (Nick), Manish Gandhi (Joe), Dauda Ladejobi (Tunde), Carla Langley (Georgina), Jonathan McGuinnes (David), Johanne Murdock (Helen), Tessie Orange-Turner (Abigail), Terry O’Donovan / Rowena Le Poer Trench (The Cleaner) and Fiona Watson (Eileen). Photo: Ludovic des Cognets Dante or Die's I Do runs at London Malmaison near Barbican station from 20th January to 8th February 2026. Tickets are priced from £35.00. To find out more and book tickets, visit barbican.org.uk .

Photo: The Lost Estate Opening March 2026 at The Lost Estate’s West London home, Chat Noir! is the latest creation from The Lost Estate , the company behind The Great Christmas Feast and 58th Street; celebrated for transforming live performance into fully realised worlds. Here, audiences will be transported to bohemian Montmartre of the 1890s, inside the legendary Le Chat Noir – the original Parisian cabaret club that launched a cultural revolution and gave birth to the modern nightlife we still chase today. Photo: The Lost Estate At the centre of the story stands Rodolphe Salis – the real-life proprietor of Le Chat Noir and architect of its most notorious cabarets – as he prepares his final, and most ambitious, creation: a feverish celebration of love and madness. Played by the ‘Dandy King of Cabaret’, Joe Morrose , Salis is a man aflame with ideas, careering between anarchy and art, chasing one last moment of transcendence before the curtain falls. Tonight he has summoned the greatest artists of his age — the magician Buatier De Kolta (performed by acclaimed magician Neil Kelso ), dancer Cléo de Mérode, mime Paul LeGrand (performed by the virtuosic Pi the Mime ), and chanteuse Yvette Guilbert — to create one final, audacious revue, a night of love, madness, and French art from across the ages. Together they conjure a variety show of reckless brilliance, accompanied by the club’s house band, Les Enfants Vagabondes. Photo: The Lost Estate A wild troupe of bohemian musicians, led by the young Erik Satie, takes their place at the heart of Chat Noir!. One of the most eccentric and influential figures of the Parisian avant-garde, audiences join Satie at the height of his career as the real-life resident pianist of the original Le Chat Noir – a composer whose music would go on to define a generation of French modernism. Known as Les Enfants Vagabondes, the ensemble performs new arrangements of French late-Romantic masterpieces by The Lost Estate’s composer-in-residence, Steffan Rees. Their ragtag quintet - piano, violin, cello, accordion and percussion - reimagines Debussy’s Clair de Lune, Bizet’s Carmen, Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre for a night that blurs the line between elegance and delirium. As the evening unfolds, their performances spill from stage to floor, musicians roaming between tables while a spellbinding sequence of shadow puppetry transforms light and smoke into living art. It is a world where sound, movement and illusion entwine, and where cabaret first sparked into a global phenomenon. Photo: The Lost Estate As night falls, guests slip into a world of after-dark delights. Inside, they become part of the story as they join the writers, illustrators, poets and musicians who made Montmartre hum – the artists, revolutionaries and mad romantics who lived by night and dined between poems, paintings and half-finished manifestos. The experience evokes the secret suppers of Paris’s wayward aristocrats, where indulgence is an art form and pleasure a quiet rebellion. Guests dine as they did - not with aristocratic formality but with appetite and abandon. The tables are laden with the classic haute cuisine dishes that gave birth to modern gastronomy: Coq au Vin, Crème Brûlée, champagne, absinthe, Parisian cocktails and an extensive old-world wine list. The Lost Estate Executive Chef Ashley Clarke and Head of Beverages Ilya Demenkov have created a feast of butter, brilliance and bohemia, served beneath flickering lamplight. Photo: The Lost Estate This is time travel by velvet and smoke - a living, breathing story where music, theatre, design and hospitality become a single work of art. This extraordinary immersive world is created by The Lost Estate’s Head of Design Thomas Kirk Shannon , lighting designer Mike Gunning (Alice’s Adventures Underground, Drowned Man, Grace Jones) and couture by Susan Kulkarni (Secret Cinema, Come Alive!). The Lost Estate are fast becoming the leader in immersive live arts experiences, crafting worlds that blur the lines between stage and reality and offer Londoners something rare: a night that feels like it could change history - a night out, a century in the making. Photo: The Lost Estate The world of Chat Noir! is designed for surrender. Guests dress in Vintage Parisian style - silks, velvets, waistcoats and smoky eyes - and cross a threshold where phones are forbidden and time loses its grip. Somewhere between dinner and dream, the city outside disappears, and the cabaret begins. Speaking on the experience, William Kunhardt, the Co-Founder of The Lost Estate, comments: Every experience by The Lost Estate begins the same way – an obsession with a moment in time when art, hospitality, and visionary people collided to create an inflection point in culture. Chat Noir! is the expression of our latest obsession: the bohemian subculture of 1890s Paris, the dawning of French Haute Cuisine, and amidst it all, the impresario Rodolphe Salis with his masterpiece, Le Chat Noir. It was the world’s first cabaret – a night-club where great French artists gathered to share and experiment, where every layer of Parisian society came to be entertained, provoked, and liberated. Dining, drinking, and artistic freedom became one. A movement was born that would change global culture forever. What a moment to bring back to life – to give people the chance to travel back in time and step inside this extraordinary nocturnal world, indulge utterly and live out one of the most explosive, daring and hedonistic moments in European cultural history. Photo: The Lost Estate The Lost Estate's Chat Noir! opens on 24th March 2026 in West Kensington. Tickets are priced from £124.85 and can be booked via chatnoirlondon.com

Photo: Lottie Amor Groundbreaking immersive theatre company Punchdrunk have revealed first look images of their new project LANDER 23 , which is running at their home base in Woolwich until 29th March 2026. A live action video game, LANDER 23 sees the immersive theatre pioneers collide with the world of gaming as never before, as audiences become players in a multiplayer stealth game. Photo: Lottie Amor LANDER 23 splits players into two squads - Command (Drivers) and Ground Team (Fields). As the Fields navigate the alien landscape, players rely solely on the voice and guidance of their Drivers, stationed aboard the ship. In the spirit of sustainability and accountability, the company have repurposed the extraordinary world of Troy from The Burnt City - reimagined for this new narrative. Photo: Lottie Amor LANDER 23's full description is as follows: The Lander Division of the Centre for Astrobiology is responsible for exploring the outer realms of the galaxy. No division goes further or deeper into the unknown. Tasked with discovering uncharted territories, exploring the outermost reaches and bringing back valuable data to the mothership. A week ago, the crew of Lander 23 vanished while harvesting a new and valuable energy source. A distress signal, then silence. You are the next crew in. Your mission is clear – continue their job without the same happening to you.  Time is not on your side. The environment is treacherous. There are hidden dangers lurking in the shadows. Do not deviate from the mission. Photo: Lottie Amor The experience has been conceived, directed & designed by Felix Barrett, with Kath Duggan and Joel Scott co-directing. LANDER 23's game systems have been created by Meaning Machine , who create 'premium, author-driven AI characters that can play meaningful roles in the stories and objectives of their human creators'. Photo: Lottie Amor Founded in 2000 by Felix Barrett, Punchdrunk has pioneered a game-changing form of theatre which places the audience at the very heart of the action. Listed amongst the 50 most influential artists of the last 50 years (Sky Arts, 2022) alongside Bowie, Sir Steve McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, Punchdrunk disrupts the theatrical norm, creating worlds in which audiences can rediscover the childlike excitement of exploring the unknown. Its iconic 'mask' shows, which redefined the genre of immersive experiences, have been cited amongst the 40 creative moments that changed culture (Creative Review), and have found phenomenal success across the globe, with record-breaking productions established in the US, UK and China. Sleep No More in New York played to sell out audiences for 14 years from 2011, and in Shanghai the show has been running since 2016, making it the longest running show in the city’s history. A new staging of Sleep No More opened in Seoul last summer. The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable broke the National Theatre’s box office records when it went on sale in 2013. Punchdrunk's 2022 London production,  The Burnt City , became the company's longest-running show in its home city, coinciding with the opening of its first permanent venue at One Cartridge Place in Woolwich. Photo: Lottie Amor In 2024,  Viola’s Room  debuted in Woolwich, marking a shift from Punchdrunk's signature mask performances. This intimate, barefoot sensory experience distilled two decades of the company's immersive expertise, using binaural sound to create a deeply personal journey. It premiered At The Shed in New York in June 2025. Punchdrunk’s past theatrical works include: Faust (in collaboration with the National Theatre), Tunnel 228 (in collaboration with The Old Vic), The Masque of the Red Death (with Battersea Arts Centre), It Felt Like A Kiss (with Adam Curtis and Damon Albarn, Manchester International Festival), The Duchess of Malfi (with ENO), Sleep No More (London, Boston, New York, Shanghai), The Crash of the Elysium (Manchester International Festival), The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable (with the National Theatre), The Burnt City , and Viola’s Room . Photo: Lottie Amor LANDER 23 is running at One Cartridge Place, Woolwich, until 10th May 2026. Tickets are priced from £38.75 and can be purchased via punchdrunk.com

Photo: Fever Bubble Planet will open at Depot Mayfield in Manchester this February after previously having launched in more than ten global cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Milan and London. Set within one of Manchester’s most exciting cultural destinations, Bubble Planet finds a fitting home at Depot Mayfield - a former railway depot transformed into a vibrant hub for arts, entertainment, and large-scale experiences. Photo: Fever Co-produced by family entertainment producer Exhibition Hub and Fever, the leading platform for discovering live entertainment and cultural experiences, Bubble Planet invites visitors to step into a joyful, dreamlike world where bubbles take centre stage. Enjoyed by over four million visitors worldwide, the experience was designed to awaken curiosity and reconnect audiences with a sense of childlike wonder, unfolding across a series of visually striking, multi-sensory environments. As visitors journey through the experience, they are immersed in a bubbly universe where colours, lights, textures and illusions blend seamlessly. From giant balloons to floating soap bubbles, each space offers a new perspective, encouraging exploration and playful discovery. Carefully designed to engage all the senses, Bubble Planet transforms imagination into a tangible, interactive adventure. Photo: Fever Ten themed rooms guide guests through surreal landscapes that blur the boundaries between dream and reality. Highlights include the Bubble Ocean, a vast expanse of bubbles designed to evoke calm and serenity, and the Infinity Room, where mirrors and shifting lights create the illusion of endless space. Underwater Bubbles transports visitors into a hypnotic aquatic world, recreating the magic and mystery of deep-sea exploration. Younger visitors can unleash their creativity in the Bubble Dome, a play area designed for hands-on fun, whilst tech fans can embark on an exhilarating virtual reality journey that adds an extra layer of adventure to the experience. Photo: Fever Speaking on Bubble Planet's Manchester opening, Hamza El Azhar, CEO of Exhibition Hub, comments: We are delighted to be bringing Bubble Planet to Manchester rfor the very first time alongside the team at Fever, and to be part of a city with such a strong and celebrated cultural identity. We look forward to welcoming everyone to experience a joyful, immersive adventure that sparks curiosity and wonder for all ages Bubble Planet opens at Depot Mayfield this February. To learn more and sign up to the waitlist, visit feverup.com

As part of our Year In Review series, we spoke to creators, writers and performers from across the immersive industry, including UNCLE BARRY, Phantom Peak, Voidspace, Sleepwalk, and Bridge Command to find out their favourite immersive and interactive work from the last twelve months. Undersigned By Yannick Trapman-O'Brien July to August 2025 at COLAB Tower and Edinburgh Fringe Photo: Lyra Levin A deeply personal, revelatory and moving experience, delivered with a tremendous amount of care and skill. It's unusual to find a practitioner who can bring us out to the bleeding edge of theatricality while holding us with safety and trust. Yannick managed this and created something authentic, surprising and intensely meaningful as a result. Katy Naylor, Voidspace Handle with Care By Ontroerend Goed November 2025 at Battersea Arts Centre Photo: Ans Brys It starts with a box and an audience and ends with us setting fire to the box's contents. In between, there is mayhem and reflection and a burgeoning sense of connection with those around you and everyone who has attended this show. There are no actors, just a list of instructions which lead us from scene to scene with the ever-playful Ontroerend Goed forcing us from our seats and into the thick of the action (should we wish). It's anti-theatre at its best, an interactive masterpiece that evokes surprise and emotional responses at every twist and turn. Franco Milazzo , Critic at Broadway World The Shop for Mortals and All Fools By Vinicius Salles February to October 2025 at Stanley Arts and COLAB Tower Photo: James Lawson My greatest surprise of 2025 came from a show I had become almost embarrassingly attached to, The Shop for Mortals and All Fools. It was a fully scripted piece with a clear narrative that invited the audience to witness a tragic moment in the life of a woman adrift inside her own memories, caught in a liminal space between past and present, somewhere between gods and mortals. I truly believed I understood it from every angle. After all, I had written and directed it, and surely that meant I knew exactly what London was about to experience. I had convinced myself that once I create an immersive work, it remains in place, fixed, stable, obedient, perfectly behaved. Fool of me. I could not have been more wrong. One month into the run, I watched the show. Kate Webster and Lily Ockwell had taken it gently but confidently by the hand and transformed it into something entirely their own. What I witnessed was not simply interpretation. It was a shift in the very fabric of the event. Delicate and dangerous. The piece had developed its own pulse and no longer belonged to me. Watching the actors and audience meet inside that suspended world reminded me of Antonin Artaud and his belief that theatre becomes most alive when it generates a charge that passes between performers and spectators. He argued that this charge can loosen the boundaries of ordinary perception and create a fragile reality where instinct and presence matter more than text. That was exactly what unfolded before my eyes. The room trembled with that shared tension, that delicate sense that everyone was stepping into a reality held together by breath and attention. At that moment, the words no longer felt like mine. My presence no longer felt required. And truly, in the spirit of Artaud, that is the best place a director can ever hope to be, standing back and witnessing a living event that thrives because it escapes control. Vinicius Salles Uncle Barry's Birthday Party By UNCLE BARRY February to October 2025 at Theatre Deli and COLAB Tower Photo: UNCLE BARRY This year was a big one for the Voidspace's ability to support new work, and I was thrilled to welcome Uncle Barry to this year's Voidspace Live, after their debut at February's Side/Step festival. A deceptively simple exercise in collaborative world-building, that left us all with a collective grin and many fond memories of everybody's favourite Uncle. Side/Step and Voidspace were together a bit of a generative powerhouse in our platforming of new interactive theatre this year: I'm looking forward to seeing what 2026 brings 🖤 Katy Naylor, Voidspace Creature By Peter Broughton September to November 2025 at COLAB Tower Photo: Peter Broughton/Creature There is truly nothing like watching a performance made for one audience member, and Creature is no exception. The immersive experience is like nothing I've ever seen before, with the sole audience member relinquishing all control and sitting in a wheelchair that is moved by members of the cast throughout the production. Broughton has made a beautiful adaptation of Frankenstein with a seamless cast and an incredible puppet! Kat Mokrynski , Critic at Broadway World and Little Lark of London Sleep No More By Punchdrunk / Ms. Jackson July 2025 to January 2026 at The McKithan Hotel, Seoul Photo: Punchdrunk/Ms. Jackson I was lucky enough to travel in Korea this year where I managed to see Punchdrunk/Ms.Jackson’s Sleep No More. The new staging expands on what previous editions of the show have built. With a bigger building and expanded set, it would’ve been easy to lose the heart and soul of the show, however I found that the magic of Sleep No More was definitely not lost. Fans of the show will love this new location and with an undeniably talented cast; the McKithan will not disappoint. Sebastian Huang, Sleepwalk Hollow Knight: Silksong By Team Cherry Image: Team Cherry My favourite immersive experience of the year is Silksong, the follow-up to Hollow Knight by Team Cherry, the Australian indie game developer. It’s genuinely incredible: complex, beautiful, engrossing, frustrating - just like seeking funding for capital projects in a declining Western world, where hope is dead yet I live endless and alone. In terms of live experiences, the immersive attraction I empirically most emotionally engaged with was Phantom Peak. My favourite part of Phantom Peak is “payroll” - a game that comes around every 4 weeks, with a flourish like no other. It’s just like that magic heist film, Now You See Me, Now You Don’t, except I am performing a job upon myself. I guess in this metaphor I am a little bit Isla Fisher with a gentle Jesse Eisenberg peppering, like salt on steak, or powdered sugar also on steak (not recommended). By the way, I have a lot of concerns about that movie: it clearly only makes narrative sense once you realise these are not stage magicians but a coven of witches, possessed with powers beyond the ken of man. I am no medieval peasant, but I for one think that immolation is too good for them and their smug posturing shows a dalliance with sinister powers that echo in the great beyond. Am I advocating for Jesse Eisenberg’s character J. Daniel Atlas to be burnt at the stake, flames lambent, his sequinned heels glittering against the night? No. Will I weep for him when his soul is cleansed by fire? No, coz his soul gets to go to a better place, duhhh. Oh! I also went to You Me Bum Bum Train! Yeah, man, that was really good. 12/10. Nick Moran, Creative Director, Phantom Peak ETERNAL By DARKFIELD April 2025 at Shoreditch Town Hall Photo: Katie Edwards This was a first-time physical mount of a show originally conceived as an at-home audio experience during Lockdown. The gaping maw of a row of bare iron beds in the dark and the growl of a low voice in your ear... the effects stay with you. Shelley Snyder, Immersive Actor at Bridge Command and The Key of Dreams Masquerade By Diane Paulus July 2025 to March 2026 at 218 West 57th, New York Photo: Luis Suarez From the minute audience members step into the show, they are immersed in the world of the Paris Opera House. This isn't just an adaptation of the musical everyone knows and loves - there are references to not only the original novel, but the films too, as well as some new interpretations exclusive to this production. The performers and staff members do a fantastic job of working together to create a seamless experience from beginning to end. The price tag may be high, but it is one of the best immersive experiences one can find right now! Kat Mokrynski , Critic at Broadway World and Little Lark of London What We Must By Aaron James Oliver October to November 2025 at COLAB Tower Photo: Angelina Cage I am a passionate supporter of smaller scale immersive productions, and I always will be. I strongly believe they are the breeding ground of exciting new ideas for the industry, and challenge the rest of the industry to push their boundaries and offer more intimacy, more agency, and more interactivity. What We Must is a great example of all of these tenets. Aaron James Oliver offers a truly collaborative experience, and brings their own unique storytelling elements to shape out their world - a genuinely different approach that strays from the more tried and true methods of engaging audiences. It's really exciting to see someone try a vastly different approach, and I hope they keep experimenting and bringing their unique style to the industry. Danny Romeo, Experience Director and Experience Designer at Phantom Peak , Founding Director of Ludens Theatre Company Alibi: Dead Air By Dean Rogers and Tom Black October 2025 at Theatre Deli Image: Dean Rodgers/Tom Black Jubensha is a relatively new game format to the UK; solving a murder mystery is far more fun when you're one of the suspects, with piles of evidence to review...or tamper with. Shelley Snyder, Immersive Actor at Bridge Command  and The Key of Dreams R.O.S.E By Sharon Eyal, Gai Behar, Young and Call Super July 2025 at Sadler's Wells East Photo: Johan Persson This show was both a great night out and a great lesson for me in how atmosphere, sound, and lighting, as opposed to text, can do so much of the immersion in an experience! When I first walked into the space, it was a pitch black, enormous room filled with hundreds of people. I felt like I was swimming in the darkest depths of water. The world was created heavily externally, and overlapped with a personal, familiar favourite setting - a nightclub. We were pulled in and out of being left to usual clubbing behaviour by interspersed dance performances, which always left us wanting more. At the very end of the night, it felt like the wall between the performers, the audience, and the atmosphere of the space was at its thinnest. We were guided by their movements to form a circle around them, and as the music dropped, the evening's built-up tension was released, letting us free to dance as one beating heart. It was beautiful! Mia Foster, UNCLE BARRY Sadler’s Wells was turned into a nightclub on a Sunday night at 7pm. The episodic show alternated between near-blackout stretches of dancing to music by Call Super and Sharon Eyal’s dancers cutting through the space with their otherworldly movements and performances. Each time the dancers appeared, the tension ramped up, until it finally exploded into an ecstatic dance battle. By the end, joining in felt totally irresistible. Ariana Aragon, UNCLE BARRY The Alchemist By Sherlocked December 2022 to September 2026 at Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam Photo: Sherlocked The best escape room I've ever done. Exquisite build. In the final moments, I felt like I was actually in a movie. A movie with special effects, but they weren't special effects; it was like it was real, and I was taking part in some sort of Merlin-oriented, magical, super-sci-fi, amazing adventure movie. It was breathtaking. James Wallman, CEO, World Experience Organization We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon By (LA)HORDE September 2025 at Southbank Centre Photo: We Never Should Have Walked On The Moon What made this three-hour experience work was the freedom to drift around the Southbank. Being able to step in and out of episodes at will reinforced the show’s ideas on fragmented attention and Gen Z internet culture. My own movement, boredom, and curiosity became part of the choreography. I was completely hooked by the performers’ bodies that offered hope amidst the bleak, gritty, and oddly beautiful aesthetic. Ariana Aragon, UNCLE BARRY DATA-COSM [n°1] By Ryoji Ikeda October 2025 to February 2026 at 180 Studios Photo: 180 Studios/ Alice Lubbock The best piece of digital immersive art, sound and visual that I've probably ever experienced. At times, you felt like you were floating through space above the planet, and other times, wandering into microscopic areas. It was electric, mesmerising, engrossing, brilliant fun. James Wallman, CEO, World Experience Organization Sophie's Surprise Party By Three Legged Race Productions November to December 2025 at Underbelly Boulevard Soho Photo: Roger Robinson This immersive 90s circus/cabaret party returned to Underbelly as exciting as it was 18 months ago. After one (un)lucky audience member is plucked to play Sophie for the night, there's all the tunes you might expect, party games to get involved with, and plenty of nods to films of the era while an expert crew of circus/cabaret artistes put on an innovative and decidedly adult show. Franco Milazzo , Critic at Broadway World Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha By Julia Masli August to October 2025 at Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre Photo: Austin Ruffer This show inspired me loads! Through the heartwarming and simple concept of asking audience members their problems and solving them with the room, Julia Masli listens and responds to realities that exist for people beyond the theatre walls. As an audience member, it was wonderful to be a part of the playful journey where these problems are explored, transformed, and solved. I was left with a sense of creative possibility and a feeling of empowerment, having been in a space that is supported for people to be bold in their vulnerability. Throughout the show, there is a feeling of precarity, yet we are kept safe at all times whilst drifting between realities with Julia Masli’s otherworldly calming presence. I laughed a lot. The mechanics are fascinating to witness as a maker, and as an audience member, there is such a joy in the show's spirit that allows space for a whole spectrum of emotions. After an evening of assisting in the orchestration of a new reality in which we help solve the problems of people sitting around us, for me, the show tipped into ‘immersive’ when leaving the venue. As you walk out, your eyes catch with fellow audience members, and more conversation than usual is struck up amongst us. There seemed to be a mist of hope that followed you out after the show, as the possibility of what the world could look like if we listened to and helped one another more often hovered in the air. Mia Foster, UNCLE BARRY Mind Control Disco By But Why? Theatre October 2025 at IEN Summit/Dial Arch, Woolwich Image: But Why? Theatre Although I couldn’t see the whole thing, I was able to see experience an extract from But Why?’s Mind Control Disco at the IEN Summit. The show is built upon an incredibly fun concept, taking the form of a club night where each audience member wears headphones and is directed by an ominous voice, connecting people through music and group interactions. I thought the piece did a wonderful job of bringing the audience out of their shells, allowing us to fully embrace the humour and silliness of the show and make genuine connections through music and dance. I would highly recommend Mind Control Disco to anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted night out as well as veterans of the immersive scene. Sebastian Huang, Sleepwalk Oscar at the Crown By Shira Milikowsky, Mark Mauriello and Andrew Barret Cox May to November 2025 at The Crown, Tottenham Court Road Photo: Luke Dyson Admittedly, I didn't get to see as many immersive shows as I'd like to this year. I really appreciated Oscar at the Crown's take on an immersive musical. While I think the format needs some rethinking to engage audiences deeper, I don't think anyone has really nailed the balance between proscenium-style musical performances and audience interaction. But Oscar was exciting and high-energy, and did make some good attempts at bringing the audience into the world of the show. The design was colorful and fun, the songs were exciting and high energy, and I think the show made some distinctive steps in the right direction towards a fully immersive musical. Danny Romeo, Experience Director and Experience Designer at Phantom Peak , Founding Director of Ludens Theatre Company COLAB Tower 22 Southwark Bridge Road, London Photo: COLAB Theatre 2025 was a year that swept me away. If anything, it felt a bit like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 once I caught a fish alive, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 then I let it go again. Everything seemed to slip past me before I had time to hold on to it. Yet there were so many intriguing pieces happening out there, and so many compelling ideas about what immersive experiences might become. And honestly, whether they were good or bad or gloriously confusing in between did not matter as much as the sheer exercise of exploring new ways of experiencing performance. And for that, applause is due. Claps to Colab Theatre for making all of this possible right in their backyard, in their saloons of old tiles and slightly questionable gold paint. There are not many organisations in the UK that truly act as catalysts for experimentation and innovation, places where independent artists can settle in and plough their craft. A mother ship of creativity. For me, they were the real show in town this year. And I am already looking forward to what might unfold there in 2026, perhaps something as spectacular as a galactic war. Vinicius Salles

We recap our picks for 2025's best immersive shows as part of our Year In Review series. #5  - Bacchanalia (Sleepwalk) Hoxton Hall, March to April 2025 Photo: Akil Wilson Sleepwalk's 2025 staging of Bacchanalia was one of the most anticipated shows of the year, with the show's initial runs at Crypt in Bethnal Green garnering rave reviews and multiple sold-out runs. Thankfully, their updated staging of the Greek tragedy managed to exceed the already high expectations placed upon it, thanks to a hugely talented cast, an expanded storyline, and a space much better suited to housing such an epic story. Those looking to scratch that Punchdrunk itch found themselves well looked after, too, with plenty of sprinting up and down stairwells, numerous world-class performers, and, of course, additional one-on-one interactions for a lucky few. #4  - Phantom Peak (The League of Adventure) Canada Water, January to December 2025 Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak's ongoing narrative continued to outshine nearly every other immersive show out there in 2025 with another exceptional year of seasonal updates. Engaging and accessible for first-time visitors, while being deeply rewarding for long-time tourists, the show's ever-changing line-up of genre-bending trails form the backbone of a one-of-a-kind experience that isn't being replicated anywhere else. In years to come, it'll be looked back on as one of the most ambitous pieces of immersive work ever produced. #3  - Creature (Peter Broughton) COLAB Tower, September to November 2025 Photo: Creature/Peter Broughton Peter Broughton's Creature delivered an experience unlike anything else we've ever seen. Fusing puppetry with immersive elements and binaural audio, it's a wildly cinematic thrill ride that offers more jaw-dropping moments in its 20-minute runtime than most shows achieve in multiple hours. It's 2025's best immersive debut, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for it. #2  - The Key of Dreams (Lemon Difficult) Treowen, Wales, January to December 2025 Photo: Lemon Difficult This 24-hour-long immersive experience, created by Lemon Difficult, is rightfully regarded as one of the county’s best. Thanks to a dense narrative, a huge amount of audience agency, and terrific performances from a cast that stays in character for upwards of 12 hours at a time, attendees find themselves slipping deeper and deeper into the show’s world with every passing hour. By nightfall, the intensity ramps up to an almost unbearable level, and every decision, regardless of whether it’s big or small, carries huge weight and even bigger consequences. A must-do for immersive theatre fans everywhere. #1  - Undersigned (Yannick Trapman-O'Brien) COLAB Tower, July 2025 Photo: Lyra Levin After several years of touring the United States, Yannick Trapman-O'Brien's Undersigned made its long-awaited UK debut in 2025 with a short run in London before moving to the Edinburgh Fringe. Using little more than a blindfold, a candle and a notepad, this intimate piece of immersive theatre for an audience of one deftly balances being both emotionally devastating and wonderfully uplifting at the same time. The show has the potential to be life-changing, and for us at least, it has fundamentally altered how we see ourselves. For coverage of all the latest immersive experiences coming to London in 2026, follow us on Instagram , X  and BlueSky .

Peter Broughton's adaptation of Frankenstein, which plays out for an audience of one each performance, is one of this year's most exciting new immersive productions. Image: Creature/Peter Broughton This review contains descriptions of some events within Creature. Written and directed by Peter Broughton (best known for playing Dionysus in the original Crypt and Hoxton Hall runs of Sleepwalk's Bacchanalia ), Creature is an intimate, immersive production for a single audience member. It blends puppetry, binaural audio and immersive performance to create an experience that feels equal parts immersive show and theme park dark ride. Inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 gothic novel Frankenstein , this 20-minute-long show places its sole audience member into the role of Victor Frankenstein, kidnapped on his wedding night by the vengeful creature he abandoned. Each performance's single audience member sits in a wheelchair and is pushed and pulled through the space by a masked Igor (Jessica Southwood) while wearing headphones, through which the majority of the show's dialogue and atmospheric soundtrack (created by Hanna Gardner) is delivered. Alongside the pre-recorded audio is a series of striking visual sequences that see the audience, amongst other things, thrown across the space, looking into the past, and engulfed in flames. The show's centrepiece is an arresting life-sized puppet of the creature (played by Peter Broughton), which is hellbent on exacting its revenge on Victor, and narrates the show in between menacing growls and snarls, commanding every moment of the audience's attention. In the best way possible, Creature is a hard show to categorise. While it's unequivocally a piece of immersive theatre, it refuses to fit neatly into any of the typical immersive boxes, offering very little agency, no influence over the show's narrative, and no freedom to move around the space as they wish. However, what the audience gives up in autonomy is made up for tenfold thanks to the show's meticulously timed, cinematic approach to storytelling, which is unlike anything else we've ever experienced in an immersive production. To sit down in the wheelchair is to give yourself over to becoming the focus of a terrifying, gothic-infused fever dream. Photo: Creature/Peter Broughton The show's initial run, which took place in the Boat Tunnel at COLAB Tower (a venue fast emerging as the de facto home for new immersive work in London) as part of COLAB's inaugural Invitational Theatre Festival , sold out almost instantly. While a scarcity of tickets is often the case with buzzy one-audience-member shows like Creature, this first run at COLAB Tower sold out before the show had even been officially publicised on its social media channels - likely off the back of Broughton's name and die-hard immersive fans' familiarity with their previous work on Sleepwalk's Bacchanalia. When we sat down with  Peter ahead of the show's opening, they cited the work of Jim Henson as the catalyst for their lifelong love of puppetry. While what they've created in Creature is a far cry from the kinds of puppets Henson produced throughout his career and a departure from the style of puppetry audiences might recall from Bacchanalia, Broughton's passion for the form is evident long before the creature's terrifying design is fully revealed. While we're not going to divulge any specifics about the puppet (which was hand-made by Broughton with additional textile work by Audrey Rodriguez), we can share that when you're sitting in the wheelchair, it towers over you and feels like it could swallow you whole. In the rare moments where its focus isn't on you, and the creature isn't hunched over to meet you at eye level, its head comes perilously close to scraping the ceiling of the show's venue. It's a sight to behold, and when it's looking directly at you, it's incredibly unnerving. One of Creature's most interesting elements (looming, terrifying puppet aside) is how the audience's attention and field of view are managed while they're sitting in the wheelchair. Throughout the show, every movement is choreographed down to the second, with the show's cast working in tandem to manually shine torches, getting into position for upcoming scenes, and triggering smoke machines and video elements, all in time with the show's evocative pre-recorded audio. From slow creeps forward to rapid 360-degree circles around the creature as it writhes on the floor, there are very few moments where you're not being moved through the space, and at all times, your field of vision and focus are dictated by those movements and position in the space. Alongside delivering a cinematic, movie-like experience, in which the audience is always perfectly placed for the unfolding scene, the audience's ever-changing sightlines also allow the show's five-strong team to perform some really impactful sleight of hand within the space, swapping out elements of the set when your back is turned, keeping audiences on the backfoot, constantly questioning what else could be happening around them when they're not looking. Photo: Creature/Peter Broughton Pre-recorded video content, at times, plays out through TV screens and projections, offering some wider context for both the creature's actions and the show's wider world. Those who attended Sleepwalk's Bacchanalia will spot a familiar face in Elizabeth (Maya McQueen), alongside an unmasked Broughton, who makes a short cameo as a newsreader. The rest of the show's video cast is made up of Mei Mei MacLeod as a second newsreader, Charles Stagg as William and Ben Mallett as the pre-recorded version of Victor. In immersive theatre, the one-on-one has always been highly sought after. Whether it be self-contained shows like The Manikins  or Undersigned , or fleeting, private moments within larger immersive worlds from the likes of Punchdrunk, their impact on those who experience them is long-lasting. Alongside making that one audience member the focus of the performer's attention and placing them at the centre of the experience, below the surface, there's a recognition that everything being performed, regardless of how complex the show is, is for the benefit of one person. It's a humbling position for an audience member to exist in, and the exchanges within these moments, however big or small, often hold more weight purely because it's just for them. Photo: Creature/Peter Broughton Within Creature, there's an extraordinary amount of effort being exerted for the benefit of that one audience member. None of the show's lighting is pre-programmed - it's all done by torchlight at the hands of the cast. None of the movement and environmental changes are mechanical - they're all done by manually. None of what they experience would exist without the show's cast (made up of Peter Broughton, Jessica Southwood, Alice Elsie Thomas, Elena Sirett and Puck) pulling off every element of the show, in the moment and in unison, just for them. To do all of that, flawlessly, for a single person's applause and appreciation may be somewhat of a thankless task, especially when the team are all masked and it's nigh-on impossible to tell who is doing what in the moment, but the collective impact of that work on the audience's experience can't be understated. As is often the case with experiences for just one audience member, the ticket price for Creature is high, costing anywhere from £90 to £100 per performance. Despite being a short piece (clocking in at a little over 20 minutes from beginning to end), it's clear that the show's price is a necessity, especially given the cast size, which is nearly twice as big as that of shows like Undersigned and The Manikins. Photo: Creature/Peter Broughton Creature is one of the most exciting new immersive productions to have opened in London this year. Much like during Sleepwalk's first run of Bacchanalia at Crypt, Creature's debut outing feels like it has the potential to go on to become a much larger experience if the stars align. While there's no way of knowing what the future holds for Creature, in its current form it's a perfectly realised, fiercely original experience that's unlike anything else out there. If you can secure a ticket, count yourself lucky, because it's one hell of a ride. ★★★★★ Creature will run at COLAB Tower from 30th October to 1st November 2025. Tickets are currently sold out, but you can stay up to date on future performances via @creature.immersive on Instagram. For more reviews of immersive productions like Creature, check out our recent Immersive Reviews . Stay up to date on the latest immersive theatre news by following Immersive Rumours on Instagram .

An exclusive look inside Phantom Peak's latest summer offering, Starlit Summer. Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak's Starlit Summer runs until 15th September 2024 in Canada Water. To find out more about the show and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com

Step Into Room 101 with these first look photos from 1984 :A Unique Theatre Experience at Hackney Town Hall Photo: Maggie Jupe Pure Emotion's site-specific production of 1984: A Unique Theatre Experience began previews earlier this week at Hackney Town Hall. Directed by Jack Reardon, the show stars Dominic Carter (O’Brien), Joe Anderson (Winston), and Neetika Knight (Julia). Jack Reardon, the director of 1984 at Hackney Town Hall, said the following about the show's cast: The cast assembled are truly extraordinary. It is testament to our casting director Fran Cattaneo. Each person has brought such unique insights and flavour to their characters. Dominic Carter’s wealth of experience on stage and screen has made him both a formidable O’Brien and invaluable rehearsal room leader. Joe Anderson’s years oexperience on screen is incredibly captured in this production given the utilisation of live cameras and his experience has evolved the production with innovative ideas. Neetika Knight is a generational talent. Her natural presence on stage and instinctive response to the work has been awe inspiring. Together, we have created an extraordinary principle cast, supported by the extraordinary ensemble cast. Everyone plays an essential role in creating this one of a kind production of 1984. Adam Taub, the executive producer of Pure Expression, said: I am so excited at the talent of the creative team we have brought together for this new production, and the standard of this cast is just the cherry on top.. It is a brand new team and the show is being completely reimagined with astonishing AV, lighting set and sound design - Hackney Town Hall remains the perfect venue for the Ministry of Truth. Photo: Maggie Jupe Photo: Maggie Jupe Photo: Maggie Jupe Photo: Maggie Jupe Photo: Maggie Jupe Photo: Maggie Jupe Photo: Maggie Jupe Photo: Maggie Jupe Immersive 1984: A Unique Theatre Experience runs from 1st October 2024 to 22nd December 2024 at Hackney Town Hall. Tickets are priced from £24.50. To find out more and buy tickets, visit immersive1984.com

To reflect on the variety of immersive and interactive shows we've seen debut in 2024, we spoke to immersive creators, performers and writers from companies including COLAB Theatre, Phantom Peak , Deadweight Theatre and Sleepwalk Immersive to find out their favourite pieces of work from the year. The Manikins: A Work In Progress By Jack Aldisert, Deadweight Theatre June-November 2024 at CRYPT, Kingswood Arts and Studio 55 Photo: Marc Tsang When I first read the prototype script for The Manikins around this time last year, I was bowled over. It took several months and some revisions before it was possible to put it on at CRYPT, but it remains one of my favourite pieces of new immersive work ever. Owen Kingston, Artistic Director, Parabolic Theatre and Bridge Command Manikins is a shining example of how much small-scale immersive theatre can achieve. This show has more inventive ideas and novel approaches to immersing audiences than most shows with 6-8 figure budgets. The unique blurring of lines between the world of the play and the audience's reality makes the show gripping and inescapable, and the emerging gameplay offers a unique form of control that audiences can't experience in larger-scale productions. The Manikins uses its intimate nature as its greatest asset, focusing all of the production's attention on a singular audience member, firmly casting them as the driving force behind the narrative. Where bigger productions lean on a more anonymized approach to audience engagement (such as the masks in Punchdrunk productions, or casting audiences within a role like Phantom Peak or Bridge Command), Manikins examines each audience member's pre-existing identity and personality as a core focus of the experience. It allows the show a sense of focus and personalization that can't be found anywhere else. While it's hard to see how these techniques can be applied to a wider audience base, given time I'm sure that Jack Aldisert and Deadweight Theatre will find a solution that's just as inventive and original as their solo concept. I fully expect big things will be coming from this company in the future, especially as they expand into larger spaces and audience capacities. Danny Romeo , Experience Director, Phantom Peak A mind-blowing weird theatre experience, completely unlike anything else out there. Unparalleled emotional impact, all delivered by two actors and a stage manager in a simply furnished room. Cleverly constructed, thoughtfully delivered and quite literally mind-blowing. I can't wait to see what Deadweight get up to next. Katy Naylor, Voidspace So much of Jack's show was a knockout, but it's the repetition that really got me. I love repetition in art, particularly in music. The Manikins manipulated repetition so boldly that it gloriously fucked up everyone lucky enough to go. Nathan Ess, Muddled Marauders Very rarely do you find a show which successfully breaks your perception of what’s real and what is not. However, Jack and his team at Deadweight seemed to manage to do so with ease. I thought the performers were excellent and the simplicity of the set and tech allowed the fantastic writing to shine. From concept to execution, ‘The Manikins’ is one of the strongest pieces I’ve seen in recent memory and I look forward to seeing more creations from Deadweight. Sebastian Huang, Sleepwalk Immersive Bridge Command By Parabolic Theatre March 2024 - Present in Vauxhall Photo: Alex Brenner Bridge Command is an absolute delight. While it's amazing to see Parabolic's years of hard work pay off, the show itself is more than the sum of its parts and is a powerhouse production within the London industry. The set is gorgeous, the tech is impressive, and the premise of flying a spaceship excites my inner child to no end. But what stands out most to me is the effortless collaboration between players that the show inspires. Whether you've known everyone on your team for years or met for the first time minutes ago, Bridge Command's gameplay demands fluid teamwork. I've played the experience twice, each with different groups, and both times our teams started out as individuals trying to be the hero. But the game quickly sets you on the right track, requiring fluid communication between job roles and rewarding groups who support each other. Both of my teams bonded quickly over the course of the show, and we celebrated our wins and losses as a singular unit, which is an impressive achievement for any immersive production. The scope of the show, which boasts an expansive catalogue of unique missions and a progression system, also seems exciting, but I've yet to experience it myself. Parabolic surely have plenty more surprises in store. Here's hoping that their tenure in Vauxhall is a long one, because Bridge Command is an excellent entry point for new audience members into the immersive industry and could prove to be one of the most important productions in the London immersive scene. Danny Romeo , Experience Director, Phantom Peak The big-budget remake of 2019's magical string and sticky tape predecessor delivers a complete storytelling experience. As you operate stations in a spaceship and interact with performers, every word and every pixel work together to create an experience where your actions matter - but also receive a satisfying narrative - without seeing the joins. Absolutely thrilled to see this show back, with the budget it deserves and as strong as ever. Katy Naylor, Voidspace I think what was achieved in terms of not only tech, but world-building and audience agency allowed me to fall into the role of a comms officer with complete immersion. I found the show to be a good balance of theatre and gaming and with multiple spacecrafts and missions, the draw to return is definitely strong. Sebastian Huang, Sleepwalk Immersive Parabolic being the classic, brilliant Parabolic. A well-designed game given a slab of cash just made it feel so immersive. There was a moment in the med bay (which I don't think we were supposed to be using - sorry gang!) but the scanner just made me giggle with glee. Bertie Watkins, Founder/Director, COLAB Theatre The Key of Dreams By Lemon Difficult April 2024 - Present in Treowen, Wales. Photo: Lemon Difficult This 24-hour horror adventure delivers on every front with a deep storyline that develops hour by hour to a satisfying finale, intense acting from a committed cast and a highly immersive environment. Franco Milazzo, Critic, BroadwayWorld UK Almost overwhelmingly dense world-building and lore to be uncovered in this 24-hour immersive/puzzle/sleuth/weird experience set in a 17c Welsh country house While hardcore clue hunters will love whipping around the place in a frenzy of discovery, what I loved was the opportunity to really get to know characters, absorb the uncanny atmosphere in the bones of the house and throw myself into the action as darkness fell and things grew stranger. Katy Naylor, Voidspace This is what free-roaming immersive theatre should be. A long, carefully crafted, deep-worlded performance that is impressively easy to slip into. The piece is scaffolded by precise, complex, and apparently adaptive dramaturgy that keeps the experience manageable despite the often overwhelming amount of content and the difficulty of portraying Lovecraftian elements in live performance. The actors, though, are the centerpiece of this production. The impressively durational and flexible performances by actors who clearly care deeply about their characters and their relationships with the audience make this show special, and they will stick with us for a long time. Jack Aldisert and Dominika Uçar, Directors, Deadweight Theatre Viola's Room By Punchdrunk May - December 2024 at One Cartridge Place I know it's a cop-out choosing the biggest immersive company (and I think it probably is more of an indication of how little, in my limited opinion, shows came out this year) but I just loved the bit when there was a miniature city with mini moving lights. It was a stand-out moment for me this year when I literally couldn't help but shout - 'wow'. It was a special moment and showed you don't need big epic sets to make an impact (even though that moment probably cost more than an entire fringe show...) Bertie Watkins, Founder/Director, COLAB Theatre The lighting, sound, and set design were all stunning! This show was a wonderful reminder that you can create theatre and art just by creating an environment that feels truthful and grounded. Having no shoes brought me into the experience even more - it was a sensory masterpiece. Serena Lehman , Actor (The Manikins: a work in progress) The whole show felt like you were stepping into another world, the story, the soundtrack, the sensory element, everything was just perfect. Puck , Magician and Actor (Rhythm&Ruse) Phantom peak By The League of Adventure March - December 2024 in Canada Water Photo: Alistair Veryard Consistently the best immersive show in London with continuous bursts of invention and ideas throughout the year. Franco Milazzo, Critic, BroadwayWorld UK Phantom Peak is incredible! An open-world video game mixed with immersive theatre, the perfect recipe for a fun time. Each time I’ve been has been so fun and different, and the characters you meet and learn stories from are all a delight. Puck , Magician and Actor (Rhythm&Ruse) Horizon of Khufu By Excurio October 2023 - December 2024 at Westfield Stratford Photo: Excurio There's a long list of new shows I haven't yet made it to this year yet, but this free-roaming VR experience I did in New York (also in London) left an impression. It takes you on a dreamlike journey into an Egyptian tomb late at night, blending digital historical recreation with interactive storytelling. Simple in design and narrative, but expansive in a way I’ve rarely seen in location-based VR. By the end, you feel like you’ve truly walked/travelled on a real expedition, rather than just crossing a room or two, heightening immersion. And it oozes atmosphere—exactly how my inner child (and adult self) dreams of experiencing and understanding history. Jack Pirie, Director/Creative Director, Elvis Evolution , The War of the Worlds Immersive , Jetpack Odyssey The Great Murder Mystery By The Lost Estate March - September 2024 in West Kensington An incredible retelling of a much loved story, The Hound of the Baskervilles in a theatre dining experience that is best-in-class. The food was an experience in itself and blew my socks off. Honestly, every dish I was excited about before it even arrived at the table. The theatre is brilliantly written, directed & performed. Tom Shannon’s set design is first class and kept the surprises coming. Really was the best night at the theatre I had this year. Neil Connolly, Creative Director, Immersive Everywhere Fight Night By Ontroerend Goes October 2024 at Watford Palace Theatre Photo: Ontoerend Goes Exposing the flaws and hypocrisies of the democratic process through an audience-driven voting-based competition. While political statements were kept out of the picture, OG nevertheless exposed the flaws at the heart of the process that provided an unsettling lesson in the madness of crowds and what it means to 'take back control'. Katy Naylor, Voidspace La Boh è me By Bread and Bus Stop November - December 2024 at Safehouse 1, Peckham Photo: Bread and Bus Stop The immersive elements landed the story successfully even for audiences that normally don't connect with opera. Temperature, dynamic movement, spatial elements, and proximity with the performers all brought the audience into the story and created connections with the characters that were more intimate than in typical operatic performance practice. Hannah Gintberg-Dees, Director, Deadweight Theatre This Time (Travel) Will Be Different By Chloe Mashiter June 2024 at Theatre Deli Photo: James Lawson This was an enchanting hour of lo-fi high-concept interactive theatre. One performer (also the creator, the immensely talented Chloe Mashiter) ably led a tightly-packed room through a clever exploration of the logic of timeloops, with lots of time travel jokes (better ones than the clichés you may be tired of by now!). I came away with warm feelings and buzzy thoughts about time travel, and the emotional connections we make in the real world where we (usually) only get to do things once. Tom Black, Co-founder, Bridge Command  and Jury Games Where We Meet By Unwired Dance Theatre June 2024 at Theatre Deli Photo: Romain Tissot Using headphones, which allows performers to curate the soundtrack that they send to their free-roaming audience, Where We Meet allows us to understand the inner thoughts and be truly close to the characters. Katy Naylor, Voidspace Unfurl By Bubble Club Photo: Bubble Club Unfurl takes place in Room 2 of Bubble Club , an accessible club night in East London. Hosted by Tilley, Del and Isaac, it mixes art installation, Puffing and Wooling, improv, interactive performance, and open mic. It's immersive, interactive, and utterly unique - consistently the most joyous experience in London. Nathan Ess, Muddled Marauders A Quest For Rest By Ariella Stoian & Mushmoss Collective June 2024 at Theatre Deli Part-game, part-exhibit, part-theatre (my descriptors, not the creators), this was a lovingly-crafted and detailed exploration of energy management and chronic fatigue. It's the most effective example that I have yet encountered of the form of interactive theatre being used to explain concepts that are difficult to comprehend simply through reading or listening. It did all this while remaining charmingly light in tone, and gave me that feeling that immersive work is uniquely-placed to provide: empathy. Tom Black, Co-founder, Bridge Command and Jury Games Uwolnienie By Zenon Fajfer  and Kuba Kowalski Numerous dates throughout 2024 at Wrocławski Teatr Współczesny, Wrocław, Poland Photo: Filip Wierzbicki This was an immersive performance inside a proscenium theatre that turned the proscenium space into an immersive, non-traditional performance environment in a clever post-modern deconstruction of the theatre. A boundary-pushing, political challenge to the audience that never lost its sense of humour and delight. I'd never seen anything quite like it before. Dominika Uçar, Director, Deadweight Theatre A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute to this article. For coverage of all the latest immersive experiences coming to London in 2025, follow us on Instagram , X  and BlueSky .