‘Bridge Command, Episode 1: Talavaar’ Boldly Takes Us Where No Man Has Gone Before (Review)

The basement of the CoLab Factory has grown smaller. The once-expansive underground cavern has been transformed into a series of cramped and airless access tunnels; they’re filled with glowing indicator lights illuminating dozens of warning signs and guidance notices advising us to mind our shields and to only handle reactor cores while wearing protective gloves. The smells of damp metal and dust float through the air as we gather in the captain’s shabby cabin, pulling our hands out of our jumpsuit pockets in respect as we prepare to receive our briefing. It has been a long time since we’ve seen Earth. This is Parabolic Theatre’s newest interactive experience: Bridge Command.

Only moments ago, we were standing on an autumn-bronzed street in Southwark, London. Now we’re suddenly closed off from our home planet and bracing ourselves for a crash course in starship pilotry. We’ve each been assigned a support role (weapons, navigation, communications, first mate, etc.) and after our captain has explained how our recruitment was part of a desperate plan to maintain service of their mission, we’re shown through to the bridge. It’s cozy, bordering on claustrophobic: five seated stations flank a central command podium where our captain assumes command and bids us to do our best.

Show producer Parabolic Theatre has an established reputation of creating well-dressed immersive sets with plenty of props for more tactile-oriented guests to play with, particularly their For King & Country series. While the wider set of Bridge Command may be on the more haphazard and jury-rigged side, it is evident that the lion’s share of design and budget has been directed exactly where it should be: into the tech. Each bridge station has its own custom touchscreen interface specialized to the operator’s role, and the level of detail is dizzying. One station has scanning functions that identify other ships and their shield & weapon levels, but also an extensive interactive rolodex of all known spaceship models and their basic stats. Another station provides verbal & text-based communication modules between any ship that appears on the radar but also has a “hacking” mini-game that would allow the user to override any security lock-outs, if required. There are so many functions that I find myself wondering how we’ll ever use them all in just an hour, and then I see the brilliance in Bridge Command’s business model: it’s an episodic adventure.

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Creator/director Owen Kingston explains that groups of up to six visitors can enjoy the first episode as a single experience and feel fulfilled by a complete story arc, but what Episode 1: Talavaar really does is teach players how to interface with the system and lays a narrative baseline for an extended story. Choices in each episode matter: fictional lives hang in the balance and if a non-player-character is saved or killed during the session, it will affect the rest of the current episode as well as the next one. The team must assume a lot more responsibility if the captain goes MIA or if an ally defects. The storyline alters difficulty levels depending on how effectively a team works together. Kingston explains that there are subtle ways of tracking what returning players have previously experienced, allowing the show runners to manipulate the storyline in real-time to adhere to that group’s particular history. (While there’s no guaranteeing that the groups will end up returning with their same members or won’t be paired with strangers in the future, crossover and storyline conflict is reportedly low so far.)

At times during the experience, I find myself entirely immersed in the responsibility of my role, relaying coordinates to Navigation and reading power levels off to Weapons at a breakneck speed; I realize I don’t have much time to observe other people’s experiences or even glance at the main display screen which I know is projecting our overall journey through space. The synchronized teamwork and electronic engagement is enthralling — anyone who has ever played and enjoyed a team strategy video game in real time would ache for a setup like this.

It calls to mind the elaborate LAN parties of pre-internet days, except in this instance all the tech is already in a single location, and can change environmental stimuli like intercoms, alarms, lights, and core reactors.

An hour and some change fly by; I could have easily and happily spent another two hours down on the bridge with my crew. I can see the appeal in booking multiple episodes of Bridge Command in one day (a lovely way to spend a cold, wet weekend day in London) and Parabolic Theatre happily arranges just that for eager visitors. There is even (hush hush) potential for a secret storyline, achievable for groups which happen to trigger the right sequence.

Not quite escape room, not quite puzzle game, certainly not traditional theatre, and entirely interactive, Bridge Command is suitable for avid gamers and immersive enthusiasts alike. The experience is perfect for a group of friends but still welcoming to smaller sets of people or even singles. The producers have spent the autumn developing an intimate and engaging experience that we can only hope will retain as firm a foothold in the London winter season. Bridge Command launches almost daily and is worth every galactic credit — reporting as Yeoman Shelley Snyder of the spaceship NoPro, your mission is to enlist today.

Episodes of Bridge Command continue through December 22 in London. Tickets are £25 — 35.

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