We recap our picks of the five best immersive shows of 2024 as part of our Year In Review series. #1 - The Manikins: a work in progress (Deadweight Theatre) Photo: Rebecca J. Windsor With a cast of two performing for just a single audience member, The Manikins: a work in progress is as intimate a show as you can get. A mind-bending experience that had us questioning our own reality for weeks afterwards, Deadweight Theatre's production was the stand-out show of 2024 and has redefined what small-scale immersive theatre can achieve. #2 - Phantom Peak (The League of Adventure) Photo: Alistair Veryard Phantom Peak's ongoing narrative reached new heights in 2024 with an exception run of seasonal updates. Engaging and accessible for first-time visitors, while being deeply rewarding for long-time tourists, the show's ever-changing line-up of genre-bending trails forms the backbone of this one-of-a-kind experience that isn't being replicated anywhere else. #3 - Rhythm&Ruse (Immergence/Clio Creative) Photo: Rhythm&Ruse Rhythm&Ruse's mix of cocktails, cabaret and close-up magic was one of the best nights out we've had in London this year. While expectations were high for the show as soon as it was first announced, with Punchdrunk alumni including Fania Grigoriou, Sam Booth, Mallory Gracenin and Naomi Banks all involved, the show surpassed them to create an unforgettable evening at The Starling, night after night. #4 - Bridge Command (Parabolic Theatre) Photo: Alex Brenner A show over five years in the making, Bridge Command delivered on the promise of allowing guests to pilot a starship into the deepest corners of space. Teamwork is the name of the game aboard the UCN Takanami and UCN Havock, both of which offer an exhilarating experience for guests that responds to their choices on the fly, creating a unique playthrough every visit. #5 - Viola's Room (Punchdrunk) Photo: Julian Abrams Punchdrunk's follow-up to The Burnt City rejected the format fans had waited so long for before their long-awaited return to London with Viola's Room. With no white masks, no loops and no actors, the show instead invited guests into a linear walk-through fairy tale that required no shoes and socks. It's the kind of show only Punchdrunk could pull off, and continues to cement them as one of the world's premiere immersive producers. For coverage of all the latest immersive experiences coming to London in 2025, follow us on Instagram, X and BlueSky. To hear what over 15 immersive creators think the best immersive shows of 2024 were, check out the rest of our end-of-year coverage here.

R Space Productions, the producers of upcoming immersive horror escape experience DEATHCELL: Magenta, have released an official trailer and production images ahead of the show opening next month in Hackney Wick for a limited two-week run. The show is described as a 'wild and thrilling experience, combining theatrical cinema, time-pressured puzzle solving and impossible decisions', and is the follow-up to 2018's DEATHCELL, which won Best Out Of Season Attraction at the 2019 ScareCON Awards. Built on chaos and corruption, DEATHCELL is a formidable institution of abused government power. It’s a heart-pounding prison of puzzles, punishment and paranoia. A problematic penitentiary where decisions determine fate. In this modern dystopia, inmates are treated as players in a political prison, fighting for survival and subject to pained puzzles where choice is a weapon of fate. You must select to survive. Photos: R Space Productions R Space Productions are a first-of-its-kind hybrid company, combining award-winning productions and experiential immersive workshop experiences alongside creative entertainment services, attraction design and creative, operations management, event marketing and more. Driven by a core team of just six members with more than 30 years combined experience in the live entertainment industry, and led by founder and managing director Steph Ricketts, R Space Productions is on a mission to lead the way in immersive entertainment, creating see-it-to-believe-it experiences. DEATHCELL: Magenta Trailer (via R Space Productions) Steph Ricketts, Founder & Managing Director of R Space Productions, commented: I can't wait for the world to discover what awaits from R Space Productions. Our upcoming show, DEATHCELL: MAGENTA, is set to leave a lasting impression, marking our most daring venture to date. By blending elements of cinema, immersive theatre, escape room puzzles, and the thrill of horror, we're pushing boundaries and crafting new forms of escapism with compelling storytelling. Our journey began six years ago with nothing but dedication and passion. Witnessing the team at R Space Productions dive wholeheartedly into this project fills me with immense pride, leaving myself and many excited for the future that lies ahead. Photos: R Space Productions Liam McClean, Head of Marketing & Sales at R Space Productions adds the following... This experience is like nothing you’ve seen before. We’ve created something unique, innovative and next-level scary. DEATHCELL: MAGENTA is one-of-a-kind, and I can’t wait to hear the screams of pure terror and excitement. Photos: R Space Productions Once guests have secured their tickets, they'll be invited to Rewind Rentals (a nod to 80’s nostalgia and the late Blockbuster Video) to enjoy an exclusive screening of an unreleased short film horror-flick, MAGENTA. But as the lines blur between fiction and reality, the true test lies in making it to the end of the film in one piece... are you ready to push play? Deathcell: Magenta will run from 21st February to 1st March 2025 at an undisclosed location in Hackney Wick. Tickets are on sale now, starting from £30.00. For more info and to book, visit deathcell.co.uk

Further details have been announced for Secret Cinema's return to London with Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical. Tickets are currently on sale for those signed up for the Secret Cinema pre-sale and go on general public sale on Tuesday 18th March 2025, at 9am via greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com Each performance of Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical will be a 'two-and-a-half-hour spectacular which blurs the line between screen and reality', and for the very first time, the entire film will be brought to life all around you with actors and immersive elements seamlessly blending with the on-screen action. A 30-strong cast and live band will bring to life all of the songs from the film’s hit soundtrack including ‘You’re The One That I Want’, ‘Beauty School Dropout’, ‘Greased Lightnin’, ‘Look At Me I’m Sandra Dee’, ‘Summer Nights’, and ‘We Go Together,’ fusing the film and its iconic moments with a modern live-action experience. From the moment you enter Rydell High, you'll be invited to join all the action – from follow your favourite characters, cheering on the T-Birds, sharing secrets with the Pink Ladies, learning to hand jive, joining choir practice, getting a taste of 1950s American diner-inspired delights and visiting the fun fair on offer ahead of a collective finale. Locations from the film, including Frosty’s Palace, The Beauty School, The Carnival, The Gym, The Autoshop and La Cafury Beauty School will also feature. Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical is being produced by a multi-award-winning creative team with both West End and Broadway credits, including Matthew Costain (Director); Tom Rogers (Set Designer); Jennifer Weber (Choreographer); Howard Hudson (Lighting Designer); Gareth Fry (Sound Designer) and Ian William Galloway (Video Designer). Director, Matt Costain, whose previous productions with Secret Cinema include Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Dirty Dancing said: Grease has been an enduring cultural phenomenon for decades and rightly remains one of the best-selling film soundtracks of all time. With GREASE: The Immersive Movie Musical, we are delighted to bring to London an experience which celebrates the film’s timeless youthful exuberance, retaining the best of its nostalgic feels but integrating a dash of modern Secret Cinema magic to keep audiences on their toes, too. Much more than any screening or stage show that’s gone before, this is a celebration of the era, featuring the entire movie and all of its songs just as you’d expect, as the film fuses with the live experience. With audiences at the heart of the action, there will be no other Summer Night in London like it. Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical also sees the introduction of a new event ticketing structure. General Admission (Free Roam) tickets start at £49 offering general access. VIP Seated (Roam and Return) tickets will, for the first time, allow attendees to join the world of Rydell High with the option to return to designated seating throughout the event and start at £79. Premium Immersive (Join the Cast) tickets begin at £149 and offer an experience like never before, with ticket holders learning choreographed routines in advance of the performance, before joining the crowd-dazzling company. The 2025 production marks the first of three consecutive summer events from the masters of immersive entertainment, at Evolution London, their most central London venue to date. Future productions based on other iconic titles for 2026 & 2027 will be announced later in the year. Secret Cinema last staged an immersive version of Grease in Summer 2023 at Birmingham NEC with Grease: The Live Experience. Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical will run from 1st August to 7th September 2025 at Evolution London in Battersea Park. For more info and to get tickets, visit greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com

Voidspace Live, the two-day festival focusing on interactive arts, installations and exhibits, returns to Theatre Deli near Liverpool Street in June following a sold-out 2024 edition. Taking over the venue across the weekend of 7th and 8th June 2025, Voidspace Live will feature over 30 shows (including four LARPs, three one-on-one shows, one self-guided audio piece and two Jubensha games), over a dozen installations and four workshops. It's also been confirmed that 15 pieces of work will have their public premiere as part of Voidspace Live. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson For the 2025 edition of Voidspace Live, the festival will feature work from the likes of Deadweight Theatre (creators of 2024's The Manikins: a work in progress), Seth Kriebel and Zoe Bouras (who performed The Unbuilt Room at Voidspace Live 2024) and Emily Carding (actor, writer and theatre maker who specialises in Shakespeare, responsive immersive theatre, and the horror genre). The Voidspace is an organisation that explores and platforms interactive arts that focus on performances, texts, games and multimedia pieces that invite their audience to participate in some way, in addition to watching, reading or listening. Think interactive theatre, fiction and poetry, performance art, arthouse games, audio-visual work, LARP, and playful media of all kinds. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson Speaking on the line-up announcement, Voidspace's Katy Naylor said: We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing Voidspace Live (in association with Theatre Deli) back this year, bigger and better than ever. It's so exciting to be able to fill Theatre Deli with such an incredible range of performances, games and installations. Expect to get stuck in and try out something new, as we bring you new work from familiar faces, incredible work from artists you've never met before, and a lot of surprises. The full line-up for Voidspace Live 2025 is listed below, with additional shows to be announced in the future. Tickets are on sale via this link. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY Untitled By Deadweight Theatre Deadweight are a London-based experimental theatre company specialising in interactive performance. Their multi-disciplinary approach to making work draws on their backgrounds in scenography, dramaturgy, filmmaking, and visual art. Their show The Manikins: A Work in Progress was a sell-out hit in 2024. Jury Games Photo: Jury Games Friends of the Void Jury Games return to the festival this year! Jury Games are award-winning interactive experiences that dive into thrilling criminal mysteries. A blend of crime-solving and immersive theatre. Look through the evidence of a case, interrogate the defendant, cast your verdict. Hamlet (An Experience) By Emily Carding After breaking new ground with award-winning Richard III (A One Person Show), which was a hit at last year’s Voidspace Live, Emily Carding brings us a new interpretation of Hamlet and you, the audience, are the players arriving at Elsinore. Hamlet needs your help to take on the roles of his friends and family and resolve the great questions of life. Journey through the play together and become immersed in the story like never before. Hamlet has the questions. Do you have the answers? Cafe +44 By Maria Jose Siminez Silva In this moving audio piece, which takes place in and around Deli’s cafe, the artist invites you to see her history through her eyes by exploring the history of immigration in her own family and how she found a home away from home. for better [or] worse By Yiannis Pappas Maria Ambramovic Institute performance artist Yiannis Pappas presents a brand new long durational participatory performance, conceived especially for Voidspace Live. Come along and join in making something very special together. Uncle Barry’s Birthday Party by Mia Foster and Ariana Aragon You are invited to share an evening with us in celebration of our dear Uncle Barry… Our guests ought to know that interactions will occur at this party, as they do at any, and ours will involve some light touch. If this will make you uncomfortable, please feel free to decline this invitation. However, if you want to hug cake and eat friends, please join us! We would love to have you, and know Uncle Barry would too. SATURDAY ONLY FAUST By Seth Kriebel and Zoe Bouras Photo: Emma Bailey. Image: Elsa Kriebel Seth Kriebel and Zoe Bouras bring us Faust, a new version of a very old story, an interactive twist on the classic tale of the infamous doctor and his deal with the devil. Seth and Zoe performed The Unbuilt Room at Voidspace Live 2024 and are theatre makers, performers and devisors. ‘The intersection of our Venn diagram: We both make unusual performance!’ The Unbuilt Room started nearly 14 years ago and has been performed all over the country, one of many other interactive shows the pair have created and toured. Where We Meet By Unwired Dance Theatre Photo: Unwired Dance Theatre What if you could hear others’ inner thoughts? Immersive dance theatre meets XR tech to spark human connection in an increasingly digital – yet divided and lonely – world. Step into the minds of three unique characters, and join them as they embark on individual and uplifting journeys of self-discovery. Where We Meet is an interactive and immersive dance theatre performance, where you’re in control to reveal the hidden stories behind each character. We invite you to rediscover the joy of human connection, as an antidote to today’s increasingly digital – yet divided and lonely – world. Devil In The Details By Hazel Dixon and Usva Inei A family comes together to perform a powerful ritual; in order to keep living their extravagant lifestyle, they must pledge themselves to a dark and mysterious power. Using an ancient first edition of the Picture of Dorian Grey, they’ve found a way to store hardships into a portrait. However, with any boon comes dangerous consequences. Audience members will switch between playing members of the family and playing the devils that emerge from their portraits. As family members, participants will interact with one another, while as devils, participants will engage in art-making. The progression of the art will reflect the progression of the characters. Who – or what – will you become? No Wet Socks By Ella Raymont and Arlo Howard Become a happy camper and take part in activities and crafts, guided by your camp counsellor! No Wet Socks is all the best bits of summer camp – with no wet socks; an interactive experience that transports us back to the joys of camp, condensing two weeks of activities into just one hour. This unique journey is designed to remind adults of the importance of slowing down, sparking their imagination, and reconnecting with their inner child. Only Exit By Camden Barrett and Angela Rauf ONLY EXIT is a performance practice/installation which looks at the collision of found space and public space in performance, and the utilization of wearable apparatus in performance. Anarchy, anarchitecture, and pleasure in transgressive protest are all themes in this mischief-making participatory piece. Interact with signage available in the found space, as well as visual and audio ephemera/apparitions, and challenge learned spatial behaviour as you commune and collaborate with each other and the space… or make a mess and/or simply watch the joyful chaos unfold. Spy of the Year By Tom Black, Arlo Howard, Chloe Mashiter, Hannah Raymond-cox Bringing Jubensha – the hit Chinese murder-mystery/RPG/theatrical hybrid – to the UK for the first time, Spy of the Year, set at the eponymous awards ceremony, is a playful and melodramatic game that puts the audience at the centre of the action. Audience members take on the role of spies from the same agency, whose celebrations are interrupted by terrible news – shady organisation InCog is leaking information about them, with a grand reveal of all their secrets when the winner of Spy of the Year is announced! It’s up to the players to uncover which of them is the mole before the final award is presented. Will you get there in time? Accept The Cookies By Accept The Cookies Team This is an electrifying and fully interactive exhibition about our rights and freedoms in the digital future. In the age of surveillance capitalism, we ask: how much of your mind are you willing to give away to algorithms and big tech? A cyberpunk-inspired, immersive sci-fi story, sprinkled with glitch, digital fairytale, and online tropes like blue ‘verified’ badges, persistent cookie requests, and opt-out boxes that are impossible to find; the audience are the main character in their own odyssey in data ethics. Playfully camp, this show offers a performative panel discussion with a rollerblading host, a tongue-in-cheek ritual that looks at cringe culture and gets people to archive and recreate their social media content IRL, and a deep level of reflection on our own relationships with data ownership, surveillance, and big tech. Afterwards, audiences will have the choice to join our secret Telegram group and await further instruction to keep going down the rabbit hole… If You Think I Should Make Beter Life Choices, Turn To Page 42 By Hakan Akgül An interactive monologue play in the style of choose your own adventure books and TTRPGS, the story follows a man after a night out, sneaking away from a hook-up, who realises he’s lost his one emotional keepsake—and any sense of direction. Drunk and disoriented, he tries to retrace his steps but spirals into panic, unable—or unwilling—to decide his next move. Now, the audience must take control, guiding him through the night’s chaos. Can they steer him home safely, or will they get him into trouble? Navigate puzzles to help him retrace his steps, roleplay encounters with strangers on the street or in the club, and manage his dwindling emotional and physical resources – ultimately shape his final reckoning, in this experience balancing control with the weight of responsibility. Meet Me At The Tavern by Rebel Rehbinder and Kol Ford The first in a series of TaverQuest games that were developed during lockdown; Inspired by Terry Pratchett and J.H. Brennan the world is light-hearted, whimsical and fun. Participants will each take on one role inspired by common fantasy tropes. As adventurers gather in the Olde Tavern to prepare to bring The Dread Wizard to justice they discover that all is not as it seems…. My Favourite Path/Route By Mahshid Alavi A deeply interactive show about the deep emotional connection we have to certain roads, pathways, and places—especially when we are far from home—Alavi explores memory, nostalgia, displacement, and shared experiences of movement through storytelling, live music, technology, and audience participation. Beginning with Alavi recounting their experience of driving down Valiasr Street in Tehran, watching its iconic plane trees and feeling the pulse of the city, the show slowly shifts focus to the audience and makes them co-creators of the experience. Audiences will connect to the space, reflect on their favourite routes, and share their experiences if/when they feel ready. The outcome is a collective, imagined road, built from many voices and memories. The Sixth Subject By Liz Cable The Sixth Suspect is a Victorian-set murder-mystery escape room, and a highly interactive workshop where the audience will first solve a murder, and then create their own narrative-based mini-escape game, by introducing their own suspect… The Legend By Juice Cui An interactive shadow puppetry experience that transcends time and media. Blending sound art, drama, traditional shadow puppetry, and digital interaction, it breathes new life into ancient myths, inviting the audience to co-create a living legend guided by sound and animated shadows. In this project, each note represents the soul of a mythological character. They serve as catalysts for transformation – when the audience triggers different sound keys, the artist manipulates the shadow puppets behind the screen, bringing the story to life through a mesmerising dance of light and shadow. Come and bring the myth to life, as it unfolds as an audible, visible, and ever-evolving narrative. SMITE (Shadows Must Intervene To Endure) By Ed Davies A telephone rings…Answer the call from another time. Follow the whispered fragments and the paths between reality. Discover, deliver, decide: The Fate of those who reside. All will be lost should you not step inside. The drum beat sounds, in confidence confide. Gaslamps alighting, memories fracturing, shadows searching, and love letters burning. The veil between worlds is thinning.SMITE is returning. Be the cure, with hearts pure. Shadows Must Intervene To Endure. Workshop: An introduction to Ambient Lit By Tom Abba In this workshop, Tom will be talking all things Ambient Lit – writing that responds to the reader’s physical environment & surroundings. Tom’s work on the Ambient Literature Project – a collaboration between UWE Bristol, Bath Spa University, and the University of Birmingham – brought us experiences such as A Hollow Body, These Pages Fall Like Ash and On Bitter Ground. Join him today to get an insight into this exciting work, and an opportunity to make a small Ambient Lit piece of your own. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson SUNDAY ONLY The Crow Club by Dean Rodgers The Crow Club is a Soho nightclub. It is frequented by the highest and lowest of London society, and famous for one thing: murder. An immersive murder mystery game inspired by the Chinese Jubensha format, and bringing in elements of immersive theatre and escape games, The Crow Club is a Soho noir, which sees players locked in a nightclub with a murder to solve… and one of them is the killer. This is a game of social deduction and deception. Players must uncover the secrets hidden in the Club – and in their fellow players – to solve a murder. S(t)olas by Thomas Jancis This hilarious and earnest participatory show sees the audience meet and converse with a demon confined within a circle. But it’s not all just giant owls and favourite rocks. Drawing upon 17th-century English folklore and biblical mythology to talk about modern-day loneliness and isolation, S(t)olas examines connection, companionship, and community (and maybe covens) as the audience learn about the demon and perhaps help him to escape. Will you help the hapless demon, or seal his fate? Continuum by Et Al. Performance Continuum is a durational performance celebrating the unseen labour of stagecraft. A mix of cabaret, clowning and live art, audiences will be presented with a series of tasks transforming mundanity into a spectacle with sound and music. Break traditional theatre etiquette, talk, answer your phone, take photographs, interact with the props and see what you can uncover in this joyful and reflective piece about community, control, repetition and surprise. Mind Control Disco by But Why? Theatre Mind Control Disco is an immersive, participatory audio adventure where guests experience the thrill of a party guided by O.M.N.I., an AI designed to create the ultimate night out. The show combines synchronized instructions, epic tunes, and a playful exploration of AI control versus free will, offering a unique blend of entertainment and social interaction. Funny, playful, and profound, Mind Control Disco is a dance party of epic proportions. Will you follow O.M.N.I.’s control or rebel against it…? Support Group for the Newly Human by Chloe Mashiter This show casts the audience as members of a support group entirely filled with those who, whilst now human, used to be something else – werewolves, vampires, zombies, immortals, ghosts, etc – and must now navigate common limitations (ex-zombies’ loss of purpose/clarity/simplicity in their lives, ex-werewolves’ comparative fragility/weakness/vulnerability, etc) through a mix of conversation and therapeutic activity. Using role-play as a way to reflect on real life, Support Group… is about how we engage with limitations, frustrations, the things we wish we could change about ourselves, and how creative framings for this can be a release. MIA by Cross-stitch Theatre A single room. No set. No costumes. No actors. A single envelope lies on the floor. When stripped back to its roots, what do you need for a mystery to be solved? MIA invites you to solve a mystery within a mystery. Who killed David Fischer? What does the colour red have anything to do with it? And where on earth are all of the suspects? Secrets of Barrenbrook by Bunbury Banter Secrets of Barrenbrook is a darkly comic, interactive theatrical event centred around a social deduction game. Inviting audience to actively participate, and fostering a sense of community and imagination through shared storytelling, Barrenbrook has received glowing reviews for its engaging narrative and multi-sensory design. Step into the centre of the action, as you become a vital contributor to the storytelling process. Dig In by Caro Murphy and Arlo Howard In Dig In, you play as a member of a family around the holiday dinner table. Every person at the table has a bone to pick with someone else, and conflicts will arise… This LARP explores common family tensions and frustrations along with what makes a good apology. Arsenic and Lies by Karolina Soltys It is 31 December 1919 and the party at Weatherby Manor is in full swing. The guests exchange furtive whispers of intrigue, blackmail and forbidden love. At midnight, a glass of poisoned champagne shatters, dropped from a dying hand. The family has to find – or frame – the killer before the police start looking too closely into their secrets. A beginner-friendly LARP inspired by Downton Abbey and Agatha Christie novels, focussing on emotions, relationships, secrets, and blackmail. Save the Raccoon by Yudi Wu Save the Raccoon is a live game show aiming to find the best “trash artist” to save the raccoons, as the species becomes homeless and endangered in a zero-waste future with no bins. To earn the title of best trash artist, the “raccoons” (you the audience…) will have to go undercover and beat a system ultimately rigged against them. Inspired by Wu’s experiences navigating the UK funding & awarding system as a rural-based first-gen immigrant artist, the game design has been adapted from the application process and requirements for the Global Talent Visa. Reflecting on their journey, the show not only presents the ridiculousness of navigating a system that is unfair for the “raccoons”, but also the privilege that “elite raccoons” have over the others under this system, along with their exploitation of the “loser raccoons”. Find Your Superpower by Loy You’re a high-flying exec, and business means business. You’ve signed up for this workshop to maximise your productivity and 10x your financial returns. Oh yeah, and maybe there can be some afterthought about the environment or something. Looks good on paper, innit. The thing is, something doesn’t feel right today. You had your double macchiato and it just didn’t go down like it usually does. And this workshop host… they seem a bit..odd. Are you about to get more than you bargained for? Join this workshop with a difference to find out. Zine making workshop: Cosy Weird by Assemblage Collective Assemblage Collective are a group of young creatives who take a hands-on approach with a focus on making and doing. They express unity through physical manifestations of creative intent. In this workshop you will learn to make your own zine, using a collage of found words and images, and anything else you want to bring to the table. The theme: Cosy weird. Voidspace Live 2024. Photos: James Lawson Voidspace Live runs at Theatre Deli near Liverpool Street/Aldgate on the 7th and 8th June 2025. Tickets for each day are priced at £55.00. To book and find out more info, visit voidspacezine.com

The critically acclaimed immersive sci-fi adventure will launch its next instalment this Spring. Photo: Zoe Flint Bridge Command, the immersive sci-fi experience that brings together the best of live theatre and gaming technology, has announced today that its next season will open in May. Audience members will take on new challenges, tackle fresh dilemmas and navigate even higher-stakes scenarios than before as they transform into the crew of a starship travelling through the galaxy on a mission to save humanity from an emerging existential danger. Following on from the first instalment’s 22nd Century setting, where years of conflict had led to the launch of the United Confederation Navy (UCN) and a new era of space exploration, this next chapter plunges crews into uncharted peril with mysterious incidents in deep space putting humanity in the path of a dangerous new enemy. With an extinction-level threat looming, members of the UCN must confront the unknown before it’s too late. Photo: Gabriel Burns Artistic Director Owen Kingston said: Bridge Command really is the closest you can get to being the star of your own sci-fi tv series. The episodic nature of the show allows us to sustain an ongoing story for our audiences over multiple visits, where they get to shape the story as it progresses with real consequences for the decisions they make. This new season of stories lets us take that to the next level, providing fresh antagonists and new plot points for returning visitors, and an even more refined experience for those coming for the first time. Though the current season of Bridge Command will close in May, the core elements of the experience will remain with participants able to choose from four distinct mission types: Military, focusing on ship-to-ship combat; Exploration, in which players tackle the mysteries of space; Intrigue, involving espionage and investigative challenges; and Diplomacy, which will find players navigating high-stakes political situations. Participants can take on one of up to fourteen unique roles — ranging from Communications Officer to ship’s Captain — within four specialised teams: Operations, Science, Engineering, and Command. Participants will encounter characters played by professional actors from Parabolic Theatre, who will help to drive the action forward. Photo: Gabriel Burns Bridge Command blends live theatre and gaming into an immersive experience where participants become the stars of their own sci-fi adventure. Set in one of two custom-built starships, the experience is powered by bridge simulation software. Every event, from enemy attacks to system malfunctions, affects the physical set, creating sparks and chaos. Audiences are fully immersed without the need for VR or wearable tech. Each visit's data is recorded and carried over to future missions, allowing crews to shape their own evolving sci-fi adventure. The experience opened last March to critical acclaim and recently marked its one-year anniversary. Chief Operating Officer Tom Black said: The story continues, the world gets bigger, and the best part is that even if you haven’t played the previous missions, the new ones will bring you into the story so you won't feel like you missed out. There’s truly nothing else out there like this Photo: Gabriel Burns As well as the new season, Bridge Command’s Mess Bar is currently open to anyone looking for an other-worldly evening. The £10 entry fee includes a free house cocktail worth £15 or other drink and a chance to dress up in one of the show’s flight suits. Also recently launched was a corporate away-day package for companies looking for the ultimate test of teamwork, communication and problem-solving. Parabolic Theatre was founded by Owen Kingston in 2016 to push the boundaries of interactive and immersive storytelling. Since then, they have been creating dynamic, audience-driven experiences that go beyond spectacle, tackling social and political upheavals through innovative, participatory theatre. Their productions place audiences at the heart of the action—whether influencing a government in crisis, responding to a large-scale invasion, or investigating a drifting starship. Interactivity is central to their work, giving participants real agency to shape narratives, engage with performers, and explore the world around them. Photo: Gabriel Burns Bridge Command is currently booking until 31st January 2025 in Vauxhall. For more information about the show, and to book tickets, visit bridgecommand.space

Voidspace Live, the two-day festival focusing on interactive arts, installations and exhibits, returns to Theatre Deli near Liverpool Street in June following a sold-out 2024 edition. Taking over the venue across the weekend of 7th and 8th June, Voidspace Live 2025 will feature over 30 shows (including four LARPs, three one-on-one shows, one self-guided audio piece and two Jubensha games), over a dozen installations and four workshops. It's also been confirmed that 15 pieces of work will have their public premiere as part of Voidspace Live. Ahead of the festival's return, we sat down with Katy Naylor, the founder of Voidspace, to discuss how Voidspace first came to be, the success of last year's Voidspace Live, and what to expect from the 2025 edition of the festival. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson Immersive Rumours: Hi Katy, thanks for speaking with us today. Do you mind introducing yourself and telling us what Voidspace is all about? Katy Naylor: My name is Katy Naylor; I am the Void in Chief of Voidspace, an arts organisation that platforms interactive art of all kinds. Anything from interactive theatre, dance, and opera to interactive writing and interactive fiction that has an art quality to it, with which the audience can either directly engage with or be incorporated into, we're interested in. IR: Can you tell us a bit about the main goals of Voidspace and where it sits within the interactive world? Katy: I would say there are three goals. One is to make space for people who want to create interactive writing or performance to make that work. Encouraging people who don't currently do that sort of work is really important to me because of how I started. I came from the self-published indie lit mag world, where the ethos is very much ‘everyone should have access to creativity’. In addition to that, it's about fostering a space for people to be able to showcase their work professionally. That encompasses opportunities to perform and get paid for it, but also providing the opportunities to playtest work, to develop new work and to do R&D. In interactive performance, playtesting is really important because you can't tell how your piece is going to land until you get it in front of an audience. The third of our goals is more of a communication piece: getting the message across to audiences, critics, and academics that all of these art forms, which are generally thought of as very disparate, have this core of connectivity, co-creation, and engagement in common. I'm very invested in showing the world that the elements of audience engagement, participation and interaction are something that deserves as much scrutiny, discussion and attention as the environmental and sensory elements of immersion that academia has often focused on. IR: Where did your passion for this first come from? Katy: I became interested in doing this just through being a massive nerd, basically. I’ve been really interested in immersive and interactive theatre for about 12 years, and one of the big drivers for that was a particular time around 2015, when I was seeing everything I could that had the immersive and later interactive labels attached to it. I saw a lot of shows, and my friends and I had this word-of-mouth network of ‘If you like this sort of thing, you'll love this one,’ and the idea that it's unfair that only the people with access to those word-of-mouth networks should be able to benefit from that made me want to regularise it. Nowadays, I do a monthly newsletter, Voidspace Dispatches, which has listings of immersive and interactive work of different sorts, but I also realised, due to being extremely nerdy and possibly because I'm just the kind of person that likes to really think about, analyse, and pick apart how different mechanics and different shows engage you in different ways, I'd built up this store of knowledge and expertise that just lives in my head, which is great for me because it means I've got loads of stuff to talk about, but in terms of broadening the conversation, it doesn't go very far. So what I want to do is share that information and experience about interactive creators’ practice and ideas about interactivity and expand that conversation. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson IR: You’ve got a book series coming out later in the year that compiles a lot of the interviews you’ve done over the years with creators, right? Katy: Yeah. The anthology I've published is called Voidspace in Conversation. It's not all of the collected interviews, to be clear, because in the end it would have come to over a thousand pages, but it's a mixture of selected interviews and submitted essays from various creators. For instance, Chloe Mashiter wrote a piece about the difficulties of branching narrative, and it's structured as a choose-your-own-adventure essay. It’s a perfect instance of form and content coming together. There’s a philosophical piece about the concept of ‘art play’; there are some pieces about people's personal experiences of their own creative journeys with interactive writing in particular; and there's a couple of my essays in there. One is on The Manikins: a work in progress that I originally wrote as an introduction to a limited edition, supporter-only edition of the show's playtext. The aim of all of it is to broaden the conversation. A lot of what I’ve done with Voidspace has basically been out of spite because I've had a point that I've wanted to make, an irritation, and the only way that I can stem that irritation is to do something about it. One of my points of irritation is about the academic discourse in relation to immersive and interactive theatre. It's great what's out there – Punchdrunk in particular gets a lot of attention; some other companies as well, like Shunt, which is an incredible pre-Punchdrunk company, get attention too – but I wanted to see more work from a practitioner point of view that really delves into the nuts and bolts of interaction particularly, because the key in an interactive, immersive show is good audience-centred dramaturgy. Good structure, good world-building, and a solid role for the audience within the world of the show that's been properly thought out and implemented – if you get those things right, like the original version of Bridge Command, Emily Cardings’ interactive Shakespeare work like Richard III and The Manikins: a work in progress have, then you can create true immersion with no money and no set if you stick to those principles like these shows do. And if you deviate from those principles, all the budget in the world is unlikely to help you really effectively connect with your audience. IR: 2025 has been a very busy year for the void, with a number of scratch nights, workshops and other events in the run-up to Voidspace Live, which takes place in June. Can you walk us through what you’ve already done this year? Katy: I’ve been telling people that I've been both juggling and spinning plates. Somewhere down the line, that's turned into me juggling plates. I think that's pretty much how it feels at the moment. The plates are in the air; they may well smash any minute, but I’m keeping going. After last year’s festival, we started to think about how to potentially fund this year's edition. One of the things we did was apply for Arts Council funding. We didn't get any money, but by taking on their feedback, we’ve got a better project out of it. The first round of feedback we got from ACE said that they wanted to see more of a pipeline and more of a legacy than just a one-off festival. So far this year, we’ve put on creator meetups and had a scratch night, as well as run online events, workshops and games nights, which have been really fun. We also applied for a micro-grant from the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation to deliver three workshops introducing people to different forms of interactive writing creation software. Interactive fiction is so close to my heart because that's what the Voidspace was originally about – getting interactive fiction into publishing spaces – when I started the zine back in 2021. After the festival, we’ve got a few nights at COLAB Tower in July, which will be filled with void things, so watch this space. There’s also an online festival we’re planning on doing, giving people access to the world of online interactive art. In short, we've been busy.. IR: And how have you managed to keep all these plates in the air? Katy: It's really down to the incredible support that I've had from our programme partner, Theatre Deli; my co-producer Rebecca Hampson; venues and folks like Side/Step (who let us do an event at their super cool festival in February) and COLAB; and from a lot of people who have volunteered and given their time to help out. I definitely couldn't do it alone. Shout out to the regular voidunteers: Artemis Redican and Andrew Harrowell, who work on transcripts of interviews for me; Hazel Dixon, who helps me put together listings; Rudy Johnson, who does website stuff; and Neil Willcox, who brought the whole Voidspace in Conversation anthology to life. I didn't realise it was going to come to 800 pages; I didn't think that we were going to fully index it, and it became obvious that it was a really good idea, and Neil took all of it in his stride and has created a masterpiece, so he's my co-editor on that and well deserving of the title. There are also a bunch of people who are helping out with organising the festival – Rebecca Hampson, TJ Wiswell, Vicky Back, Jet Velinga, and a whole load of friends of the Void who will be acting as volunteer stewards on the day. No one is truly alone in the Voidspace, and I really appreciate the way that the community has come together to make this thing - which, without funding or staff, should be impossible - happen. Voidspace Live 2024. Photos: James Lawson IR: Let’s rewind to 2024, with the first Voidspace Live. How was it putting that event together? Katy: If I'd known what running a festival would entail, I would never have done something as foolhardy as starting it. I had the idea in December 2023 that the way to finally prove my point – that all of these art forms belonged under one umbrella – is to literally put a bunch of them under one roof on a single day and just show people and force them to recognise it. I realised it had to be a one-day or a two-day festival because if you do it over a fortnight, it's much easier, but the theatre people will go to the theatre, the dance people will go to the dance, and the poetry people will go to the poetry. The whole point of Voidspace Live is to get people in on a single ticket, and, knowing that they've got a choice, they're going to get to take part in shows and a couple of creative workshops. What we hoped is that it would inspire people to take a bit of a risk, try things that they maybe wouldn't normally try, and just discover all of the incredible stuff out there. The atmosphere on the day was exactly what I’d hoped it would be. This is going to sound a bit weird, but it felt almost like a wedding, but without anyone getting married, you know? You know when you go to a really good wedding and you've got people who are friends from different eras of your life that don't know each other, but they're all making conversation and chatting and finding out what they have in common? It was kind of like that. For me, in immersive and interactive, that is as important a part of the experience as the show itself. The fact that whatever it is about, people feel compelled to share their experiences afterwards. As an aside, I spoke to John Krizac, the writer of Tamara, who did Punchdrunk 20 years before Punchdrunk. In the 80s he did a show which was a ‘follow a character around a mansion’ show. Even then, pre-internet, fans were coming back and meeting each other, having dinner, and swapping phone numbers. Before the social media age, that urge to connect outside of just the show itself was still really strong. What was great to discover was that the Voidspace had actually become embodied. I always imagine the Voidspace is kind of like a slightly haunted attic. It's very dark and it's very warm; there are ghosts and voices in the walls, but they're kind of friendly. It’s homely, but somehow it's also big enough to welcome everyone. You might feel a little bit like you don't quite know what to expect, but you always feel welcome, and you always feel safe, and you always feel at home. That's probably what underpins the Voidspace ethos in terms of the community space that I want to create, and it was incredible last year to feel that exact energy come into being on the day. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson IR: For 2025, the festival is expanding to be a two-day event. What spurred on that idea? Katy: The idea originally came from David Ralf at Theatre Deli during a post-festival debrief. The festival went so well; it had sold out and ended up having quite a long waiting list (Buy tickets not to avoid disappointment!). Everyone had such a great time, and from a technical side, Theatre Deli really enjoyed being part of helping to create it. Shoutout to Aneirin Evans, who is Theatre Deli's venue manager and is an absolutely invaluable source of support on the day and has been really involved this year. David said, ‘Well, look, why don't we do it for two days? You can have Deli for the weekend; let's fill every room with interactive stuff. ‘Let’s make it really great,’ and I said, ‘Why not?!’. For 2025, we did an open call to see what was out there, and the response was tremendous. We had well over 100 applications, including ones from big names at Secret Cinema, Bridge Command, and Deadweight. They're all coming to the festival to share brand new, groundbreaking, exciting work for the first time. We’re giving those big names space, but equally exciting, a huge volume of applications were from people I’ve never heard of. This isn't to be arrogant, but I'm somebody who has seen a lot of shows, who talks to a lot of people, who prides herself on keeping up to date with what I think of as the scene, and to discover that I was right and that there was a huge wealth of incredible stuff out there that was just waiting to find its home and its audience has just been the most exciting thing. I'm so looking forward to presenting the work of those artists to our community for the first time. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson IR: What are some of the top-line statistics on what’s coming to the festival this year? Katy: For Voidspace Live 2025, we’ve got over 30 shows. 15 of which are premiering for the very first time. There are party shows from the likes of Mind Control Disco, and we’ve got Uncle Barry's Birthday Party, which was my favourite thing from Side/Step Festival. We also have five or six shows that involve demons or the supernatural in some way. Apparently, we like it weird in the Voidspace, but I'm cool with that… There are four workshops, one self-guided audio piece and a couple of other self-guided installation pieces; there's a poem that takes up a whole room; there's a pervasive game, The Stolen Child, which a dozen people can play across the whole festival, and many more can join in with. We've also got four or five LARPs. There's a new form of interactive entertainment called Jubensha, which is huge in China. It's a mixture of murder mystery, role-playing, and deduction theatre. It's apparently one of the most popular forms of entertainment, full stop, in China at the moment, but it's not really known as yet in the West. However, at Voidspace Live, we have not one but two Jubensha being debuted by people who really know their stuff. We've got one - Spy of the Year Award – from the Bridge Command/Jury Games/Parabolic team – Chloe Mashiter, Tom Black, Hannah Cox Davies, and Arlo Howard. The other is from Dean Rogers, who, back in the day, made Heist, which was an incredible piece of work. He’s now Creative Director at Secret Cinema and is coming to try out his new Jubensha, The Crow Club. We've got zine making; we've got a five-room exhibition of fully playable art, including a game that's set on a boat in the underworld that you control with a rudder, an espionage game that you play using a rice cooker, and an arcade machine that fights back. There's a jigsaw, there's a playable piece of furniture, and at least two solo or 1:1 experiences that you won't have to book for; you'll be able to just drop in when you're between shows. One thing we learnt from 2024 is that people just didn't have the time over a quite truncated single day to see everything they wanted to see, so that was one big reason for expanding it to a weekend, to give people the time to really engage with all this cool stuff. IR: There’s a huge range of shows being performed across both days. Are there any hidden gems you could highlight? What’s the maddest, most out-there concept on offer this year? Katy: I think my favourite, most bonkers thing on the programme is Save the Raccoon by Yudi Wu, in which you’re a raccoon in a skip, making trash art for a competition along the lines of an Arts Council or a creative visa application. It’s absurd, it's satirical, and you get to be a raccoon making trash art! How cool is that?! Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson IR: There’s also a handful of tentpole shows that were announced earlier in the year too, right? Katy: Yeah. We have a reworking of Faust from Seth Kriebel, Hamlet: An Experience from Emily Carding, and Jury Games, who have been huge supporters of Voidspace Live and did a show at last year's festival that was massively oversubscribed; they’re going to do all of their shows throughout the festival. Unwired Dance Theatre is doing Where We Meet, and the biggest wild card of them all is Deadweight Theatre. The work they're going to share is such a closely guarded secret that even I don't know what it's going to entail. That's going to be the biggest locked box surprise, even for me, which is very exciting. IR: It’s worth noting that you’ve put a lot of work into making sure the festival is as inclusive as possible, right? Katy: Yeah. One of the brilliant things about Theatre Deli and something that's very important to me is access and inclusivity. For our trans siblings, you're not going to have to worry about access to facilities, and if people have specific needs, we will do what we can to accommodate them. Deli also has a really lovely calm room. For people who are neurodiverse, like myself, being on the AuDHD spectrum, sometimes overwhelm is real, and you just need some quiet, a weighted blanket and some nice soothing lighting. Deli are really good at making provisions for that. Even though there's a lot at the festival and it can be quite overwhelming, we are going to do everything we can to keep you happy and comfortable. In terms of access inclusivity, something we learnt last year is that to some people, knowing more about a show and about the levels and types of interaction is an access need. There are ways of making that information available to people who need to know what to expect. Even though the festival has grown, I pride myself on retaining a very personal approach. My email address is voidspacezine@gmail.com, and if there's anyone out there who is thinking about buying a ticket but isn't quite sure or has any specific concerns about it, please reach out because it's really important to me to make both artists and participants feel as welcome and happy as possible. Concessions are for anyone who genuinely can't afford a full-price ticket. It's an honour system; we’re not going to ask questions or ask you to prove it. If that difference is what will get you in, then please come on a concession. We may not have much of a budget to provide the full access offering we would like, but we want to do what we can to welcome people and make everybody feel safe. IR: With such a wide-ranging line-up and some fairly well-known names from within the immersive/interactive world presenting work, it seems like a great opportunity for those attending to see some new work that might be the show we’re all talking about in 2026. Katy: Yeah. To have really established people from the likes of Bridge Command, Jury Games, The Key of Dreams and Deadweight come in and give the first sharings of new work is very exciting. Any one of these things could be the next massive show in the scene, and you'll be able to say that you were the first crowd to see that show being brought to life. Equally exciting, I think, is the number of people who, from our London immersive bubble perspective, are a completely new entrance to this scene as well. The people behind Uncle Barry’s Birthday Party, they're still students at Central. To have made something of that quality before they've even graduated, I think they’re going to be the ones to watch. Only Exit is another emerging artist show ; a really interesting experimental piece where you explore and play with space and directions. It’s the kind of concept I don't think has ever been shown before. There’s also Continuum, which is a show that’s going to last like nine hours. Any one of these things could be the thing that is maybe next year's big show or, almost equally exciting, the crazy happening that maybe 20 people see, and those people are going to carry that experience in their hearts forever. It's going to be their gift and their memory. Voidspace Live 2024. Photo: James Lawson IR: Finally, what do you hope people will come away from Voidspace Live feeling? Katy: When we’re all in our 70s or 80s, sitting on our armchairs on our verandas, or in our holodecks or whatever it is that people are going to be doing by the time we get to that age, we’ll be sitting there and reminiscing about the shows that had the deepest impact on us and the experiences that have stayed with us. Knowing that there will be people out there who say, ‘Do you remember we got to see the first showing of Spy of the Year?’ or ‘Do you remember that raccoon show? That was crazy. The fact that those memories and those stories are going to be created makes me so proud and happy. To be part of something that will be talked about and reminisced about for years to come, and as with all live theatre and particularly with all immersive and interactive experiences, knowing that in that moment, by getting your ticket and being there, you are witnessing and helping to create something – that is truly special and unrepeatable. Voidspace Live runs at Theatre Deli near Liverpool Street/Aldgate on the 7th and 8th June 2025. Tickets for each day are priced at £55.00. To book and find out more info, visit voidspacezine.com

Photo: Helen Murray Production images have been released for Sage & Jester's STOREHOUSE, which opens in Deptford on 4th June 2025. The show invites audiences to step into a world where humanity's stories have been carefully archived since 1983, at the dawn of the internet. As audiences navigate a rich and awe-inspiring underworld, they'll confront the powers that shape everyday narratives and question their own role and behaviours within society. The production, which is set across a space equivalent to two football fields, throws audiences into a battle between the defenders of Truth and the keepers of Order. As the STOREHOUSE crumbles and secrets unfold, the true cost of controlling the narrative will be revealed, urging audiences to examine their vulnerability in the face of power. Fusing art, technology, and cutting-edge storytelling, this immersive theatre show will make audiences question how they can protect themselves—and others—from being manipulated by powerful forces within this digital information ecosystem. Photo: Helen Murray Photo: Helen Murray Photo: Helen Murray Photo: Helen Murray Photo: Helen Murray STOREHOUSE runs from 4th June to 20th September at Deptford Storehouse. Tickets are priced from £27.50. For more information and to book tickets, visit sageandjester.com

An immersive stage version of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, based on Douglas Adams’ novels and the Touchstone Pictures film, will have its world premiere at Riverside Studios in London from 15th November 2025, running until 15th February 2026. Join Arthur Dent, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Fenchurch and the most unlikely crew in the history of galactic adventure as you escape the destruction of Earth with seconds to spare and begin a search for answers to the mystery of Life, the Universe and Everything, armed only with a towel and one VERY depressed robot. The night begins in a rather unusual pub as you settle in, drink in hand, for an evening of storytelling and spectacle. From there, the story lifts off - quite literally - as you hitch a ride on a passing spaceship, discover the meaning of life, and join a quest to persuade a group of inter-dimensional mice to give the Earth a second chance. The show will transform Riverside Studios 2 & 3, the connecting corridors, loading docks and bar space into Douglas Adams’ improbable and wondrous universe. The beloved London venue has a long history in British science fiction, dating back to early Doctor Who and, in recent years, has been a launching pad for West End hits like Operation Mincemeat. The show is created by award-winning writer, producer and protégé of Douglas Adams, Arvind Ethan David (Lenny Henry’s Boy With Wings, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency on Netflix) and Emmy Award-winning stage designer Jason Ardizzone-West (Redwood, Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, Jesus Christ Superstar Live). It will be co-directed and choreographed by Lorin Latarro (The Producers, Mrs. Doubtfire) and co-directed by Simon Evans (Staged, Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright), Georgia Clarke-Day (Monopoly Lifesized, The Traitors: Live Experience) and David Frias-Robles (Taskmaster: The Live Experience, Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright) for Myriad Entertainment. Based on Douglas Adams’ iconic novels and the Touchstone Pictures film, the show is presented by special arrangement with Buena Vista Theatricals. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy live show is produced by Tony Award®-winning Broadway and West End producer Tamar Climan of Climan Producing, whose credits span more than 80 shows, and Prodigal Entertainment (Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill), with general management by Smart Entertainment. Rhys Williamson, Head of Programming at Riverside Studios said: We’re thrilled to welcome The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to Riverside Studios. This production is set to use the building in ways no show has ever done before – creating a truly out-of-this-world experience for audiences. As a venue with deep sci-fi roots, Riverside feels like the perfect venue to premiere this immersive adventure, before it takes over the galaxy. Co-director of the show, Simon Evans of Myriad Entertainment said: My introduction to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a (slightly battered) cassette of the radio version, which I borrowed from my school library and listened to on an old Walkman. I remember hearing the voice of the Guide, then The Eagles’ “Journey of the Sorcerer”, and I was hooked. From an immersive perspective, it is such an incredible world to build and pull an audience into: strange and expansive, silly and moving, filled with unique characters and tackling things which are still very much relevant today with a quintessentially British sense of humour. Upon being reached in his maximum security prison cell on Frogstar Planet B, former Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox responded: A show about me? It’s going to be big. Mind bogglingly-big. The biggest thing since the Big Bang! Wait a minute, am I getting paid royalties on this? The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Live Show will run from 15th November to 15th February 2026 at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. Standard tickets are priced from £42.00, and VIP tickets are priced from £72.00. For more information and to book tickets, visit hitchhikerslive.com

Following its run at Leeds Playhouse last summer, Melting Pot have announced that the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of the Paranormal Activity films will haunt the West End this winter when it transfers to The Ambassadors Theatre for a 12-week season. A new story inspired by the worldwide horror phenomenon, Paranormal Activity, a new story live on stage, is directed by immersive theatre pioneer and Punchdrunk’s Founder and Artistic Director, Felix Barrett and written by playwright Levi Holloway, whose theatrical thriller Grey House chilled Broadway audiences, will begin performances on Friday 5 December, 2025. Paranormal Activity reimagines the modern ghost story with an unsettling intimacy only theatre can provide. Immersing audiences in an atmosphere of creeping dread, unseen forces, and psychological tension, Levi Holloway’s script offers a bold reinterpretation of the original, blending domestic horror with mind-bending theatricality. Felix Barrett, known for breaking boundaries between audience and performer, brings his signature visionary style to the production. With innovative staging and chilling soundscapes, Paranormal Activity invites audiences to witness the inexplicable up close—and feel the fear in real time. Praised for its inventive storytelling and terrifying atmosphere, the West End transfer promises to amplify the experience even further, making it a must-see event for thrill-seekers and theatre lovers alike. Paranormal Activity will undertake a North American tour this autumn, visiting the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles; Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington DC and American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, ahead of opening in London this December. Felix Barrett Photo: Stephen Dobbie Director Felix Barrett says of the West End transfer: I’m so thrilled that Paranormal will have a chance to ensnare and unnerve audiences in London later this year! From seeing the advertising campaign of the film twenty years ago, where you watched cinema audiences leap out of their chairs in horror, I have long wondered how you could recreate that visceral reaction in a theatre setting. How do you bring one of the most frightening films to life? How do you break the inherent safety that a plush West End theatre offers? It’s been an incredible challenge, and we cannot wait to see how London audiences respond! Playwright Levi Holloway continues: Collaborating with Felix Barrett to create an actual nightmare has been nothing short of a dream. Relishing in a shared language of dread, we’ve conspired to create something impossible, mixing the familiar with the uncanny, heart with horror. London audiences have a nose for honesty on stage and little patience for anything else. They’ll find it here, right alongside all the mischief we’ve made to trouble their sleep. Levi Holloway Felix Barrett is the founder and Artistic Director of Punchdrunk. He has conceived all of Punchdrunk’s shows, including Viola's Room, which has just opened at The Shed in New York, The Burnt City, The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable, The Borough (Aldeburgh Music), The Crash Of The Elysium (MIF and 2012 Cultural Olympiad), The Duchess Of Malfi (English National Opera), It Felt Like A Kiss (a collaboration with Adam Curtis, Damon Albarn for Manchester International Festival), The Masque Of The Red Death, Faust and The Firebird Ball. Felix also directed the company’s award-winning Sleep No More. First experienced by audiences in London in 2003, it has since travelled to Boston, New York, where it ran for 14 years, Shanghai, where it has become the longest running show in the city's history, and will open in Seoul in Summer 2025. Felix is a graduate and Honorary Doctorate in Drama of the University of Exeter and was appointed an MBE in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to theatre. Levi Holloway is a Chicago-based artist. As a playwright, world premieres include Pinocchio at Chicago Children’s Theatre, Haven Place, Grey House and most recently, Turret at A Red Orchid Theatre, with which he is an ensemble member. His play Grey House ran on Broadway in 2023. Levi is the co-founder of Neverbird Project, a youth-based Deaf and hearing theatre company. He spent a decade devising theatre with the Sign/Voice theatre program at Chicago’s Bell Elementary, one of the country’s oldest and most prolific Deaf and hearing integrated schools, founded in 1917. The creative team also includes Fly Davis as Set and Costume Designer, Illusions by Chris Fisher, Anna Watson as Lighting Designer, Gareth Fry as Sound Designer, Video Design by Luke Halls and Casting Direction by Stuart Burt CDG and Ginny Schiller CDG. Paranormal Activity will run at The Ambassadors Theatre from 5th December 2025 to 28th February 2026. Tickets are priced from £25.00 and can be booked via paranormalonstage.com

Image: Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema Warner Bros. Discovery and New Line Cinema will next month open a terrifying immersive museum experience based on Lorraine and Ed Warren’s infamous artefact room, home of the demonic Annabelle doll and hundreds of other possessed artefacts. Haunting East London from the start of September, The Conjuring Occult Museum will transport fans into the terrifying world of the renowned paranormal investigators like never before, ahead of the final chapter of New Line Cinema’s hugely successful Conjuring Universe films, The Conjuring: Last Rites, released in cinemas on September 5th from Warner Bros. Pictures. Photo: Justin Lubin Taking over the 10,000 sq ft White Rabbit Studios just off Shoreditch High Street, the horror experience will combine over fifty actual props featured in The Conjuring: Last Rites and other films in The Conjuring Universe, including Annabelle and The Nun. The Conjuring: Last Rites stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, who play Ed and Lorraine Warren throughout the franchise, have also recorded special content for the experience. Those brave enough to complete the experience will earn a free drink and a short video of their experience. Tickets for the experience are free of charge and will be available from 20th August, whilst walk-ins may also be available on the day. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, with limited availability. UPDATE: All tickets have sold out for this event. A second batch of tickets will be released at 2pm on 1st September, with three time slots available. The Conjuring Occult Museum will run from 1st to 3rd September 2025 in Shoreditch. Tickets are free and can be booked via eventbrite.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.

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