Monday to
Saturday
8AM – 8PM
Sunday
9AM – 7PM
The Sidings,
Waterloo Station,
London SE1 7BH
Live events are back and it feels good to experience things IRL once again, but are you ready to go immersive?
From immersive theatre and art shows to immersive, dining and drinking – we love multi-sensory experiences and here’s why…
FIRSTLY, WHAT IS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE?
An event or experience that pulls you into another world and makes you feel part of it. A place where you can interact via a combination of visual and sound effects that put you in the heart of the action.
Examples include:
BENEFITS OF AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES ON THE SOUTH BANK
If you live or work around the South Bank or if Waterloo is your commuting station, then you are lucky to have some great immersive experiences locally.
As the name suggests, you step inside a game box with screens on three sides that will project games that you’re going to play.
Warning – you will need to don silly visors on your head with antennae that pinpoint your movements in the room, once you’ve got over that, you’ll really enjoy the experience.
The games you play are themed, for example, you might play eighties inspired video games (think PacMan or Pong) where you act as the joystick and move around the room to navigate your characters on the walls.
Suitable for ages 5+ there’s a great range of games to choose from including Shaun the Sheep and Angry Birds, or perhaps an interactive game show is more your thing? Perfect if you fancy something a little less physical.
You can order drinks (it’s thirsty work) and sessions take 45-60 minutes to complete and can be performed by groups of 2-6 people, with varying levels of difficulty. If you want a challenge, we’d recommend the ‘Psychedelic Mansion’, a CIA training program where you solve puzzles, all while immersed in a trippy environment.
Home to one of the original immersive experiences, the London dungeons have been a popular tourist attraction for nearly 50 years, but that shouldn’t stop locals or commuters from making the most of this fascinating journey through time.
It’s been continually upgraded over the years and currently, you’ll find 19 interactive shows as you go through 1,000 years of history, 360 degree sets combined with state of the art special effects and you even have two underground rides.
Special shows are going on throughout the year and you can always find time to pop into the tavern and grab a drink with the locals!
The newest and according to most reviews, the best immersive experience in London. Based in Tower Hill Vaults, it’s time to go back to 1605 to one of the biggest conspiracies in history and have a chance to be a spy and stop Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators as they look to blow up parliament.
Being next door to where this all happened is a great bonus but the real magic is in the combination of amazing sets and the use of virtual reality to make you feel like you are travelling down the River Thames in Jacobian London and entering under the Houses of Parliament.
Created over 3 levels within 20,000 square feet of the original vaults, you will be involved in five crucial scenes from the plot. You’ll be immersed for one hour and 20 minutes, plus get a break to have drinks in a recreation of the bar where the plot was conceived.
It’s the combination of live theatre, amazing use of technology and real-world sets that make this such a unique experience.
And if you are a Harry Potter fan, then you’ve got a real bonus as the role of Guy Fawkes is played by none other than Tom Felton!
The Best Is Yet To Come…
It’s time for some shameless teasing and getting you excited for what’s to come because very soon The Sidings will be host to one of the most unique and exciting immersive experiences anywhere in London.
Alice’s Adventures Underground, a multi-sensory adventure, coming to The Sidings this autumn, will allow visitors to engage with their favourite characters from Alice in Wonderland up close during a 90-minute theatrical show.
You’ll be at the heart of the action, but hopefully not at the Queen of Hearts’ feet! Helping Alice in an adventure like no other, will you go this way or that? Eat or Drink? Grow or Shrink? The choice is yours. Take tea with the Mad Hatter, let the Cheshire Cat take you hither of thither and explore a land full of wonder. Are you ready to fall down the rabbit hole?
And as if that wasn’t enough an Alice themed restaurant and bar will ensure a fully magical experience from beginning to end.
The Olivier-nominated show has been seen by over 300 people and was originally conceived to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel. You can find out more here.
Tickets go on sale 29th July, follow us on social media for more updates….
