Enter futuristic worlds, see classic tales from a new angle and step inside a giant set for a show or even a meal with an immersive dining experience. Expect plenty of thrills with immersive shows in London. These interactive encounters encourage you to hold props, talk to the cast, make choices and explore your environment to fire up your imagination and create a memorable night of theatre. Here’s a taster of the unexpected with the best immersive theatre experiences in London.
What is immersive theatre?
Immersive theatre is open to interpretation, but the simplest definition is this is interactive theatre that breaks the fourth wall between actors and the audience. So you don’t sit and wait for a curtain to lift on a stage to know a performance has begun, or stand up at the end once the curtain comes down. You get involved. What that means exactly depends on each immersive theatre show. Your involvement could be as simple as holding props, or your choices and actions could change the course of events.
Classic stories brought to life
Immersive shows in London can tell familiar stories from stage or screen in a new way. Some recent London shows include an Immersive Peaky Blinders bringing audiences into Tommy’s gang with a new money-making scheme. For an alternative universe, Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience puts audiences into a VR headset to deal with a Martian invasion of Earth. The Gunpowder Plot uses live action, virtual reality and motion simulators to take you back to London in 1605.
Pioneers of the immersive theatre scene in the UK is Punchdrunk. This production company has turned hotels, warehouses and even the city streets into theatre shows unlike any performed on a traditional stage. Punchdrunk actors have wowed audiences and won many accolades along the way and their latest immersive theatre London show is The Burnt City. Audiences explore a neon labyrinth of 100 rooms and follow strangers into the shadows.
Big Scale Fun
Head to Tottenham Court Road and pass Go for Big Scale Fun’s Monopoly Lifesized. You turn you into the playing pieces of a giant Monopoly board. Roll the big dice, move yourself around the board and solve interactive puzzles as you go for an immersive family gaming experience. You have four boards to choose from with challenges in each, and you have 80 minutes to claim your stake on London’s top properties. There are chance cards, deals to be done and, of course, the chance you could land in jail and need bail money.
Book your slot at Monopoly Lifesized
Immersive Dining Experiences
There could be murder on the menu, comically poor service with your meal, or you might uncover a hidden speakeasy where food and drinks have secrets. Immersive dining in London serves theatrics on a plate. So create a meal experience with a difference for a unique night out. At The Murder Express Part Deux, you need to deal with the bodies piling up and find a missing diamond while enjoying fine-dining courses in the train’s dining car. Or you could step into Fawlty Towers as a hotel guest for a two-hour, three-course dinner with a familiar cast of characters to create a chaotic and unforgettable meal.
Book from a range of immersive experiences here.
Enjoy an immersive theatre night and combine it with unforgettable moments when you stay at The Clermont, Victoria or The Clermont, Charing Cross. We’ll help you enjoy a getaway in the capital filled with new experiences and luxury touches.
