Hidden Figures: WW2 review - an absolute gem that deserves to be discovered
Every so often I come across a show that’s so innovative and memorable it makes me remember why I’m obsessed with immersive theatre. Hidden Figures: WW2 is one of those.
For you if:
You like immersive and interactive theatre - pretty much full stop.
You’ve never done immersive and interactive theatre before and want to see what it’s all about - this is a very beginner friendly show
Not for you if:
You really can’t face interacting with actors (but go on… you know you want to give it a whirl)
Underneath a church in Bethnal Green we are transported to a WW2 military training facility and listening to fabulous 1940s crooner tunes on the radio, drink in hand we are presented with dossiers. The dossiers contain fragmented information about the character we are that evening but they’re all woefully incomplete and our mission, if we choose to accept it, is to attempt to complete training and meanwhile uncover our own identities by navigating through a series of challenges.
During the course of the evening we interact and improvise in our intimate group of no more than 8, complete puzzles and attempt to make hard decisions, all the while revealing the history of the unsung heroes of WW2 who also happen to be homosexual, female and colonial.
Talk about putting the audience at the heart of the show. I have never come across this format before in live immersive experiences, but it works so well that I can see it becoming an industry standard; the audience cannot be any more central to the story than taking on individualised characters but the ‘learning game’ makes it immediately accessible and possible to experience within an hour or two.
The format was central to the concept of Hidden Figures: WW2 from the beginning. Written by a serving Royal Marine with a passion for history and diversity and devised by Party Geek led by Zoe Flint, the entire aim of the project was to enable the audience to connect with the characters. Inhabiting them was seen as the ultimate experience to build empathy.
The approach isn’t without challenges; wallflowers of the world are probably trembling just thinking about jumping into a half-baked (by design) character. But never fear, Zoe and the team have thought hard about “laying down pipe” or handholding the audience through the experience to carefully and methodically reduce pressure and lower expectations regarding being ‘good’ and it really pays off.
Minimum stakes, maximum fun.
The various experiential ‘balances’ achieved across the production is sort of what makes it exceptional; the audience role is highly participatory but carefully devised to be low pressure, the narrative has a compelling advocacy twist which never strays into the preachy or self-righteous, the space is intimate but the world feels expansive thanks to the generous number of characters to interact with, clever zoning and details in decor that are unusual outside of large-scale productions.
If I had a qualm, it would be that the title doesn’t feel like it does the experience justice and the escape room style experience mid-way through. While surprisingly well built for an experience where puzzles aren’t necessarily the key draw, it was a little incongruous given that it didn’t really help us develop our personal stories. This stood out among the other parts (I don’t want to give away too much) which all felt much more like they added to unravelling the mystery. However, I also must disclose that my partner who is very much a wallflower was relieved to have a section that was a break from any performance at all and absolutely loved it… so maybe it did serve a higher purpose after all.
Regardless, Hidden Figures: WW2 delivered a truly immersive, heartwarming evening that genuinely brought a tear to my eye when I heard the real story of the person I had been (very badly) playing at the end. This is an absolute gem that deserves to be discovered. Go and see it while it’s still on.
Hidden Figures: WW2 is playing now at CRYPT in Bethnal Green through to September. Tickets are £30 and available here
