Four immersive experiences in London worth living through

BURNT CITY

On the first evening, we went to the Burnt City experience produced by Punchdrunk. I've been hearing a lot of good things about Punchdrunk and their immersive theatre creations for some time now; they were among the first to produce immersive theatre experiences like Sleep No More in New York.

We entered Burnt City at the scheduled time, leaving our belongings in the cloakroom. As usual with Punchdrunk, we were given masks to wear throughout the experience, which distanced us from the actors and put us in the position of spectators. I couldn’t really tell you what the story was about. I think I would have to go back several times to understand the multiple intrigues and stories that seemed to intertwine. But it didn’t really matter because we were both fascinated and very impressed by the sets, which we explored enthusiastically but silently - we had been instructed not to speak during the entire experience. The place was huge and labyrinthine, with lots of different spaces and atmospheres, from a greenhouse above a flower shop to a cabaret, a military camp, and a huge open space with very large metal beams jutting out from the ground. The performances by the artists were fantastic, mainly based on contact dance and mostly without dialogue, although there were private moments with just one or a few participants where the actor spoke directly to them. I felt the emotions were conveyed despite the lack of a comprehensible story or dialogue. Frances didn’t feel the same and described the experience as "Disney for the Depressed" because of its immersive but non-interactive character and the rather dark and monotonous atmosphere that persisted throughout the experience. Anyway, we both loved the Peeps cabaret and spent the last 30 minutes of the experience there!

Phantom Peak took us to impressive sets

PHANTOM PEAK

Our second night in London, as participants of the WXO Summit, we were invited to take part in the Phantom Peak experience. Phantom Peak was hosting the Summit, so we were already somewhat familiar with the space and wondered about the platypuses because they were everywhere. It was the mascot of Phantom Peak, yet there was no other reference to Australia (everyone knows platypuses are endemic to Australia). The experience began with about half an hour during which participants could mingle with the characters in the main room. It was a fun opportunity to ask questions like "What's the story with the platypuses?" Answer: "They were here before." The actors were very good, very convincing in their roles, and they all seemed to know and understand well the stories, rules, characters, and peculiarities of this strange and fictional world called Phantom Peak. After having a rather average meal (perhaps the only thing I found really improvable), which you can order from automatic kiosks, Frances and I decided to embark on one of the "paths". After completing a short questionnaire on a website, we were suggested to follow the "Vanishing Act" path. Following clue after clue, task after task given via our smartphone (it seems impossible to do this experience without a smartphone), we were led to visit different spaces throughout Phantom Peak and talk with several characters. My favorite moment was at the end, when I had to tell a rather charming and naive young man that the woman he had communicated with and was in love with was actually an artificial intelligence. After delivering this bad news, I comforted him. His emotion seemed very real, and it really touched me. Despite our fatigue, Frances and I both really enjoyed the experience for the quality of the acting, the cleverness of the game, and the fantasy of the sets and props.

THE GUNPOWDER PLOT

On the third night, as part of the WXO Summit, we were sent on a "experience safari". Small groups of Summit participants were dispatched to experience different immersive experiences all over London. Frances and I were excited to discover The Gunpowder Plot, an action-packed experience based on the story of Guy Fawkes and the 1605 terrorist plot. Unfortunately, we arrived a little late and missed the short informative introduction, but thanks to the somewhat modular nature of the experience, they managed to include us just after the first scene. We found ourselves "prisoners" in a jail cell with another prisoner in bad shape who was quickly taken away, probably to be executed despite his wife’s desperate protests. Shortly after, a soldier of the king freed us from the cell and helped us "escape" so that we could be recruited to help the British army prevent the rebellious Catholics from blowing up Parliament and the king. The experience combined live situations with lots of involvement and interactions with the actors and moments in virtual reality where we wore VR headsets to be transported elsewhere. Frances was super enthusiastic at the end of the experience. She loved the interaction, the story, and the overall adventurous vibe of the experience. Although I enjoyed it a lot, I found the VR not great; it felt too much like a video game. The acting was quite good, but I didn’t find it really exceptional. Frances and I also agreed that it was unfortunate that we were pushed to make "an important decision," only to realize later that our choice probably had no real impact on the ending.

You can clearly see that we were there for work with our serious faces.

THE LAST EVENING

Our fourth and last evening in London was an experience we rather co-created. It all started with Moulin Rouge The Musical. Even though I found the story (the same as the film) outdated in its social values and morals, the production was fantastic with beautiful costumes, sumptuous decor, amazing performances, and great music. Although it wasn’t an immersive production, it immersed us in a dynamic and vibrant energy that emotionally engaged us and made us leave the theatre super excited and inspired.

We wanted to get to our next destination as quickly as possible and it seemed the fastest option (although certainly not the cheapest) was to take a London tuk-tuk. All three of us (Scott Levkoff had come with us to the show) squeezed into the pink, well-lit tuk-tuk. Although in the end it wasn’t the fastest option because of traffic jams, I’m convinced it was the most fun. It was already an experience in itself, being transported in a pedal vehicle through London with La Macarena and Barbie Girl in our ears... a perfect transition from the show we had just seen.

We managed to reach the Summit closing just in time to follow a small group heading to the nearest nightclub to dance and party. Then, we finished the evening at a local London diner to satisfy that particular craving that comes when you don’t have dinner and party till the wee hours of the morning.

Although much of the evening was unplanned and not technically an immersive experience, thanks to the awesome people we were with and our own spontaneity, we ended up co-creating my favorite "immersive" experience of the trip. ❤