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Image: Punchdrunk Enrichment The full creative team has been announced for the world premiere of Punchdrunk Enrichment’s Fireside Tales, an enchanting interactive adventure for children aged 7-11 and their grown-ups, running at Punchdrunk Enrichment Stores in Wembley Park, Brent, from 6 December 2025 to 4 January 2026. Casting is to be announced soon. Fireside Tales is written and directed by incoming Artistic Director of Punchdrunk Enrichment Steve McCourt . The creative team announced today will also include design by Mydd Pharo (who has designed and directed works for WildWorks, Kneehigh, Shakespeare’s Globe, Royal Court, National Theatre and Young Vic), costume design by Melissa Simon-Hartman (who has collaborated with global icons including Beyoncé and Doja Cat, and whose work has been featured by artists such as Little Mix, Stefflon Don and Wizkid, and appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, VOGUE and GQ), lighting design by Sarah Readman (whose credits include Enitan’s Game, Punchdrunk Enrichment; The Glass Menagerie, Yard Theatre and The Burnt City, Punchdrunk as Lighting Associate) and sound design by Dominic Kennedy  (whose credits include Enitan’s Game, Punchdrunk Enrichment; God’s Dice, Soho Theatre; You Stupid Darkness, Paines Plough). Fireside Tales is a show about the stories we tell, the ones we pass down, the ones we forget and what happens when we take the time to listen. Audiences are invited to step into a magical world where stories flicker like flames and imagination keeps them burning bright. Developed with schools, Fireside Tales encourages young audiences to draw, write and share their own stories. Mydd Pharo (Designer) said: Working on Fireside Tales with the Punchdrunk Enrichment team has been such a joy. Together we’ve reimagined the space as playful, elemental, and full of possibility, allowing the wild in and bringing the outside alive indoors. It has been a process full of fun, invention, and collaboration, and I’m thrilled to see audiences step into this world we’ve created. Melissa Simon-Hartman (Costume Designer) said: Being part of ‘Fireside Tales’ has been an incredible opportunity to merge my love of storytelling with costume design. I am passionate about creating pieces that don’t just dress a character but help transport audiences into whole new worlds. This production celebrates imagination, heritage, and community, values that are at the heart of my practice. Sarah Readman (Lighting Designer) said: I am blazing with joy to be part of creating Fireside Tales and I'm so excited for people to step into our world, sit around the fire and share stories. Ahead of Fireside Tales, outgoi ng Artistic Director and CEO of Punchdrunk Enrichment  Peter Higgin will embark on an epic 100-mile charity run in  October from the Isle of Wight to Wembley, London, over 3 days in a remarkable effort to raise £25,000 for Punchdrunk Enrichment. The money will help Punchdrunk Enrichment reach more children and families, particularly those with limited access to arts and cultural experiences. Funds raised through the Founder to Future Challenge will support their core work: keeping ticket prices affordable, offering schools highly subsidised creative learning projects, and developing bold, imaginative experiences that place children at the heart of the story.  For more details, see here . Fireside Tales will run at Punchdrunk Enrichment Stores in Wembley Park from 6th December 2025 to 4th January 2026. Tickets are priced from £15, and can be booked via punchdrunkenrichment.org

Update: As of 2nd October 2025, Till Death Us Do Party will no longer be opening. Producer Robert Mackintosh shared the following: As a group of producers, we have jointly taken the financially responsible decision now to cancel the production. This decision was to ensure that everyone who has worked on the show to date will be paid in full. Till Death Us Do Party , a new immersive production directed by James Doherty that centres around the wedding of bride Florence and groom Tom, will open at One NinetyFour Picaddily this September. Guests assemble, vows are exchanged, and speeches are slurred, as emotional meltdowns, unlikely romances, and family feuds unfold around you - all set to a backdrop of sharp-tongued jokes, death-defying fire-eaters, and knife throwers with questionable aim. Prepare for a bridesmaid speech you’ll never un-hear, and a conga line that may or may not end in disaster. Whether you’re Team Bride or Team Groom, one thing’s for certain: you’ll laugh, cringe, sing, cheer, and maybe even catch the bouquet. You may come for the wedding - but you’ll stay for the mayhem. Meg Hateley and Keiran Constable Within the show, Meg Hateley plays Florence Bush-Fuller, the bride, opposite Keiran Constable, who plays Tom Cox, the groom. Father Michael, the priest, will be played by William Folan-Conray . Additionally, Matt Addis will take on the role of Ollie Bush-Fuller, father of the bride, and Frankie Power as their 'girlfriend' Cyndee. Charlotte Palmer is Marian Bush-Fuller, the mother of the bride, alongside Clare Samuels as Carol Cox, the mother of the groom. Rikki Dallas will play Gareth Pickford, the best man, and Mark Biocca  takes on the roles of Uncle Tony & Alexandro Del Pierro. Rounding off the cast are Eleanor Hindson , Louise Lord , Phil Whelans, Katherine Rodden and Louie Wanless . Speaking on the show's announcement, producer Robert Mackintosh comments: Immersive theatre shows are a fast-growing branch of live entertainment. I love the idea of bringing together the great institution of marriage with the joining of two families - a wonderful battlefield of characters, emotions and wicked fun - with an audience prepared to take part and beat the centre of it all. The perfect couple anxious to exchange vows. Two families willing to exchange blows. Until Death Us Do Part….Y! James Doherty, the show's director, has previously worked with Armando Iannucci on Avenue 5, and appeared in The Thick Of It, Veep and the Oscar-nominated In the Loop. James also helped develop the original characters for the Channel 4 hit Mongrels. A well-known face from TV comedy shows, James’ work includes appearances in the BAFTA-winning Him & Her The Wedding (BBC) and BAFTA-nominated Big Boys (Ch4). Other TV comedy credits include The Windsors, Phoneshop (C4), Trying (AppleTV+), Rev, Miranda, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong and Motherland (BBC). James can currently be seen in Season 2 & 3 of House Of The Dragon (HBO) as the recurring barfly, Cley, and as Nick Biddiss in Season 2 of The Gold (BBC). James has also worked extensively in theatre with recent seasons at the RSC and National Theatre. He has appeared in numerous West End musicals, including Come From Away, Chicago and Les Misérables. Till Death Us Do Party was due to open at One NinetyFour Picaddily on 2nd October and run until 20th December 2025.

Photo: Jack Hall/PA Media Assignments Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience has officially entered the history books as a Guinness World Record holder for the longest theatrical run of a musical immersive theatre production, with more than 31,000 performances (and counting) since its launch in 2019.  Created by immersive producers Layered Reality in partnership with legendary composer Jeff Wayne and executive producer Damian Collier, the experience blends live actors, virtual reality, holograms, 5D effects, and a groundbreaking soundscape across 24 scenes to bring Wayne’s iconic musical version of HG Wells’ novel to vivid life.  The certificate was presented during a special ceremony at the production’s home on Leadenhall Street in the City of London on Monday, 29th September 2025. Since opening, the experience has had over 300,000 visitors, more than 20,000 five-star reviews across all platforms (including over 6,000 on Tripadvisor), and won 14 major awards. These accolades include five consecutive TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards and the prestigious Thea Award, considered the Oscars of the interactive industry.  Photo: Jack Hall/PA Media Assignments Speaking on receiving the Guinness World Record, Jeff Wayne said: When we first launched The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience, it was one of the very first truly original immersive productions of its kind. We hoped it would run for around six months, but never imagined it would still be running over six years later, winning so many awards, and welcoming over 300,000 people through its doors. To now achieve a Guinness World Record title is historic and a testament to the creativity, innovation and passion of everyone involved. This title cements the legacy of a show that has always pushed the boundaries of what live entertainment can be. And we’re already planning our next iteration of this wonderful entertainment Andrew McGuinness, CEO of Layered Reality, added: Setting a Guinness World Record title is the ultimate recognition of this production's scale and impact. From the cast and crew to the creative team and, most importantly, our audiences, this production has been a labour of love that has set new standards for immersive entertainment. This title celebrates the enduring power of the show and its place as a true original in the immersive world. We could not be more thrilled to see it recognised on a global stage. Blending live actors who engage with audiences, virtual reality, holograms, 5D effects, and Wayne’s iconic music, the production has consistently been hailed as one of the world’s most innovative immersive experiences. The show features vocal performances from Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues), Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs), Nathan James (Inglorious), and holographic performances by Carrie Hope Fletcher, Tom Brittney, Anna-Marie Wayne and others, combined with state-of-the-art technologies that plunge audiences into the heart of HG Wells’ classic Martian invasion story. Photos: Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience is currently booking until 30th December 2025 at 56 Leadenhall Street near Aldgate. Tickets start at £43.00 and can be purchased via feverup.com

With an exceptional performance from Kate Webster, The Shop for Mortals and All Fools is a profoundly affecting piece from Director Vinicius Salles Photo: James Lawson This review is from the February 2025 run at Stanley Arts The Shop For Mortals and All Fools is the latest show from director Vinicius Salles. An immersive, site-specific retelling of The Bacchae by Euripides, the show is told from the perspective of Agave - the mother of Pentheus and aunt of Dionysus - as the god of wine and ecstasy returns to Thebes to claim his divine right. The Bacchae is having quite the moment within London's immersive scene right now, with Sleepwalk Immersive's retelling of the story coming to Hoxton Hall in March. While both shows are based on the same text, their approaches to adapting it differ in some key ways. Set within an antique shop in an unnamed English village, shopkeeper Agatha (Agave, played by Kate Webster) has invited a small audience of 10 people to preview the shop's latest collection. While not every item may be for sale, they all have their own story to tell, and nearly all of them lead back to their nephew Dominic's (Dionysus) return to the village. Photo: James Lawson By way of introduction, visitors are invited to explore this collection and remove the sticker alongside an item of their choosing if they think it may contain a hidden coin gifted by the Gods. With information on each item provided in a catalogue, visitors are free to browse the collection and make their own decisions. While it's an engaging beginning to the show, the combination of low light within the space and small font size makes it a challenge to make an informed decision, with most visitors settling on any available sticker they come across after a few moments. The consequences of these decisions aren't immediately clear but become important later on for one audience member. Photo: James Lawson Slowly unfolding over the next 45 minutes, Agatha recounts the tale of growing up in the brothel overlooking the village where she and The Vixens would worship Cybele, the goddess of fertility. She speaks of her sister falling pregnant and giving birth to a child that the villagers believed to be half human, half God, and her marriage to the man who would become Pastor. As the years passed, she would indulge more and more in drinking to speed up the passage of time, until one day a newspaper headline stating 'Banished God Returns' changed the trajectory of her life. Those familiar with The Bacchae will know the next part of this story. With Dominic's return heralding the village's descent into frenzy, Agatha is drawn into the woods and joins the crowds of women deep in ritualistic worship of the newly returned God. It's a choice that later leads to the death of Preston (Pentheus) at the hands of his mother, who decapitates him while believing him to be a lion. Photo: James Lawson Within the show's space, Kate Webster has a commanding presence. Given the experience both Salles and Webster have as choreographers, it's little surprise that Agatha's movement throughout the space is utterly enthralling. Constantly shifting and contorting as she traverses the room, Webster injects every scene with a wonderfully fluid sense of self. Alongside this, her performance of the show's text is exceptional, ranking up there with some of the best we've ever seen in an immersive, site-specific show. While all of Agatha's interactions with the audience are fairly light, there are select moments where she interacts directly with them. Some of the sustained eye contact between Agatha and audience members has a terrifying menace to it, and smaller interactions inviting the audience to scatter bark across the space's central table create a wonderful visual to go alongside her descent deeper into the woods outside the village. Midway through the show, the whisper of a prophecy is shared with one audience member. Photo: James Lawson By the conclusion of The Shop for Mortals and All Fools, Agatha's feelings are clear. She's been shaken by her retelling of past events, and she holds the village's men responsible. Drinking numbs the pain and represses her memories, but the objects she holds onto still have great meaning. For one audience member, their earlier choice of which artefact to claim as their own will reveal an even deeper meaning, but for the rest of us, our time in the shop is over. The Shop For Mortals and Fools is an exceptionally well-crafted piece of immersive, site-specific theatre. Tickets for the current run at Stanley Arts are sold out, but here's hoping the shop's opening hours are soon extended so more people can hear Agatha's story first-hand. ★★★★ ½ The Shop for Mortals and All Fools runs at COLAB Tower Arts until 11th October 2025. Tickets are priced from £30.00. To find out more about the show and to book tickets, visit tickettailor.com

Photo: The Last Days of Pompeii/Set Vexy This November, The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition , will open its doors at Immerse LDN, Excel London Waterfront. Following huge success globally, the award-winning exhibition will make its UK debut and take visitors on an unprecedented journey through ancient Pompeii, using a striking combination of cutting-edge technology and rich, historical narratives.     Spanning 3,000 square metres and over 10 different galleries and installations, The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition is the largest of its kind and invites visitors to immerse themselves in the heart of the Roman City as they witness one of history’s most dramatic events – the sudden eruption of Mount Vesuvius – and discover the culture and fascinating stories of those who lived there in 79 AD.    Visitors begin their journey in a gallery that sets the stage for the story of the city. Surrounded by scenic recreations of Roman architecture with painted frescos, stone floors and imposing columns, they'll discover a curated selection of artefacts and replicas. Fragments of marble sculpture, Roman mirrors, bronze utensils, glass jars and household items illustrate the sophistication of the city and offer a glimpse into the intimate details of daily life. Photo: The Last Days of Pompeii/Set Vexy Amongst the impressive artefacts on display will be a marble sculpture of Diana’s (the goddess of hunting) torso, a bronze Roman sculpture depicting a life-size ‘Calceus Senatorius’ shoe and a bronze bridle strap (Terret) from Roman Britain. These objects are accompanied by narrative displays and reconstructions that evoke the atmosphere of Pompeii in the first century AD.   The introduction leads to a deeply moving gallery where casts of Pompeii’s citizens are displayed. The figures are shown in the very positions in which they were found, preserved by the calcified ash that engulfed the city in 79 AD. Haunting in their realism, the casts present an emotional reminder of the eruption’s human cost.   Photo: The Last Days of Pompeii/Set Vexy From here, the narrative shifts to the first of the exhibition’s digital highlights. Guests will sit for a 360° Virtual Reality sequence that transports them into a Roman amphitheatre. They mount a chariot and enter the arena to the roar of thousands of spectators. From this unique perspective, they experience the intensity of gladiatorial combat at close quarters. The experience builds to a climactic naumachia - a staged naval battle within the amphitheatre - where ships collide and water surges around the combatants, offering a completely unique perspective to the exhibition.   After this encounter, visitors step into one of Europe’s largest immersive projection halls. Towering eight metres high, the installation surrounds audiences with the sights and sounds of Pompeii. The sequence unfolds in three acts: first, the bustling daily life of the city with its crowded streets, vibrant markets and monumental temples; then the looming threat of Vesuvius as the landscape darkens; and finally, the eruption itself. These immersive projections place visitors at the very heart of Pompeii, allowing them to experience the beauty of the city and the suddenness of its destruction. Photo: The Last Days of Pompeii/Set Vexy The journey continues into a free-roaming Metaverse experience recreating the legendary ‘Villa of the Mysteries’. Here, visitors move through its restored spaces – the wine cellar, cloister and thermal bath – as they would have appeared before the eruption. Groundbreaking technology enables a collective exploration where groups can walk together, share discoveries and interact within the digital reconstruction.   A world-premiere addition for London is The Archaeological Explorer Room, introducing an interactive and educational dimension to the experience. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to take on the role of archaeologists uncovering concealed artefacts from digital sandpits. Large interactive maps reveal the structure of the city, and themed installations explain how Roman engineering, architecture and innovations shaped not only Pompeii but many aspects of modern life. Photo: The Last Days of Pompeii/Set Vexy The exhibition concludes with two interactive experiences for visitors to enjoy. An AI Photobooth uses advanced facial recognition technology to transform visitors into patricians of ancient Pompeii, complete with authentic hairstyles, clothing and accessories. Finally, at the Graffiti Station, guests are invited to leave their own inscriptions, drawings or phrases, echoing the graffiti once scrawled across the walls of the city years ago. Lasting over 90 minutes, The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition delves into Pompeii’s rich history and features a wealth of educational and informative displays, casts, original artefacts and replicas, and has been designed with children, families, schools and history enthusiasts in mind. Photo: The Last Days of Pompeii/Set Vexy The entire experience is underscored by a specially commissioned soundtrack by composer René Merkelbach, recorded with the Audiocult Orchestra and Choir. Blending ancient instruments with sweeping cinematic arrangements, the music mirrors the changing atmosphere of the exhibition, from the splendour of Pompeii at its height to the darkness of the eruption. The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition has been created and produced by Madrid Artes Digitales, under the lead of creative producer Jelle de Jong, alongside curator and historian Míriam Huéscar, historical advisor and scriptwriter, Nacho Ares and executive producer, Jordi Sellas. Photos: The Last Days of Pompeii/Set Vexy The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition will run at Immerse LDN near Custom House from 14th November 2025 for a 16-week run. Tickets are priced from £24.00 and can be booked via Fever .

London's best open-world immersive experience returns with its fourth annual Halloween season, bringing with it another excellent batch of story trails for guests to sink their fangs into. Photo: Alistar Veryard Despite still being September, in the town of Phantom Peak, spooky season is here. Returning for its fourth year, Phantom Peak's annual Halloween celebration brings with it eleven new trails for guests to work through, an updated cocktail trail, and the latest developments in its ongoing story. Billed as more spooky than scary, this latest instalment of the ongoing, family-friendly immersive open-world experience has become a mainstay in London's immersive calendar in recent years, standing tall as a shining example of why London is regarded as the best city in the world for immersive experiences. 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. Throughout 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. Photo: Alistair Veryard 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 fangs into the various other distractions on offer around town, which include a trio of carnival games, fully functional in-world arcade machines, communal competitions, the ever-popular sport of Platyhooks, and, of course, themed food and drink options, which this season include Halloway's Coffin Deluxe burger (complete with charcoal brioche bun!) and cocktails such as Harvest Plasma and Copper Vein. Picking up the ongoing storyline from Phantom Peak's summer season, this year's Hallowed Peak finds the town in lockdown after former Mayor, Dr Joy S. Furbish, who was long presumed dead, was confirmed to be alive and hiding somewhere in the area. True to form, Phantom Peak's creative team subverted Furbish's long-teased return last season by having the sausage-fingered fugitive appear in puppet form, thanks to a process developed by JONACO (the town's all-encompassing corporate presence) called puppetizing, which turns people from flesh to felt. With the town's tourist population all deputised as honorary JIA agents during the Opening Ceremony, this season of Phantom Peak sees Furbish topping the JIA's Most Wanted List, alongside the festive demigod Father Platmas, Philip from JONACO Marketing and, inexplicably, the real-life founder of Phantom Peak's fan Discord server (the specifics of their crimes are unknown, but no doubt severe). Photo: Alistair Veryard With each season of Phantom Peak delivering 10+ hours of new content (the 11 main trails on offer each take close to an hour to complete), this review is only scratching the surface of everything on offer, but from the half a dozen trails we've finished so far, it's fair to say that they're as varied as ever, and the high benchmark set by previous seasons' offerings has once again been cleared. As ever, Phantom Peak's storylines continue to engage with and lampoon popular culture. Whether they're taking shots at MrBeast's ever-growing empire or crypto pyramid schemes, these send-ups offer an extra layer of enjoyment to the character-driven storylines that fuel the Phantom Peak experience. Long-time visitors to Phantom Peak will also find numerous references to previous seasons throughout, which only deepen the show's rich lore further. Year-round, many of Phantom Peak's trails have spooky, supernatural elements, and the townsfolk are no strangers to battling with demons and ghosts. For Hallowed Peak, it's dialled up to an extreme, with mummies, ghouls, wolfmen, and Dracula all featuring to various degrees. Photo: Alistair Veryard 'The Axiomatic Zone', which wonderfully parodies The Twilight Zone, is one of this season's standout trails. In it, fictional actor Beardy Ham finds themself helpless against a Rod Serling-esque host (played pitch-perfectly by Luke Booys, via pre-recorded Jonavision videos), who's previously abducted dozens of melodramatic, jobbing actors and has now set their sights on one of the town's most theatrical residents. Trails like this, which fully embrace spoofing pre-existing properties, have proven to be some of the show's most popular in past seasons, and Phantom Peak's writing team (made up of Nick Moran, Danny Romeo and Tibet Boyer) have never shied away from leaning into the elements that have previously resonated the most with audiences, taking their feedback on board. Woven into the DNA of Phantom Peak is a real commitment to ensuring the guest experience is as good as it can possibly be, and they're in the unique position of being able to deploy tweaks and larger changes at a far quicker pace than many other immersive shows can, thanks to the show's seasonal structure. Photos: Alistair Veryard Elsewhere in town, after returning to Phantom Peak last season following a 2-year absence, bar owner-turned-lawyer Giffard (Stella Saltibus) continues to struggle with keeping their fugitive father, Furbish, out of trouble. Despite the JIA actively searching for Furbish, in 'Flight Of The Furbish', they've been running their mouth at the bar, telling everyone their true identity and revealing that Giffard is their child. Guests looking to play both sides and undermine the JIA puppet hunt will find themselves tasked with securing and destroying the only physical copy of the incriminating CCTV footage and finding a way for Furbish to escape town without being captured. The ongoing power struggle between Jonas and Furbish has driven much of Phantom Peak's ongoing storyline over the last three years, and to now have a physical representation of Furbish within the town's walls is a sure-fire sign that in the not-too-distant future, this chapter of Phantom Peak's story will reach its conclusion with The Great Undoing. Photos: Alistair Veryard Throughout Phantom Peak's history, its autumn and summer seasons have always had the luxury of running for several months before being cycled out. In stark contrast, Hallowed Peak often feels like an apparition – vanishing almost as soon as it appears. There are just six short weeks left to dive into their annual Halloween offering and discover everything it has to offer before Father Platmas ushers in Wintermas to see out the calendar year. While the show's constant seasonal turnover makes it true for every season of Phantom Peak, to see this much care and love go into crafting an experience that's only available for a relatively short time before being removed and replaced is nothing short of miraculous. It's an experience that has continuously outdone itself with each passing season, and with this year's edition of Hallowed Peak, Phantom Peak is the best it's ever been. Until the next season opens anyway... ★★★★★ Phantom Peak's Hallowed Peak runs until 9th November 2025 in Canada Water. To find out more and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com For more reviews of immersive experiences like Phantom Peak's Hallowed Peak, check out our recent Reviews .

London's best open-world immersive experience returns for the latest chapter in its ongoing story, with 10 excellent new trails for guests to enjoy this summer. Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak's latest season offering, Starlit Summer, continues the show's streak of delivering an exceptional open-world immersive experience for guests. The show is fast approaching its second birthday, and this new season crosses the milestone of over 100 seasonal trails since first opening in August 2022. While it's always been in a state of growth and change with regular updates every few months, the show has truly never been better than it is right now, and it's easily the most enjoyable immersive experience on offer in London today. So what's changed since Spring At The Peak? Firstly, the competitive spirit in Phantom Peak is at an all-time high with the introduction of the Cabin Games. Upon entering, tourists are divided into one of three teams (Abs Assemblage, Team Terrence, and Klacky Kabin) and compete to acquire as many tokens as possible. The official process for earning tokens outside of a series of physical games (including a bean bag toss, egg and spoon relay, jenga, and Phantom Peak staple Platyhooks ) is a little vague, with the townsfolk handing them out at their own discretion for anything from making a funny joke in their presence to simply sweet-talking your way into getting a handful of them. During the show's Closing Ceremony, the scores are totted up, and a delegate from the top two teams then face off in a general knowledge quiz about this season's trails to decide the overall winner. Photo: Alistair Veryard Outside of the Cabin Games, Phantom Peak has yet another batch of excellent new trails for tourists to complete. Given that there have now been over 100 trails on offer, it's a testament to the skill of its writing team that they've continued to find new and interesting ways to keep the trails fresh and exciting. Every corner of the venue's 30,000 sq ft space has been mined to propel the stories forward, with clues often hiding in the most unsuspecting places. Phantom Peak is playing the long game when it comes to the show's overarching story, with chunks of its numerous narrative threads being packaged up into bite-sized chunks season after season. Starlit Summer sees the continuation of Mayor Pocket's ongoing diplomatic failings with the fictional towns over the Ridge in Pocket Dial, the return of Perigate's meddling parents (last seen disguised as a pair of marbles in 2023's Wintermas season) in Skytanic, and most notably, Failure To Launch continues the story from the Closing Ceremony of Spring At The Peak, where one of the townsfolk was selected to become Phantom Peak's first Jonanaught and head off into space. Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak also continues its long-running trend of parodying pop culture, with Whiskers In The Dark's Rocket Raccoon pastiche being a particular highlight. While it's not the first time immersive theatre fans have been able to interact with anthropomorphised  raccoons (see Secret Cinema's Guardians of the Galaxy experience in 2023), it demonstrates Phantom Peak's commitment to prioritising engaging and funny storylines that are accessible to everyone over anything else. Elsewhere around town, Klacky, an evil version of Microsoft Words paperclip assistant Clippy, continues to have quite the impact, being responsible for several dozen murders across all 10 trails. The variety of storylines on offer has never been better, and teases for what's yet to come in Phantom Peak leave you excitedly awaiting their upcoming Halloween season, despite doors only just having opened for Starlit Summer. Photo: Alistair Veryard One element of the Phantom Peak experience that sets it apart from nearly every other immersive offering in London is the welcoming and positive atmosphere that reverberates around every corner of the town. From townsfolk recognising guests from previous visits and greeting them like old friends, to the openness that the latest additions to the cast have for everyone that approaches them, Phantom Peak is a town that feels like an idyllic version of real life, despite the occasional murder... According to Phantom Peak's Creative Director Nick Moran , their goal with the show has always been "building a world that people can feel comfortable in, feel excited about, and somewhere they can feel at home", something they've achieved to great success. Photo: Alistair Veryard There's ample time to check out this latest season of Phantom Peak before the town transforms for its upcoming Halloween and Christmas seasons, with Starlit Summer running until 15th September. Suitable for all ages, it's an ideal family activity for the summer holidays and just as much fun for grownups looking for a date night or group outing. You'd be hard-pressed to find another experience in London that can match the level of enjoyment Phantom Peak offers guests. It's without a doubt the best open-world immersive experience in the UK right now, and seemingly can only be topped by itself season after season. Photos: 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 We recently spoke to Phantom Peak's Creative Director Nick Moran about the past, present and future of Phantom Peak. Read our interview here .

London's best open-world immersive experience serves up a healthy dose of cowboys vs aliens with their latest supernatural seasonal offering, Hallowed Peak. Photo: Alistair Veryard Spooky season is finally upon us, and with it comes the third edition of Hallowed Peak - Phantom Peak's annual Halloween offering. Billed as more spooky than scary, this family-friendly immersive open-world experience has become a mainstay of London's Halloween season in recent years, and as they so often do, the team behind Phantom Peak have outdone themselves once again. There's a lot for guests to sink their fangs into this season. First and foremost, there are roughly nine hours worth of new stories spread across ten brand new trails, as well as three interactive carnival games, the ever-popular competitive sport of Platyhooks, and refreshed food and drinks offerings across the site. Additionally, two add-on experiences -The Lunar Remedy, a revamped cocktail trail, and the puzzle adventure The Haunted Hunt - add even more to the experience. It's way too much to do in just one visit to Phantom Peak, but the show has always worked best when treated as an ongoing experience that you return to again and again. For this latest iteration of Hallowed Peak, the threats that have descended upon the town are fittingly supernatural. Across the trails, there's everything from shapeshifting beachballs to vengeful cowboy spirits, candy-based demons and sentient toys to frat-boy aliens all casting a long shadow over the townsfolk of Phantom Peak. While business may be booming at resident paranormal investigators Spectre & Vox, the true danger looming over the town this season comes in the form of a big red button. After being pressed by Mayor Pocket during the opening ceremony, a self-destruct sequence that threatens to destroy the town is inadvertently triggered, with a mere 4 hours left until the town is set to explode. Photo: Alistair Veryard As so often happens within Phantom Peak, what may start as just a simple request from one of the townsfolk will soon spiral off into a much more complex storyline full of twists, turns and humour. Those keen to get to the bottom of who's behind the plot to blow up the town will soon find themselves signing up for a pyramid schemes competition, subjecting themselves to a prolonged staring contest, hacking one of the town's many pieces of technology to talk to an imprisoned character and finally beating one of the townsfolk in a wand-waving battle to get the answers they need. Quite how the show's writing team can so deftly weave all of these disparate elements together into engaging and fun storylines is already impressive before you also consider that they manage to do it ten times over every few months without a drop in quality. Photo: Alistair Veryard Hallowed Peak also goes some way to pushing Phantom Peak's overarching storyline forward. In some cases, these developments are continuing storylines established back in the show's first season, which opened in Summer 2022. Don't worry if you're a newcomer though, this overarching story is still very accessible and easy to pick up within a few hours of exploration. There's direct mention of the much-teased return of former Mayor, Dr. Joy S Furbish, who has been hiding away in the vast system of mines below the town for the best part of a year now (don't believe the lies of the Opening Ceremony introductory video), and characters that have had a long absence from the show return, with Thirsty Frontier Saloon owner Copper back in Phantom Peak following a prison sentence for being part of a rebellion against the town's omnipotent leader, Jonas. While the continued success of Phantom Peak could be attributed to the ever-changing selection of storylines on offer, that's only a part of what makes this show so special. By design, Phantom Peak is driven by conversations with the townsfolk, and for those who want their immersive experiences to be full of one-on-one interaction, the show delivers in buckets. The cast, whose enthusiasm and openness to improvisation and, above all else, fun, make Phantom Peak a place people want to return to time and time again, and their attachment to the town's characters has only strengthened with each new season. Photo: Alistair Veryard While of course, the cast of Phantom Peak are all actors there to do their jobs, there is a real sense that they care about the people visiting the show, and do all they can to forge real, tangible connections with guests. Small gestures, like being welcomed back at the start of sessions by members of the cast who remember you, to the more overt displays of recognition like being referred to by name or calling back to previous conversations they've had with you, go a long way to making Phantom Peak feel like a living, breathing town with real residents. For first-time visitors, it's worth going out of your way to speak to any many of them as possible, even if they're not directly involved in the trail you're working through to begin forging your own relationships with the people that make Phantom Peak so special. Photo: Alistair Veryard October is usually a pretty busy month for immersive experiences in and around London. In stark comparison to most other Halloween-themed shows playing in the city this month, Phantom Peak is a family-friendly experience that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages. As we close in on the 31st October, Phantom Peak is putting on extra sessions and extending its opening hours to get into the spirit of the season, with a late-night offering on Halloween evening. While it's by no means the most intense show themed around Halloween, it’s undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable and should be an essential visit for Halloween fans. ★★★★★ Photos: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak - Hallowed Peak runs until 10th November in Canada Water. For more information, and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com To read more about immersive experiences like Phantom Peak - Hallowed Peak, check out our recent immersive reviews here .

This article is part of Immersive Rumours' coverage of WXO's London Experience Week 2025. Phantom Peak is an immersive open-world experience based in Canada Water. Spread over 30,000 sq feet, each season invites guests (or ‘tourists’) to explore the town, complete story trails that involve interacting with the dozen-plus townsfolk, and try to learn more about exactly what the town's mysterious leader, Jonas, is planning for its future. Later this month, the show will begin its 13th season with The Burning Blimp Festival. During WXO Summit 2025, which was hosted at Phantom Peak, we caught up with Nick Moran (Creative Director), Danny Romeo (Experience Designer/Experience Director), and Jonathan Taylor (Head of Marketing) to discuss what makes Phantom Peak unique, the challenges and benefits of the show’s seasonal model, and the audience’s influence on the show’s design. Photo: Alistair Veryard Immersive Rumours: Hi Nick, thanks for speaking with us today. Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you do at Phantom Peak? Nick Moran:  I'm Nick Moran, I'm the Creative Director and Co-Founder of Phantom Peak. My job is twofold. I run the company and also direct the creative by leading the show’s writing team, which is made up of myself, Danny Romeo and Tibet Boyer. I also produce the large amounts of video content in each season of the show as well. IR: Across the last three days of the WXO Summit, Phantom Peak has been referenced numerous times in talks and conversations as a great example of immersive work that’s had longevity and operates as a successful business, which is often not easily done in this industry. What is it about Phantom Peak that makes it different from other immersive shows, and how has its design allowed the show to run for nearly three years? Nick: I think there are a few things. Phantom Peak was designed from the ground up to be an open world that people would come to and feel comfortable in and could explore and get lots of different things from. No matter who you are, whether you're young, old, or an ageing hippie, no matter what happens, you can get a different thing from Phantom Peak. That wide audience base helped, as it means the experience is open and accessible to everyone. Secondly, the seasons. Having it feel like Phantom Peak is in some constant renewal – that's its big strength. It means that we can keep elevating the experience and keep trying to make better and better stories as time goes on. Most people don't get the opportunity to do that. They get one shot at it, and then they have to slowly tweak it as time goes on. We're a bit more fortunate in being able to do something different. Photo: Alistair Veryard IR: That idea of doing regular content refreshes is something that I’ve heard AREA15’s Winston Fisher talk about this week. I think he sees it as a fundamental necessity for a show to have longevity. Alongside that, something else Phantom Peak does very well is integrating food and drink options into the show with the cocktail trails. From a business side, that must have been a consideration when you first came up with the concept of the experience. Nick:  Of course. The food and drink aspect was always inevitable, but it's also a duty. It's a four-hour-long show! They literally have to be able to eat and drink. Otherwise, we're basically in a prison camp. It's only fair. I always wanted to create a long show because I believe that dwell time and your emotional relationship with space are interlinked. If you're somewhere for a long time, you develop a relationship with it. Once, I was trapped for 17 hours in Amsterdam Airport, and I hate Amsterdam Airport. Imagine that, but positive – that's Phantom Peak. [Nick looks over to Jonathan Taylor, Head of Marketing] Nick:  How's that line, Jonathan? Was that successful marketing? Is that staying? Jonathan:  Yeah, funny. Very on brand. Nick:  Good. Thanks, Jonathan. [Nick turns back to Immersive Rumours] Nick: He said it was funny, but he didn't even smile, so he didn't think it was that good… Photo: Alistair Veryard IR: One aspect as to why people like coming back here again and again, besides the content refreshes, is that, I think, for regular visitors, Phantom Peak may have turned into their third space – that non-home, non-work place to socialise and connect – where they feel comfortable. Is that anything that you've ever given any thought to? Nick:  It was definitely something we wanted to make. We prioritise audience comfort. Although you could argue Turbo the Hedgehog making Terence the Talking Platypus play Russian Roulette is not necessarily audience comfort-focused. I would argue it's not. That just makes me feel comfortable. Phantom Peak is all about the audience; it’s somewhere where people feel safe to play. We always knew that those things would inevitably lead to somewhere that some people really wanted to come back to over and over. We didn't quite know that the volume of people or the strength of feeling that some audience would have would be so strong, which is incredibly flattering. This strange system and experience that we built and put together really has made people very happy. That's really very gratifying. That third space element, in those terms, I haven't really thought about, but it's definitely something that was planned out with a different metric. IR: We’re coming to the end of this current season, JonaCon, and The Burning Blimp Festival is right around the corner. How’s the planning for the new season going? Nick: The season is completely finished. We're ready to go. The season is ready to go. We've made all the content. Generally, we finish a season 14 months in advance… [laughs] Genuinely, the season is being finalised, but we are actually the most ahead of it for a season we’ve ever been. Wintermas last year was really hard to write... That's the season we always end up coming really close to the wire because going from Halloween to Winter is really hard, as they’re so close together. I can't work on two seasons at the same time. It's just too many stories; we lose focus, and we start to play against each other. That's one of the things that we're trying to get better at, but it’s the start of May, and we’ve finished the season three weeks ahead of launch, which is very good for us. IR: Earlier today, I saw you, Danny, and Tibet having a discussion about some of the specifics for one of next season's trails, so how do you define a trail being done? Nick:  You should think of our seasons like an order book. Once we’ve worked out the main beats and everything that we need in those beats, that trail is done. Eight of our ten-ish trails are now in call-outs, which is us saying that they're done. That's us saying we're committing to these things getting made. There might be small tweaks along the way, but generally it's quite rare. We might swap a character out or change a poster, but it's minor things that we'll find out in previews. Photo: Alistair Veryard Immersive Rumours: Hi Danny, thanks for speaking with us today. Do you mind introducing yourself and telling us what you do at Phantom Peak? Danny Romeo:  My name is Danny Romeo. I am Experience Designer and Experience Director at Phantom Peak. That essentially means that I'm on the writing team, and I'm the Performance Director as well. I'm also kind of the key spokesperson between the writing team and other departments. I oversee a lot of the execution of ideas. IR: You've been with Phantom Peak since the first season, and over that time, which is nearly three years, the show has evolved and grown massively. How is it trying to turn around new seasons with such regularity? Danny:  Yeah. I mean, the turnaround is quite quick. We've actually not struggled with it that much. I think it all comes down to the fact that we've created a very deep and nuanced world with a lot of different personalities and a lot of things happening behind the scenes. It gives us a lot of area to explore. But also, all of our characters grow a little bit each season, which means they always have something new going on in their lives. They've got new struggles and new challenges that we have to help them overcome. The turnaround is usually just about going, ‘ Okay, let's take what happened last season. How has that changed this character? How are they reacting to that personally? What does that present to them moving forward? And how can we explore that in a way where the audience can actively help them solve that problem?’ In that way, the town just becomes a living, breathing place that kind of grows on its own, and we just follow it and document it. Photo: Alistair Veryard IR: One of the things we mentioned in our review of this current season is that the design of Phantom Peak allows you to take feedback from what audiences really enjoy about previous seasons and build on it in the next season. We’ve seen this recently with characters like Sherlock Bones, who audiences seem to love and has returned this season for a new trail. How do you take the audience's response to a current season and integrate it into the next? Danny:  Yeah, it's a balance. We did strike gold with Sherlock Bones. People seemed to really react to that, which is great because we have a lot of different stories that we can tell with him. It's that perfect balance of we found something that people really like, and also, we have a character that has the flexibility that we can do a lot more with them and explore a lot further with them. We do take a lot of audience feedback into account when making new seasons. That has changed things on a basic logistical level. People complained about walking a lot, so we made a much stronger effort to make sure that steps were in similar parts of town before sending them across. That changed the way we shape our story structure. We made a point of linking things together to create a vibe of investigating a specific part of town and then opening up the world as a story structure beat in direct response to people saying that they were walking so much. Things like the mid-show games with tokens are a direct response to people saying that they didn't feel like they were engaging with other audience members quite as much, so we created this more communal vibe. It's really affected every aspect of the way we make the show. But also, there are things that we have to keep for ourselves. For instance, some characters get really popular, and there just isn't that much to do with them, so we do have to have them take a bit of a backseat, and hopefully bring them back later when we've gotten to a point where there is more to do with them. But yeah, the audience influences the show just as much as anybody else does. IR: Do you think that way of working, where there are constant updates, is something that basically every experience, whether it be open world or linear, can take something from? Danny:  I think it really depends on the show. If you take Punchdrunk, for instance, they get a lot of mileage out of their repeatability within the model. They hide secrets and storylines within one singular experience so they don't have to update, and that's enough to bring people back because they want to investigate those secrets, and they want their own singular experience – something that they get to see that nobody else got to see. With us, because we are a slightly more linear experience. Yes, you can go anywhere; yes, you can look at anything, but we do have our 10 set trails, which are a bit more limiting in that we should refresh content if we want continued repeat business, because we have to give people new things to explore. If we only ever had the same 10 trails for a whole year, people might not come back as much because they've already seen those trails within 3-4 visits. I would say it’s a show structure thing, but it's also a… this is a bit weird to say, it's an earned thing. Theatre is a business, and ultimately the open market decides what shows succeed and what don't. I would say that theres' some shows out there that are doing well enough with their first run, but they aren't necessarily getting that kind of dedicated fan base. I would say it would be dangerous for a show like that to repeat and refresh their content all the time because they haven't quite gotten that loyalty yet. If the experience they're offering to a new group of people is vastly different from their first experience, they're not going to build on that word of mouth that they previously had. It might not be the same quality of content because they haven't quite found their feet yet. Once you've been in business for a while and you know what your audience is looking for and you know there’s a dedicated fan base, then you’ve probably earned the opportunity to do completely new content and bring people back for more and more visits. Photo: Alistair Veryard IR: Hi Jonathan. Thanks for speaking with us today. Do you mind introducing yourself and telling us what you do at Phantom Peak? Jonathan Taylor:  I’m Jonathan Taylor. My job title is Head of Marketing at Phantom Peak, which essentially means that I lead on marketing and comms for The League of Adventure, which is the company that sits over Phantom Peak. My job is basically to keep the ball rolling with ticket sales, keep people coming back, and ensure that what we're saying is interesting, informative and enough to convince people to buy tickets. IR: From a marketing perspective, does the structure of Phantom Peak – in that the content and storyline of the show resets every three months – make it easier or harder to market than a show that didn’t have such regular seasonal updates?  Jonathan:  It's easier and harder. Every three to four months, we have a reason to go back out to press, go back out to influencers, creators, and the industry to get fresh coverage. Each new season is a point at which, as a business, everything changes. Our menu changes, our stories change, the set changes, the video content changes, and the characters change, so it’s a good opportunity to relaunch. We have 30% of people come back, which is, I think, an industry record. It’s insane. 30% of the audience at any one time have been to Phantom Peak before. The season's help with that because we have a lot of people who like to complete everything, so when we relaunch 10 new trails, they want to try and do them all, complete it all, get all the stories, and know what's going on. It's easy in that sense. At the same time, there are challenges. For the 70% of people who have never been to Phantom Peak before, us saying, ‘Hey, you're coming to JonaCon’, for example, means they might ask, ‘What's JonaCon?’. We have to explain that we're a seasonal show, and people might go, ‘Does that mean if I come now, I'm going to miss out because I'm not coming at Christmas or Halloween?’. It’s about trying to balance the idea that if you don't want to come to every season, you're not going to miss out by coming to just one season. Because we're relaunching all the time, people get confused. It's trying to unpack that in as few words as possible, while also being fun and interesting and informative. Photo: Alistair Veryard IR: How do you go about making it clear that the show is ongoing, but the content changes regularly? Jonathan:  We've done a bit of a shift recently. We used to focus a lot on seasons – seasons were everything. We would change our logo with each new season. Now, we don't do that. Phantom Peak is the thing that's consistent. It's always the same structure. You're always going to do trails, you're always going to do new things. You have to come three or four times in a three-month period to complete a season, so that means for most people, it's a different show every single time. When you pay £45 for a ticket, you know you're always going to get a different experience. IR: Yeah. If people don't visit with every new season, and then they mention the show to a friend, all of the information that they had in their head about what the show is may be out of date when it comes to the trails and storylines. Jonathan:  Yeah, that's true. It's like saying, ‘I did this thing at Phantom Peak; you should go and do it yourself.’ There's no guarantee that they're going to be on the same trail, that they're going to meet the same characters, or have the same experience. One thing we're trying to look into at the moment is guiding the audience and feeding them the way they should talk about Phantom Peak, which is a really impossible task. We’ve recently started sending out surveys, which have very specific questions worded in a specific way to try and get not only the content across, but more of the feeling across, and trying to educate audiences afterwards. That's part of the whole return thing that we've got going on. The fan-run Discord Community is a huge thing with that too, trying to reinforce how we speak about Phantom Peak so that when other people are talking about Phantom Peak, everyone's using the same shared language. We often adopt how the community speaks about it and then might change that in a way that works for us, and then regurgitate it. It's about servicing the community and listening to the community, but also helping the new people who are joining the community for the first time or visiting for the first time and wanting to come back, having the right words to describe it. It's a challenge, but we're trying. Photo: Alistair Veryard IR: Phantom Peak is now in its 12th season and has a huge amount of lore to draw from. More often than not, that lore feeds into the marketing communications, especially the emails, which all match the show’s in-world tone and act as an extension of the show’s universe. From your side, how do you navigate that? Jonathan:  We try to send an email once a week, and we try to send it to people who are engaged with us. When we're going out to people, we're always conscious that they're probably not in a sales mood, so they don't want a sales email, and we have to make it fun. With Phantom Peak, we really are not a very serious company. We're a serious business in the sense that we have to make money, and we are always looking at how we can ensure we're delivering the best experience in a professional, high-quality way, but at the same time, we're not a very serious company. We'll come up with an idea and try it out to see if it works, matching the tone of the show. Basically, we want to be consistent. We want to be Phantom Peak whenever we're speaking to people. The secret is that we don't really have a clear reason for why we do that. It's just that we're fun. If we're going out to someone who's not bought a ticket, we want to give the tone of what Phantom Peak is, and if we're going out to returners, they already know the tone of Phantom because they've done a trail, they've watched a video, so if we're matching that, it just feels like an extension and something that’s inviting them to come back. If we send an email and we get people in the Discord community or elsewhere say, ‘This is hilarious’ or ‘This is funny’, it doesn't need a click, and it doesn't need a purchase off the back of it; it's enough for it to just keep people engaged. Photo: Alistair Veryard Recently we invented a character called Philip from Marketing, who doesn't exist. I just decided that we needed a scapegoat for something, so I found a stock video of a guy cheering, and I thought it was hilarious. I spent, like, 30 minutes laughing at it. I downloaded it, turned it into a GIF and put it in an email. We came up with an idea, and suddenly, he has a voice and a character. My uncle in New York sent me a message yesterday saying, ‘That Philip, he's really difficult; maybe you should get rid of him.’ He's only been to Phantom Peak once, and he's not going to buy a ticket, but he messaged me out of the blue saying, ‘Oh, Philip's up to his old tricks.’ IR: If your family is signed up for the mailing list, they know what you’re up to at work! That’s a much easier way for them to see what you’re doing than updating them all when you see them… Jonathan:  Yeah, it's another way to check in with family, isn't it? Sign them up for the mailing list, send them an email saying, ‘Oh, could you just test this email for me?’ and then we've got their data too! Phantom Peak's new season, The Burning Blimp Festival, runs from 23rd May to 7th September 2025 in Canada Water. To find out more about the show and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com This interview is part of Immersive Rumours' coverage of the World Experience Summit and London Experience Week 2025, which has been made possible thanks to the World Experience Organization

The exceptionally well-crafted Phantom Peak delivers another outstanding season of open-world adventures with JonaCon. With JonaCon, Phantom Peak has entered its 12th full season since opening in Summer 2022. An open-world immersive experience that invites visitors to engage with the numerous residents of the town, interact with off-kilter pieces of tech and solve puzzles while completing any or all of each season's 10 new trails. It's pretty much the closest thing you can get to stepping into a real-life video game and it continues to one-up itself season after season. With probably their strongest set of story trails yet, Phantom Peak has never been better (though we've been saying that with basically every season since it first opened..). Photo: Alistair Veryard While Phantom Peak's Autumn and Winter seasons have always been tied to the real-life events we have 'over the ridge' with Hallowed Peak and Wintermas, Spring and Summer are when the show's creative team can let loose with their own, original overarching themes. Previous seasons have featured the Platypus Parade, which saw the opening of Platyworld, a platypus-themed exhibition (which was actually a front for JonaLabs) and The Festival of Innovation, which had the town's residents presenting bonkers inventions such as The Fear Finder and ProstleBot in a science fair-style competition. JonaCon may be their most out-there theme yet... After tense negotiations and after bidding well over the odds, Phantom Peak has been chosen as the host town for JonaCon, a convention-cum-celebration of JONACO's head honcho, Jonas. There's a lot worth celebrating too - with JONACO recently having mounted a successful mission to space, mended relations with Wintermas demigod Father Platmas, and seemingly thwarted an attempted uprising from anti-JONACO group The Resistance in recent seasons. Huge banners adorn the town's main square, paying homage to the Sun Daddy himself, and groups of tourists have taken to cosplaying as Jonas to really get into the spirit of the convention. Photo: Alistair Veryard By way of summary for those new to Phantom Peak, the town used to be home to a local company, Miramine, which mined for a powerful substance called Diamant below the surface of the town. Following the unexpected death of sausage-fingered Mayor Furbish in a blimp crash, Jonas and JONACO swooped in and ousted Miramine. With them came a series of innovations and changes throughout town that are still present today. While some townsfolk love Jonas and all he's done for the town, others remain sceptical. There's a boatload more backstory we could explain, but this review would be 15,000 words long, and that's all you really need to know if you're a first-time visitor. As previously mentioned, Phantom Peak's new set of story trails are some of the strongest they've ever created. Thanks to the regular changeover of available trails with each new season, Phantom Peak's writing team are able to incorporate and build upon the elements of the previous season guests loved the most. The standout new character from last year's Wintermas season, Sherlock Bones - a dog puppet parodying Sherlock Holmes (though surely you realised that by the name alone..) - makes a welcome return in the trail 'Bad To The Bone', which sees Sherlock battling their nemesis, Meowiarty on the cliffs of the Reichenbark Falls in dramatic Punch and Judy fashion. Fans of Wicked will find great delight in 'Unpopular', which features a full-length parody of the musical's song that's aimed directly at one of the townsfolk, Perigate, who has long grappled with their position in the town's social hierarchy. Photo: Alistair Veryard Elsewhere in town, Phantom Peak's Videomatic machines, which play pre-recorded video content when a valid 4-digit code is correctly entered, have some exceptionally well-crafted films. We're introduced to the grandfather of long-time fan favourite Dr Winter (who looks suspiciously like Dr Winter, just in a bald cap) in 'Too Fast, Too Furrious', and a tense recreation of a basketball game made with a cast of puppets and a selection of the show's gift shop plush toys as a crowd in 'Winner Takes It All', delivers some of the season's biggest laughs. Phantom Peak also doesn't shy away from lampooning and commenting on the world outside the show throughout its trails, touching on everything from the emotional manipulation of television show contestants in a video package for Phantom Peak's version of Great British Bake Off, to calling out the likes of Mr. Beast for their use of young children's attention for monetary gain. Photo: Alistair Veryard Every trail zips along at an enjoyable pace, providing plenty of opportunities to interact with Phantom Peak's various townsfolk, who are the backbone of the experience. With a cast fully committed to improvising and responding to whatever they're being asked by tourists, every interaction with the town's residents is a delight. 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. With a very generous 4+ hours to explore the town every session, Phantom Peak allows guests to take things at their own pace. There's no danger of missing any big set-piece moments while in the town, as each trail's pace is driven entirely by however fast or slow any given group decides to work through the storylines. There are also plenty of distractions to pull guests away from the main storylines, with a fully functional arcade, a trio of carnival games, a bar with an extensive menu of cocktails and numerous food options courtesy of RoboChef, and add-on experiences including a Cocktail Experience and Puzzle Hunt. Photo: Alistair Veryard Late last year, when the pre-sale for this Spring season of Phantom Peak first opened, it was announced as the final season of Phantom Peak at their current Canada Water home. Since then, they've managed to secure an extension at their massive 30,000 sq. ft venue, with the previously planned final season now on hold for a little while longer. The team behind the show are currently working on locking in a new location for the show elsewhere in East London, seemingly confirming that the world of Phantom Peak has a lot of life left in it yet. Regular readers of Immersive Rumours will know our feelings on Phantom Peak have never wavered. It's the best immersive experience London has to offer and is the crown jewel in the city's immersive scene. An unrivalled experience that continues to deliver season after season, Phantom Peak is deeply rewarding for both first-time visitors and die-hard fans. Praise Jonas! ★★★★★ Photos: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak's JonaCon season runs until 11th May 2025 in Canada Water. To find out more about the show, and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com For more reviews of immersive experiences like Phantom Peak, check out our recent Reviews .

With the Burning Blimp Festival, Phantom Peak once again proves why they're the best immersive experience this side of the Ridge. Photo: Alistair Veryard The platypus-loving town of Phantom Peak has become a mainstay of London's immersive scene in the three years since it first opened. Over the last 12 seasons, the show's constantly updating selection of trails, all delivered through regular seasonal updates, has kept its detailed, lore-rich story progressing at a rapid pace and given guests a reason to return to the town month after month without ever running out of things to do. With nearly 150 individual story trails now under its belt, Phantom Peak has also amassed a loyal fan base and continues to take audience feedback on board to improve on each previous iteration of the show. With its latest season, the Burning Blimp Festival, Phantom Peak has once again outdone itself and delivered its strongest experience yet. Regulars to Phantom Peak will be familiar with the show's tried and tested formula. Each new season brings with it a fresh batch of story trails, through which 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, each one is packed full of humour, endlessly silly, and leads you down a path far more bizarre, irreverent and surreal than the start point ever suggested. Photo: Alistair Veryard For those keen to collect all of this season's trail cards, which are given to guests upon completion of each storyline, it'll take at least 3 visits, and that's without giving yourself time to engage with the various other distractions on offer around town, which include a trio of carnival games, fully functional in-world arcade machines, communal competitions, and, of course, the varied food and drink options. This season, the town is celebrating the third anniversary of the blimp crash that supposedly killed former Mayor Furbish. Visitors to Phantom Peak's opening season will recall the aftermath of said crash, when much of the town's indoor area was blocked off by the wreckage, and during 2024's Festival of Innovation season, it was revealed in one of the trails that Furbish was actually alive and well, hiding in the mines beneath the town and waiting for the right moment to return. Photo: Alistair Veryard While Furbish's 'death' was a seismic event within the town of Phantom Peak in more ways than one, the biggest consequence to come of it was enabling its current leader, Jonas, to take over and kick-start the events that have been unfolding over the last 12 seasons of the show. Despite Jonas overseeing Phantom Peak from afar, their impact is nevertheless still felt, and whispered talk of their master plan - dubbed The Great Undoing - has been hanging over residents' heads for several seasons now. Will Furbish's return thwart Jonas's scheme, or has the damage already been done? Only time will tell. As ever, many of Burning Blimp's new trails engage with pop culture, subverting and parodying real-world personalities, media, and products. Fans of Severance won't fail to notice the similarities between the Apple TV+ show and the events of 'Pocket Change', which has Mayor Pocket (David Carter) battling against a clone of themselves (referred to as their 'Hottie') for dominance of their shared mind, and the Furby-inspired 'Unbox Me, Coward' concludes with one of the most surreal moments in the show's history - quite the achievement, given how off-the-wall storylines often are at Phantom Peak. Following on from last season's Wicked-inspired trail, 'Unpopular', it's the turn of Les Misérables to get the Phantom Peak treatment in 'Less Miserable'. With three full-length parody songs scattered throughout the trail, which focuses on the ongoing power struggle between JONACO and The Resistance, it's an ideal trail for West End fans, as long as they can handle the numerous digs and swipes made at the genre that are also littered throughout. Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak's continued embracing of puppetry, which has only ramped up with each passing season, has given the show's exceptionally talented cast a chance to show off their range as they take control of the town's felt-based residents. On one side of town, General Store owner Datchery (Tatiana Nicholle Davis) unwittingly finds themselves in the middle of a love triangle with the Miss Piggy-inspired Lady Oinkerton, with insults and raised voices rapidly escalating into something akin to a Punch and Judy show. Elsewhere, fan favourite Sherlock Bones (puppeted by Jimmy Roberts, who plays Lovehart) is on the verge of cracking their latest case wide open and needs visitors' help to connect the dots in 'No String Attached'. Giffard (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), the former Canal Bar owner who's climbed the corporate ladder to become a JONACO lawyer, also finds themselves commanding a Colonel Sanders-esque puppet of former Mayor Furbish as they continue to deal with their ongoing family struggles in 'Finger Lickin' Good'. Photo: Alistair Veryard Alongside the physical (and puppet) cast, Phantom Peak's continued refinement with each new season has seen them lean far more into filming bespoke video content for the town's Videomatics and Jonavisions (button/dial-operated screens that display pre-made videos when correct digits are entered). While many videos feature the show's regular cast, former cast members Danny Romeo and Tibet Boyer, who now both serve on the show's writing team , work overtime as prominent on-screen talent, taking on numerous roles including an unhinged toy reviewer, a murderous cult leader and a thuggish goon. These engaging live-action videos lend themselves perfectly to the show's unique sense of humour and ramp up the ridiculousness of each trails contents even further. After 13 seasons of Phantom Peak, it's easy to take the show's unique design for granted. Upon launch in 2022, the trail format Phantom Peak adopted was a massive departure from the immersive, open-world norm most commonly seen in Secret Cinema and Punchdrunk productions. Within Phantom Peak, every one of the show's townsfolk remains in one place throughout the experience, meaning there's no risk of being unable to complete a storyline because they've run off behind a locked door, never to be seen again, and without any big set-piece moments outside of the opening and closing ceremony, which everyone is gathered together for, the show removes the sense of FOMO so often built into the design of other open-world immersive experiences. All of the show's best moments are available for every group at any time by completing the trails and interacting with the show's cast one-on-one. Photo: Alistair Veryard Those who have been paying attention to the show's overarching narrative in recent seasons have likely noticed that this initial, multi-year chapter of Phantom Peak's story appears to be coming to a close. Ahead of tickets to last season going on sale, it was announced that it was due to be their final at the show's current Canada Water venue. Thankfully, this closing season has been pushed back to a later date due to an extension on their lease of the venue. While we're still awaiting details on exactly what the future holds for Phantom Peak once it leaves behind its current home, it's clear that there's plenty of life left in the town yet, even if the Great Undoing sees it changed forever. Phantom Peak is far and away the best immersive show London has to offer. An unrivalled experience that continues to deliver season after season, it's a hilarious, engaging and deeply rewarding experience for both regular and first-time visitors. ★★★★★ Phantom Peak's The Burning Blimp Festival runs until 9th November 2025 in Canada Water. To find out more and to book tickets, visit phantompeak.com For more reviews of immersive experiences like Phantom Peak's The Burning Blimp Festival, check out our recent Reviews .

This article is part of Immersive Rumours' coverage of WXO's London Experience Week 2025. Neil Connolly is the Creative Director of Immersive Everywhere, who are best known for adapting pre-existing IP such as Doctor Who and Peaky Blinders into live experiences. Neil has previously worked on creating immersive experiences based on The Crystal Maze, Tomb Raider and Peppa Pig, and has also produced work for the likes of Harrods, Sainsbury’s and Warner Bros. Later this year, under Neil's direction, Immersive Everywhere will launch The Traitors: Live Experience in Covent Garden, which is based on the hit BBC series.  At WXO's Summit 2025, Neil Connolly was part of a panel discussing adapting IP into live experiences, alongside Andrew McGuinness from Layered Reality (Elvis Evolution), Olivier Goulet from Supply and Demand (Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue), and Ryan Amstad from Pophouse (ABBA Voyage).  Following that panel, we spoke with Neil to find out how he approaches turning pre-existing IP into live experiences, and try to get an answer to one of the burning questions surrounding The Traitors: Live Experience… what happens to players who are banished or murdered? Photo: Hugo Glendinning IR: Hi Neil. Thanks for speaking with us today. You’ve made a career out of adapting already existing IP like The Crystal Maze and Tomb Raider into playable experiences. Later this year, you're launching The Traitors: Live Experience. What is the first step in that process? Do you start work once you've already secured an IP, or are you already working on it long before you've acquired the rights? Neil: Great question. I will caveat this answer by saying there is a huge team of us, I'm just one person in the organisation, and I do not pretend to take credit for all of those things... I'm a creative director and a commercially minded creative. I design my creative in line with the operations of the show. Sometimes I have pitched and landed those deals. Sometimes things are brought to me, and I develop them out. To answer your question very directly, it always starts with ‘What is the coolest thing that people want to do or could do in that particular experience?’ I design my shows, and I always approach my creative with ‘I am a ticket buyer, and I have paid money to be at this experience. So, what is the coolest thing that I could be doing for the money that I have spent?’ I'm always designing with that in mind. From that, I then extrapolate and think, ‘How do we design a story and a narrative?’ and build from there. When I've designed most of that, I then go, ‘How do I onboard people into that narrative and into that design?’ Photo: Hugo Glendinning IR: Creating a show based on a pre-existing IP means that you'll have stakeholders with a vested interest in protecting that IP, and it's a very different experience from creating original work. How do you juggle trying to keep the experience really great for visitors, but also satisfying for all of the IP stakeholders?  Neil:  IP holders are often deeply invested in their properties but may not always have a clear vision for how that translates into live experiences, so they’re always looking to us to come in with lots of ideas. What I've often done is create original stories using their world and in their world. So the question is, how do those original stories then operate within their world without ever affecting the timelines or the brand too much? You can't make a show in an IP brand and then, at the end of your live experience, kill off the main character because that's insane. It would massively affect all of the truncated things that go on with whatever else is happening in the brand, so you can't do those things. You often have to work in those gaps and in those myriads. There are often times where things we've done have then become linear within their wider, larger brand, which is super fun and super fun to capture, and it's really nice as a creative because you get to just be a part of the world and play in that world. It's just being super respectful to that, but also having the courage to go at it yourself and say, ‘No, I'm going to do this original storyline’ and ‘These are how these characters are going to develop and play out’. It's all about the public. The public perception, especially when you're doing IP, they're being fed through television or cinema or computer games, and they already exist. You have to respect and have the courage to play in that world. I think when people don't have the courage to play in that world and respect it too much, that's when live experiences become a bit weaker because people want to play. The public, the people who are spending the money coming to these things, want to play in that world. Photo: Hugo Glendinning IR: If there are creators who are currently making original, non-IP work but are looking to explore the idea of taking on an IP or a brand deal, do you have any wisdom for transitioning from original work into the IP-based world? What do people need to consider? Neil:  It's a deeply personal question, not just for me, but for anybody who is doing it, because there are creatives who want to build their own thing, and I absolutely respect that. I have a lot of friends who do that. I just happened to have gone down the road where I develop IP into other things, and I'm really happy about doing that. It comes down to whether a creative wants to, or is willing to, work in an organisation that is their modus operandi. As a company, Immersive Everywhere takes on IP. We license an IP, we develop it out, and we bring those shows to the world. Spoiler alert: further down the line, there is original IP that we will bring to the world when the time is right. It's work we will have developed internally as a company, but right now isn't the right time because we're having too much fun and are really excited about developing IP into various different experiences. It's that balance of personal and business. There is no wrong answer, and there is no right answer to that question because it really comes down to, speaking specifically as creatives, not as business people, what do you want to do? Photo: Hugo Glendinning IR: I’ve got to ask you at least one question specifically about The Traitors: Live Experience, which opens in July. Without spoiling the experience, can you tell us what happens to people who get banished or murdered, and is it still going to be a satisfying experience for those who are eliminated first?  Neil:  Well.. I've designed an experience that is incredibly satisfying for everybody playing in an incredibly intense environment that has incredible subject matter. At the end of the day, it is a game, and you pay to play; you don't pay to win. Within the game, there are winners and there are losers, but we've designed an experience that guarantees that everybody has an incredibly satisfying experience, and it is always a win-win scenario. The Traitors: Live Experience opens in Covent Garden this July. To find out more about the show and book tickets, visit thetraitorslive.co.uk . To find out more about Immersive Everywhere, visit theeverywheregroup.com . This interview is part of Immersive Rumours' coverage of the World Experience Summit and London Experience Week 2025, which has been made possible thanks to the World Experience Organization .