Well, it’s not every day that you are accused of magical crimes and sentenced to an evening in a high security prison cell, but that’s exactly what awaits you when you purchase a ticket to Hexmoor Wizarding Prison, a new immersive experience for adults in Hoxton, East London.
On arrival at the venue, we were asked to wait in a holding cell, for our fellow inmates to arrive. We were a motley crew of magical offenders, there was even a group of fiendish wizards in with us who had come all the way from Sweden (no doubt travelling by teleportation), to be thrown into the depths of Hexmoor!
Once all the prisoners were assembled, we were given a strict talking to about prison conduct and then we descended into the depths of the prison, NEVER to be seen again (for about two hours).
I don’t want to spoil the experience itself, so I won’t go into too much detail, but to give you an idea of what to expect… For much of the show you will be seated in your prison cell, and during your ‘sentence’ you will be presented with 3 potions (cocktails or mocktails, per your preference). These drinks bring their own special, magical elements with them! Whether it’s colour changing liquids or clever special effects, either way the drinks are a lot of fun (and tasty too) – we chose the alcoholic ones but our cellmates really enjoyed the alcohol free ones.
There is a familiar but entertaining plot – dark wizard desperately seeking an item and threatening to kill everyone in the way – and some exciting scenes throughout. Some of the scenes were interactive, whilst others played out between the actors. There are guards and a fellow inmate moving around the cells, laying down plot and creating atmosphere. I particularly enjoyed the character of Sitwell, supposedly a fellow inmate, who made us really feel like they were giving us privileged information… until we found out that everyone else had been given the same as an integral part of the show. I also found Jamie ‘the human’ was good fun, especially when we got to jeer at him for not being able to do magic – Ha! Dumbass normie.
There are a couple of occasions where the audience are pulled into a scene, and a few scenes unfold around you, but you spend quite a lot of time waiting for something to happen. With a small cast and just a few connected rooms, scenes run in small groups, so the pace drags at times, even with the cocktails and witty chat to fill the gaps.
Despite this slight negative, as a whole the experience was a lot of fun, and anyone that has ever been a fan of ‘that wizarding franchise’ will have a magical time. It does feel a little unfinished at times, and they could really use a few more actors, but Hexmoor is a brilliant concept, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
So, grab your mates, hop on your brooms, and race over to Hoxton for what is guaranteed to be a very unique experience. And remember – swish and flick!
Hexmoor is now booking all the way through to December 2026.
Confess your crimes and reserve a cell at Hexmoor.co.uk
Words by Nick Barr.
Photos by Hexmoor
