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Best Immersive Experiences in London on Now

By CW Contributor on 3/11/2022

From stepping into the world of Gustav Klimt to resisting the Upside Down in Stranger Things and swinging on jungle vines with Lara Croft, here are the immersive London experiences on our radar this month.

Stranger Things: The Experience

While we wait for the final series to land, sealing the fates of all those living in Hawkins, you can get closer to the hit Netflix show with Stranger Things: The Experience. Journey through the Hawkins Lab, meeting your favourite characters along the way, before partying like it's the 1980s, and tucking into retro drinks and snacks. Keep your wits about you though: you never know when you'll need them to fight off a Demogorgon.

WHEN

Until Sunday 8 January 2023

WHERE

Tilling Road Troubadour, Brent Cross, London NW2 1LW

Monopoly Lifesized: become a part of the board game

Get ready to pass Go! Beloved board game Monopoly has been transformed into an immersive theatre experience. Game-makers Hasbro and Selladoor theatre company have joined forces to create a 75-minute adventure where teams will face a series of challenges as they navigate the opportunities and pitfalls of the Monopoly board.

WHEN

Until Sunday 3 September 2023

WHERE

Monopoly Live, 213-215 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7PS

Chris Pratt as Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (Photo: Sky/Marvel Studios)

Secret Cinema presents Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Live Immersive Experience

For its latest immersive venture, Secret Cinema storms into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its distinctly unheroic team of superheroes: the Guardians of the Galaxy. You, a visitor in this world, have been recruited by Yondu, who’s part of the crime syndicate known as the Ravagers. You’ll explore fantastical planets like Contraxia and Knowhere, choosing your own path and bending the rules after swearing to adhere to the Ravager code. You might even meet your favourite characters.

WHEN

Until Sunday 20 November

WHERE

A secret location in Wembley Park

Tomb Raider: The live experience

Join Lara Croft and become the hero in this Tomb Raider-themed, puzzle-riddled assault course. Groups of up to eight can trek through the jungle, swing on vines (well, zipwires) and smuggle themselves through caves as part of mission to outsmart a deadly enemy. Along the way, you'll meet various other characters from the franchise and need to complete a series of puzzles in order to find a hidden chamber. Good luck!

WHEN

Until Saturday 31 December

WHERE

Camden Stables Market, Lower Basement & Upper Basement Atrium, London NW1 8AH

Alcotraz: Cell Block Two-One-Two

Don an orange boilersuit and smuggle your spirits of choice past a shouty prison warden before taking your seat behind bars. Here, a mixologist will take over, fashioning you cocktails while you serve your time. Controversial, sure, and gimmicky, yes, but a quirky, high-spirited night out nonetheless.

WHEN

Until Saturday 30 December 2023

WHERE

Unit 3b, Rosewood Building, Hackney Road, London E2 8GY

Banksy & Beyond Experience

Find out more about the elusive, political graffiti artist and the influence he's had on other art makers with a guided tour of east London street art. The tour includes a pitstop in the foodie haven of Spitalfields Market for lunch.

WHEN

Until Saturday 31 December 2022, 2pm - 6pm

WHERE

Aldgate High Street, London EC3N 1AH

The Lost Estate presents The Great Christmas Feast

Immersive entertainment connoisseurs The Lost Estate have revamped their sell-out winter dining experience, The Great Christmas Feast, taking over a sprawling venue in west London to conjure Dickensian cocktails, theatre, live music and, of course, a multi-course feast.

WHEN

Tuesday 15 November – Sunday 15 January 2023, at 7:15pm with additional matinees at weekends and during peak weeks

WHERE

The Lost Estate, 9 Beaumont Avenue , London W14 9LP

Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Camden Garrison

If you binge-watched all six series and are now suffering from a Peaky Blinders withdrawal, this is the show for you: Peaky Blinders: The Rise, from Immersive Everywhere, the team behind The Great Gatsby and Doctor Who: Time Fracture, takes audiences into the moody, gun-wielding underworld of the Birmingham-set show, by way of an immersive experience based in London's Camden Market.

WHEN

Until Thursday 23 February 2023. Performance times vary and last two hours

WHERE

Camden Garrison, Camden Stables Market, North Yard, London Nw1 8Ah

Punchdrunk's The Burnt City. Photo: Julian Abrams. Performers: Yilin Kong and Steven James Apicello

Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City, Woolwich Works

Pioneering immersive theatre company Punchdrunk returns to London with The Burnt City, an eerie, dance-led journey through the fall of Troy.

WHEN

Until Sunday 4 December, 6:30pm – 9:30pm

WHERE

Woolwich Works, The Fireworks Factory, 11 No 1 Street, Royal Arsenal, London SE18 6HD

Danielle de Niese sings Handel's moving soprano arias in Messiah. Photo: Chris Dunlop/Decca

Handel's Messiah: The Live Experience

A story that never fails to move and amaze is told in music by Handel's Messiah, and the drama is being brought to life even more impressively with a new staged version of the great oratorio.

WHEN

On 06 Dec 2022, Premiere performance, with one interval

WHERE

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Catherine Street, London , WC2B 5JF

Frameless

How does it feel to get inside one of your favourite paintings? Frameless is a new multidimensional art experience consisting of projecting animated paintings -- often very well-known ones -- from floor to ceiling in four gigantic rooms. The experience is highly Instagrammable and can be utterly absorbing. Imagine being surrounded by giant versions of Salvador Dali's melting clocks, or walking the leafy path up to Cézanne's Chateau Noir. It will certainly seduce a young digital-savvy audience and might even convince hard-core art lovers, too.

WHEN

Permanent

WHERE

6 Marble Arch Place, London W1H 7AP

Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience

Immersive theatre company dotdotdot invites audiences to enter Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Don a VR headset and become a character in the story, inspired by HG Wells' dystopian novel.

WHEN

Until Friday 31 March 2023

WHERE

56 Leadenhall Street, London EC3A 2BJ

The Murdér Express Part Deux – Jewel of the Empire

As the name suggests, Funicular Production stages immersive theatre dining experiences on board a train. After the successful second run of The Murdér Express, the company returns with a new whodunnit production, The Jewel of The Empire. In a Cluedo-meets-Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone plot, the story follows famed British archeologist Dr. Errol Earhart as he transports a recently discovered and astronomically valuable diamond by train. It’s not long before the diamond is missing, and the evening becomes a race to catch a killer and recover the Jewel of the Empire.

Enjoy this saucy murder mystery alongside a menu designed by Masterchef The Professionals winner Louisa Ellis.

Buy tickets here

WHEN

Until 19 March 2023

WHERE

Pedley Street Station, Arch 63, Pedley Street, London E1 5BW

The Case of The Poisoned Chalice: Cocktail Experience

Come to Sherlock Holmes' secret speakeasy for a night of team challenges, solving puzzles and drinking cocktails.

WHEN

Until Tuesday 31 January 2023

WHERE

The Mind Palace, W12 Shopping Centre, Shepherd's Bush, London W12 8PP

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

Surround yourself with Van Gogh's starry nights, wheat fields, sunflowers and more in this 360-degree digital art exhibition, enhanced by virtual reality.

WHEN

Until Wednesday 30 November

WHERE

106 Commercial Street, London E1 6LZ

Candlelight: A Tribute to Coldplay at Southwark Cathedral

Candlelight concerts

Hear candle-lit tributes to pop sensations, movie scores and classical composers alike in this popular, immersive concert series, held in striking venues across London. Upcoming events include a concert celebrating Christmas movies on Saturday 17 December, and a tribute to Beyoncé on Saturday 26 November.

WHEN

Various dates

WHERE

Various locations including Southwark Cathedral, Glaziers Hall and Central Hall Westminster

Dopamine Land: A Multisensory Immersive Experience

All five senses at the ready: a new immersive experience opening in South Kensington hopes to entice visitors with the promise of all-encompassing nostalgia. In the Bubble Room, visitors can sip on bubble tea while admiring a bubbly sky. There’s also a popcorn room and, a little more roguely, a pillow fight room. To get to any of them though, you’ll first have to navigate The Ground Is Your Enemy: a room set to make you question which way is up with infinity mirror illusions, light and sound effects. If you’re feeling a little too grown up in this adult life, pay a trip to Dopamine Land and let sweet childhood memories flood in.

WHEN

Until Sunday 15 January 2023

WHERE

79-85 Old Brompton Road, South Kensington, London SW7 3LD

Klimt: the immersive experience

Booking is now open for this immersive visual arts experience that will take you through the universe of Gustav Klimt.

WHEN

Until Sunday 27 November

WHERE

152 Brick Lane, London E1 6RU

Best Immersive Experiences in London on Now

From stepping into the world of Gustav Klimt to resisting the Upside Down in Stranger Things and swinging on jungle vines with Lara Croft, here are the immersive London experiences on our radar this month.

Stranger Things: The Experience

Monopoly Lifesized: become a part of the board game

Secret Cinema presents Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: The Live Immersive Experience

Tomb Raider: The live experience

Alcotraz: Cell Block Two-One-Two

Banksy & Beyond Experience

The Lost Estate presents The Great Christmas Feast

Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Camden Garrison

Punchdrunk’s The Burnt City, Woolwich Works

Handel's Messiah: The Live Experience

Frameless

Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience

The Murdér Express Part Deux – Jewel of the Empire

The Case of The Poisoned Chalice: Cocktail Experience

Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

Candlelight concerts

Dopamine Land: A Multisensory Immersive Experience

Klimt: the immersive experience

Immersive experiences

Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Camden Garrison

Punchdrunk: The Burnt City, Woolwich Works

A Festive Legend Returns: The Great Christmas Feast 2023