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When we reviewed the initial run of Bacchanalia, we called it the best immersive show of 2023 and said

and All Fools is a profoundly affecting piece from Director Vinicius Salles Photo: James Lawson This review village, shopkeeper Agatha (Agave, played by Kate Webster) has invited a small audience of 10 people to preview She speaks of her sister falling pregnant and giving birth to a child that the villagers believed to

For more info and to book tickets, visit designmynight.com Read more reviews of immersive experiences

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

For more info and to book tickets, visit greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com For more reviews of immersive experiences like Secret Cinema's Grease, check out our recent Reviews .

received complimentary tickets to this show and as such, are disclosing this information before  our review Tickets start at £25 and can be purchased via roundhouse.org.uk For more reviews and coverage of immersive

received complimentary tickets to this show and as such, are disclosing this information before our review

Our review of Blumhouse Blackout... For more reviews of immersive experiences like Blumhouse Blackout, click here .

Torches in hand, we venture into Bethnal Green's most haunted house to experience the latest show from London's top immersive horror producers. Halloween is an apt time for an immersive theatre company that specialises in horror experiences to return with a new show. Following up the 8-month run of Bloodbath, which occupied their venue located below the arches of Bethnal Green, Screamworks are back with a show that offers big scares and a compelling story for those willing to dive in head first... Set within the abandoned home of the Luff family, who all died in 1937 in a bloody murder-suicide, visitors are invited by paranormal investigator Hector Phoenix to explore the family home and uncover the story of what caused their horrific deaths to occur. Screamworks previous show blurred the boundaries of what is the norm in immersive experiences, with actors force-feeding and tying up visitors, on top of at its climax attempting to undress those who have braved the show, it was an arresting experience for those who attended. The most confronting parts of Bloodbath saw visitors become complicit in the actions of a serial killer, and played with the ideas of voyeurism and torture being little more than entertainment for blood thirsty audiences. In our recent interview with Gary Stocker - the CEO of Screamworks - he shared how their commitment to creating the immersive experience may have put some visitors off by appearing too intense. Therefore it's no surprise that The Ghost Hunt's website seems to promise a show that's less intense than Bloodbath, with no physical contact between actors and visitors, and a storyline that's sold as more spooky than gory. On paper it may seem like a step away from the boundary-pushing experience that made their previous work so engaging, but in reality The Ghost Hunt is just as intense and terrifying an experience, with dozens of moments that had us jumping, screaming and recoiling in fear. Upon entry, each visitor is handed a torch - it's largely up to them to find their way through the space and discover what's hidden inside the various dimly lit rooms that make up the 45 minute long experience. Putting the responsibility onto visitors to find their own way helps ramp up the tension, and makes going around every corner a frightening prospect. You're free to explore at your own pace, which allows ample opportunity to pour over the clues scattered throughout if you're so inclined. A section midway through the show allowed us to sit around a makeshift ouija board as we quizzed one of the house's spirits on what had happened there nearly 100 years prior for as long as we liked. The shows cast of five, who can appear and disappear at a moments notice through a maze of secret doors and hidden entries keep you constantly on edge. One moment towards the end of the show saw Hector Phoenix, the paranormal investigator who tasked us with exploring the house in the first place, appear behind us in a moment of complete darkness. Elsewhere, Geoffrey Luff - with a knife sticking out his back as he's slowly dying of blood loss, cornered our group in one of the rooms as we were interrogated on what had become of his children. The key difference between Screamwork's productions and your run of the mill scare experience is the ambitious storytelling. The Ghost Hunt tells a cohesive story that is drip fed to guests across it's 45 minute duration. Through various newspaper articles and letters scattered across the shows 10 rooms, along with some set pieces that offer both scares and exposition, you leave the experience having learnt about the supposedly true history of the shows setting. Previously we claimed that Screamworks would soon to be the leading immersive horror creators in London. Based on the screams both from our group and the echo's of those elsewhere in the venue during our visit, they've delivered a show that confirms that theory, and we now feel they're hands down the top creators of immersive horror experiences in the city. While time is limited to experience this show before it closes on 31st October, future plans for the venue involve an escape room featuring live actors that will open in November. We'd recommend trying to get down there before this show closes as it's easily one of the best scare attractions on offer in London this Halloween season. ★★★★ Screamwork's The Ghost Hunt runs from 5th October to 31st October in Bethnal Green. Tickets are available to book here.

Our review of Humbug, the immersive Christmas dive bar. The experience, which this time around is at The Vaults just off Leake Street, combines live music, sing-alongs

Photo: Luke Dyson It’s been a bit of a quiet year for Secret Cinema. Following the acquisition of the company in September 2022 by TodayTix, they’ve not mounted a show in the capital since Guardians of the Galaxy opened in late August 2022. Being one of three shows they opened last year (alongside Bridgerton and the long-awaited Dirty Dancing), many fans assumed that with the backing of their new owners, and now firmly in a post-COVID world, 2023 would be full steam ahead with multiple shows opening throughout the year. Instead, we had relative silence on the company's social media in the first few months of the year. After a lot of teasing, it was confirmed in April that their next show would be Grease. But this show would have a twist - they were leaving London behind, instead mounting the show in Birmingham. It’d be their first full show outside of the capital in the UK. They continued to depart from tradition as the event drew closer, releasing a map of the site in June (a month before it even opened!), and also confirming that phones wouldn’t be locked away this time. While it remains to be seen if any of these will become the norm going forward, Grease certainly seemed like an opportunity for Secret Cinema to rewrite its rulebook now that they were under new ownership… The show does feel different to their two most recent outdoor events (Dirty Dancing and Romeo + Juliet) in a few key ways. Firstly, it’s much much smaller. With a reduced audience capacity, reduced venue size and even a reduced running time for exploration, it’s a more intimate and focused affair than has been the norm. Clocking in at a bit over 90 minutes from doors opening to the film starting, Secret Cinema Presents Grease packs a lot into its exploration time. Relative to Dirty Dancing or Romeo + Juliet, it has roughly the same amount of buildings and areas to explore, but in a much smaller space. This, coupled with the ratio of cast to guests also feeling higher, makes it easier to see more of the site quickly and get involved in what’s going on around you with ease. Photo: Luke Dyson The other notable difference between Grease and the company's other outdoor shows is the newly relaxed rules on mobile phones. While they seem to be still be trying to find a sweet spot between encouraging audiences to live in the moment, but also allow guests to still take photos inside that don’t include the cast, we found the use of phones to be a refreshing change that didn’t break the immersion of the event. You could get photos of your group inside the event without issue, which will surely help boost the awareness of what it’s actually like inside the gates - something that was tougher with guests' phones locked away previously. The cast all do an outstanding job of turning the Rydell High site into a living, breathing place - from the large re-enactments of songs like Summer Nights and Grease Lightnin’, to smaller character moments like Sandy perfecting stubbing out her cigarette with Frenchy, every pocket of the site has activities going on, and the cast are working non-stop to make the audience part of the world. If you're not being pulled into choir practice, or being hit on by Vince Fontaine, you might be taking part in an egg and spoon race for carnival tokens or pulling off the prank of the century against Principal McGee. Even during the film's screening, the cast barely has a moment's rest, with every big song lovingly recreated in front of the screen - the National Bandstand scene is the highlight of this, it’s a chaotic and meticulously timed spectacle that must have been a nightmare to choreograph and perfect in rehearsals. Photo: Luke Dyson Overall, Grease is a great immersive experience that more than does justice to the source material. With a knockout cast and some amazing performances, it's one of the strongest outdoor shows Secret Cinema have put on in recent years. Fingers crossed that future outdoor Secret Cinema shows will follow in the footsteps of Grease and be smaller scale, as it makes for a richer and more engaging experience overall. ★★★★ ½ Find out about future Secret Cinema shows at secretcinema.org

Image: Minimum Labyrinth For over a decade, Robert Kingham and Rich Cochrane's Minimum Labyrinth have been hosting walking tours through London that explore the capital's rich history and lesser-known corners. With previous tours having delved into the past of areas including Drury Lane and Bloomsbury, the pair have built up a loyal following of fans, a regular cast of collaborators, and have previously worked with the likes of the Museum of London to shed light on the forgotten corners of the city. Their latest experience, Doin' The Lambeth Walk (Oi!), turns its attention, unsurprisingly, to Lambeth. It's their most ambitious production to date, featuring a cast of four performers, and it's as much a walking tour as it is a piece of utterly surreal promenade theatre. Over three hours, the tour covers several kilometres of tunnels, parks, estates and alleyways, as well as two pub stops for those who've both worked up a thirst and need time to process everything that unfolds. Photo: Immersive Rumours We're sworn to secrecy concerning a lot of the specifics in Doin' The Lambeth Walk, and wouldn't want to detract from the joy of discovering exactly what the tour involves for those who attend, but it's fair to say that it's a far richer experience than the dry, fact-heavy style of walking tour common elsewhere in the city, and is unlike anything else we've ever done. As expected, there are heaps of interesting titbits about the history of Lambeth throughout, including nods to Charlie Chaplin and Admiral William Blythe, whose pasts are both tied to the area. There's also numerous detours that explore everything from the 'dead railway' that ferried bodies between Waterloo and Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey to the cholera epidemic that plagued the area and killed nearly 2,000 people between 1848 and 1849. The focus shifts constantly between both the buildings and the geographical features of Lambeth, and the people who made the area what it is, showing us how the two have impacted each other, and how, ultimately, a place is made by those who inhabit it. On top of this, though, are the performative elements of Doin' The Lambeth Walk, which have been designed in a way that means those who attend are never quite sure what's going to happen next. There's a wonderfully bizarre overarching story woven into the walk's narrative that has nothing to do with the area's history, but frames every interaction the group has with the sights and sounds of Lambeth and before long, those who attend have seemingly stepped through the looking glass, unable to return to reality. With the streets of London also acting as the stage for this tour-cum-theatre experience, passers-by often look on, unsure of what they're witnessing, and the ever-present risk of the tour colliding with reality creates some wild interactions with the general public that heighten the show's surreal feeling. Photos: Immersive Rumours With some hilarious moments woven into the tour's script courtesy of Robert Kingham and Alice Merivale, who lead the experience, and with a host of characters played by Howard Horner and Will Henry popping up en route, every twist and turn on the tour's route holds the potential for another unexpected encounter. By the walk's conclusion, we've grown quite comfortable stepping out of time with the rest of the city, and after returning to reality, we had a new appreciation for those who have made the city what it is. Oi! ★★★★ Doin' The Lambeth Walk takes place across Central London on selected dates in September 2025. Tickets are priced from £37.50 and can be purchased via minimumlabyrinth.org