Update for July 2022: I’m republishing a couple of my favorite London focused posts because, well, I’m in London right now! 🙂 I am completely psyched to see The Burnt City immersive experience while I am in London. There are a few spoilers online, but I’m avoiding those, focusing on posts about the Greek mythology that the show is based on. Check out one such video below. And photos to come in a future post…. Cheers!
The family is heading to London this summer! And I have been working on my list of things to do when we get there. Of course I’ll be hitting Liberty and Choosing Keeping. And I’m scheduling a full day for a leisurely walk through the V&A. But you know what I am looking most forward to? Checking out some immersive theater in London! I’ve scoped out the most interesting productions, in case you are also heading across the pond.
What is immersive theater? Immersive theater removes the barrier between the performance and the audience. Sometimes you are part of the “extras”; sometimes you can actually influence the direction of the storyline. I love it because it feels like the culmination of things I loved as a child: choose-your-own-adventure and video games like Mystery House (remember that one??) Kate and I saw Tony and Tina’s Wedding in San Francisco years ago- and I was hooked! I’ve seen a few productions in immersive theater in London and New York over the years, and they stick with me.
London has become the global hub for immersive theater, and there are lots of options to choose from. But you should be picky and really go for what you like. These are not inexpensive experiences, and they can take up a chunk of time during a vacation. Personally, I am not a fan of escape rooms (too stressful!) so anything that includes that is off my list. I don’t particularly want to solve a crime over the course of three hours. And as much as I enjoyed Fawlty Towers, I really don’t need this…
But I do like experiences that put me in a different time and place. Productions that cause me to gasp and maybe be a little intrigued and scared. In that spirit, here are three productions of immersive theater in London that are on my list for Summer 2022…
The Burnt City
To be honest, when I heard that there was a new Punchdrunk production coming to London this summer, I knew where we were spending our vacation! Punchdrunk is one of the original innovators in immersive theater in London, and I am positive that The Burnt City will be amazing.
My first Punchdrunk experience was Sleep No More, of which many of you may be familiar. It’s been in New York for years now, and it’s a classic. Awe-inspiring, a bit scary, it really is the platonic ideal of immersive theater.
See what I mean? And from all that I’ve read, Punchdrunk is taking it to the next level with The Burnt City. From Time Out:
“Housed in two vast former arsenal buildings, ‘The Burnt City’ is a truly epic work. Set at the end of the Trojan War, it’s based on plays by Euripides and Sophocles… and Fritz Lang’s seminal early sci-fi film Metroplis. One building will represent Troy on the night before it fell, a lively, sophisticated, retro-futurist cityscape heavily inspired by Lang. The other will be a classically beautiful but desolate Greece, drained of life by its war effort. Audiences will be free to wander both areas – providing they can show their papers at the checkpoint building that joins them – and be swallowed by two huge worlds and the characters living in them.”
This one is at the top of my list for immersive theater in London this summer. Standard tickets are £55 – £88.
The Burnt City, One Cartridge Place, Woolwich, London
The Gunpowder Plot
OK, this one is going to be super cool. In case you don’t know what the Gunpowder Plot is, learn more here. Check out this description:
“Your mission is to go undercover and unmask the mysterious figures behind history’s most infamous plot. But when you’re surrounded by ‘traitors’ who can you trust?
The Gunpowder Plot is a thrilling new immersive experience which takes place in a purpose-designed venue in the UNESCO World Heritage Tower Vaults at the Tower of London.”
I’ve been to the Tower of London several times, and ordinarily, I would probably skip it on this trip. But I’m definitely checking this out. You can’t beat the location! And this one will include a lot of technology to add to the experience. From the website:
“Layered Realityâ„¢ experiences combine the latest digital tech (Virtual Reality, projection mapping and volumetric holograms) together with live theatre (live actors, movie-scale sets, and special effects) plus real physical sensations (touch, temperature, smell, sound and music, physical movement, and taste) to create an unique immersive experience that is truly memorable.”
It’s not cheap- standard tickets are £40-£70, but I have a feeling this one is going to be a stand-out in immersive theater in London this summer.
The Gunpowder Plot, Tower Vaults, next to the Tower of London
The Great Gatsby
Nope, I’m not picking Magic Mike Live! as my third choice for immersive theater in London 🙂 Instead, I’m going a little more high-brow with The Great Gatsby. This one looks less like a mysterious exploration through massive buildings and more like a lot of fun. Dancing! Drinking! Carousing! And I like how they are encouraging people to come in costume. Compared to the other two choices I’m sharing, the tickets are less expensive, starting at £40.
The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s Mansion, Immersive LDN, 56 Davies St, London
Plan your immersive theater soon
Despite all the craziness in the world, it looks like Summer 2022 travel is going to be a bit nuts. So I’d advise you to book your tickets soon- whether you will be in London with us, New York or some other location. I’ll be following up with a few tips for getting the most out of your immersive theater experience soon!
