Imagine a world where corporations reign supreme, the politicians are all corrupt, and half the people are obsessed with an all-powerful, unseen god-like being. Ok, I guess that sounds a lot like our world… Well, add to that a talking platypus, numerous sentient robots, a cast of crazy locals, some incredible steam punk design and innovation, and a whole lot of immersive adventure around every corner! That is the world of Phantom Peak, a fully immersive, steampunk town that is a permanent fixture in Canada Water, London, and must be seen to be believed. This visit was my 5th, but my first without my children in tow – woohoo!
Before entering, one of the eccentric locals (a cast of incredibly talented actors), gives us a health and safety talk in a very comedic fashion, including mention of not touching any of the actors and a demonstration of consent: “may I give you a high five?”…”yes you may”. This may seem arbitrary to some, but in the world of immersive theatre, where actors and audience are interacting and moving in the same space, and the drinks are often flowing, some audience members can occasionally get over excited and forget that these actors are not actually their mates, so a reminder to be respectful is an essential part of the welcome talk.
With the formalities out of the way, we walked down the fabric lined corridor and entered a different world…

If you have never been to a free roam immersive experience, such as those offered by Secret Cinema, Immersive Octopus, Parabolic, and several other companies that are becoming synonymous with immersive theatre, then you may not be able to fully conceive of just what it’s like to be in one of these ‘worlds’. Immersive is a word that some marketing companies seem to overuse these days, in this writer’s opinion, and you may be forgiven for thinking it means “there’s something all around you”, as is the case at several “immersive” art shows I have attended. But that is NOT what immersive theatre is. It is also not “you are on the stage” or “near the actors” – some of those shows are wonderful, but not really immersive. Immersive, in the case of Phantom Peak and others I’ve mentioned, means that you find yourself in another world, with characters that you can speak to freely, narrative that you are a part of and can even influence (many experiences of this nature have several endings, allowing the audience real agency to shape the story), and sometimes you may even have a character name yourself!


Phantom Peak is like a “choose your own adventure” game, where you are physically in the game and the NPCs are the most delightful bunch you could ever meet (even the villains)! You are invited to go to a website and enter a special password to launch Jonassist, your app to guide you through your adventures. After answering a few questions about your adventure preferences, your first mission begins, and you are given a task to complete! Solving each task reveals an answer, which reveals your next instruction. Many of the tasks involve finding one of the locals and asking them the right questions to get what you need, some tasks involve interacting with the steampunk machines around town to find your clues, but every single task is great fun and the interactions with the cast or the video responses on the machines are unique to every story!
I mentioned that I have been 5 times now, and you may be thinking “surely you’ve done it all, no?”, but that’s the beauty of PP – every 3 months or so they change the season, and all the puzzles and mysteries are completely renewed too, so every visit feels fresh and original. This is why it has a solid core of repeat visitors and super fans, who purchase Season tickets and attend several times a season in order to complete all the available challenges. This season is Hallowed Peak: The Lunar Festival, and the entire town has spooky Halloween style decoration. Oh and we were dressed up to match of course, the more effort you make, the more you feel immersed (although don’t fret if you’re shy, many come without dressing up too, but usually only on their first visit)!

If you are drinking – I was on this occasion – the bars serve Halloween themed cocktails and shots, which were delicious, varied, and colourful! I tried several, including my favourite – Ooze of The Oracle – spicy rum, ginger beer, and other good stuff! The food is yummy too, although less heavily themed than the drinks. There are hot dogs, burgers, chicken wings and the like, as well as plenty of veggie and vegan options too – the vegetarian I was with was not disappointed!
We (myself and my 2 companions) had so much fun, and managed to complete 3 missions; during which we joined the resistance, helped track down a rogue stretchy toy man that was on a murderous rampage, and played cards with a dead cowboy to help save the town! And all during a four hour experience in which we also ate, drank, and were frequently side-tracked – we were very pleased with ourselves!!

If you want an epic night out with your friends, or a fun afternoon out with your kids, you will struggle to find a better option than Phantom Peak. So, whether you’re fighting evil, solving steampunk mysteries, or just sipping on a spookily-themed cocktail, one thing is certain: at Phantom Peak, the only limit is how far your curiosity (and maybe your cocktail budget) will take you.
To book tickets visit https://www.phantompeak.com/
Words by Nick Barr
Photography Alistair Veryard