In 2020, for obvious reasons, theatre has been even more about escapism than usual. Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience gives you a chance to have a break from the modern world and the routine of polite-waitered restaurants, and enjoy a hilarious night out and a good meal. I was always criminally naive when it came to watching cartoons and kids shows. I never realised at the time that Inspector Gadget was useless and that Penny always saves the day (not that her uncle ever notices). I … [Read more...]

Agent Venture bills itself as an online escape room. It’s the first game / online immersive theatre / interactive thing I’ve played that truly delivers on this claim. The CEO of B.A.D. Corporation (yes, the show leans heavily on light comedy, rather than horror or thrills as some similar experiences) has been up to something bad. I’m never quite clear what exactly. Should have read my mission briefing better! Regardless, it necessitates breaking into B.A.D. Headquarters and finding the vault … [Read more...]

Have you heard the good news? You’ve been invited to hell to witness the marriage of the devil. This must mean you’re the worst of the worst. Don’t just take my word for it: the hosts of Dante’s In-Furlough won’t either. Instead, on your way from purgatory down the circles of hell, you’ll be tested. Games of skill (read: blind luck), bravery (foolhardiness) and honesty (admitting to deeds depraved and distinguished by their nastiness) will earn you souls for your passport, to gain entrance to … [Read more...]

A haunted pub. A murdered bride. A family of secrets. A spooky basement. A priest and exorcism. A child’s life at stake. What’s not to love this Hallowe’entime for seekers of immersive theatre horror thrills? Flicker by COLAB delivers and then some. It’s probably worth mentioning head-on the Covid-19 logistics. COLAB are pretty old hands these days at staging immersive theatre shows. If anyone is going to find a way to make it work, it’s going to be them. Our temperatures are taken as we … [Read more...]

'The experience will begin on Zoom,' the email invitation reads, and apart from a few pointers about sharing your screen and checking passwords carefully, this was all my team and I had to go on when it came to knowing what to expect from the online immersive theatre / escape room / alternate reality game that is Plymouth Point. Necessity is the mother of invention, and where some of us spotted the fun potential of Zoom virtual backgrounds (shirt and pyjama-bottom business meetings, conducted … [Read more...]