Review Rundown: Let’s Go Globetrotting

This may be a light week, but it’s also maybe the greatest distances between experiences the team has ever covered at the same time.

From London to Singapore with a stop in NYC for a phone call coming from Orlando, this week’s set is heavy on the audio and high on adventure. Let’s take off!

Looking for more? Last week featured both a regular Rundown and a special SoCal Spooky Season Edition.

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Escape the Power Cut — The Inception Group
Tickets From 55 GBP; London; Ongoing

I will admit, I went in with one brow arched. Escape the Power Cut, the latest offering from theme-bar-impresarios The Inception Group, is located in Control Room B, the power-plant-themed watering hole recently opened in Battersea Power Station. Unlike the group’s other venues (particularly the Mr Fogg’s establishments), Control Room B is not a strictly self-contained space, but is semi-integrated into the broader power-plant-turned-shopping center. How on Earth, my guests and I wondered, would such a space work for an escape room?

Our doubts proved happily unfounded. Once inside, you’re given a lively, gin-based welcome drink, informed a bit of the lay of the land (and the menu for further cocktails), and set to work in a cordoned-off space in the back of the bar as night-shift power plant technicians who have an hour to resolve a glitch in the system, lest London be plunged into sudden darkness. And let me tell you, with nothing but a heavily locked wooden crate and fairly minimal starting instructions, this is a legitimate challenge–especially once you start feeling the drinks.

I don’t want to spoil the fun (and Escape the Power Cut is a genuinely fun time), but it doesn’t give too much away to say that over the course of your efforts to save the city from darkness, you’ll encounter codes to crack, circuits to wire, a secret language, a potential costume change that becomes more elaborate as the game goes on, and some really very excellent cocktails (I recommend the “Battery Licker”). The cast is mostly hands-off throughout the experience, but will occasionally drop by with a “surprise announcement,” a drink, or a mysterious clue, and are always available if you need a hint. For an escape room in a semi-open bar in a disused power plant, you might even say you’ll find a… shockingly good time.

(I’m so sorry)

— Ellery Weil, London Correspondent

New World’s End — OH! Stories
$35; Singapore; Ongoing

Turning the streets, back alleys, and apartment buildings of Singapore’s Jalan Besar neighborhood into a canvas for a love story is no straightforward task, but that’s exactly what this piece from OH! Stories, the site-specific art making company, does.

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New World’s End starts by flashing back to the 1960’s to tell the story of Kiran and Rosa, who meet at a dance hall in the neighborhood that was an amusement park. As we walk the streets of this part of Little India, time plays its tricks on both the lovers and the space around us, transforming the internal and external landscape of the tale.

The OH! Stories team has crafted some spectacular surprises, with their craft not limited to audio alone. Those who haven’t experienced the kind of placemaking adventures that accompanied experiences like The Jejune Institute are likely to have their minds blown.

The one off-note is that occasionally the way finding gets off. A combination of street traffic and the endless redevelopment of the area have altered some critical landmarks referenced in the audio tracks. A well produced map brings guests back on target and in a pinch the box office team can be contacted to guide you.

All in all an exceptionally well told tale that does what immersive does best: blend fantasy and reality in novel ways.

— Noah Nelson, Founder and Publisher

The Ritual — Phoenix Tears Productions
Pay What You Can, minimum $15; by phone; runs thru Oct 9th

Phoenix Tears Productions’ previous phone call experience, Perfect Partner, was an intriguing and thought-provoking piece. In exploring the limits of technology in fostering human connection, the show smartly probed our AI futures without itself using any AI tools. Perfect Partner was also emotionally involving, connecting its dissection of technology’s limits with humanity’s shared, desperate need for connection.

Phoenix Tears’ latest work The Ritual, a horror-themed phone experience, proves a less ambitious affair. There isn’t a lot of deeper meaning or thematic exploration happening here–just a tight, straightforward spooky story about a deadly curse.

At showtime, I was called by a jittery-sounding Devlin. Devlin explained that the monster Eaglaith was after her and, if I didn’t complete a ritual exactly as instructed, it would soon be after me as well. The ritual required some basic household props: pen and paper, something to make a circle with, etc.

Megan Markham was superb as Devlin — rattled, shaky and very believable. But The Ritual was brief and not especially chilling. The monster’s ability to “unravel your skin” like yarn was a memorable bit of description. But I never felt Devlin’s terror worming its way into me.

A late twist attempted to add some complication, as Devlin questioned why I would fulfill her instructions without any skepticism. But given that this is a phone-based show based on the premise of following instructions, that final turn struck me as a bit cheap.

— Joey Sims, NYC Correspondent

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