City names, a masks-and-red-jumpsuits combo annnndddd it’s probably about stealing money?

OK I have a confession; I’ve never actually seen Money Heist. Five seasons, a 92% fresh rating on rotten tomatoes and a dope-ass female anti-hero. It’s a bit of a travesty.

My partner however is a die hard fan. Was getting me the immersive experience tickets simply a sneaky ruse by a crafty boyfriend who wants to talk about Money Heist incessantly? Probably, but it worked I’m super excited.

I’m also excited to do some SCIENCE. I’m sure lots of people go to immersive experiences with only half-baked knowledge of the world. How do the productions cope with them? How would I cope in a world where I had little understanding of its tropes and rules?

The website said it was a self-contained story - good for me as I shouldn’t need prior knowledge, good for my partner who’s prior knowledge shouldn’t give the ending away. There were also some suspiciously strong promises including：”This is a 100% realistic experience!”. (Let’s nip that in the bud - realism is not really a hallmark of this production. If that’s what you’re after I recommend The Drop experience, which was wonderful and frankly uncomfortably realistic at around a 70% level.)

We start in a room waiting for an art auction to begin and are ushered in as a group of 20. We are told that we are buyers for the rich and famous. What a gentle way to spend an evening I think, meandering around and cavalierly discussing what to buy.

This bourgeois fantasy is quickly shattered however as all is not as it seems and things start to go south. Before I know it I’m rocking a fetching red jumpsuit and being asked if I know The Professor. I lie and nod for fear that the rest of the group will roll their eyes and I’ll hold everything up.

We embark on an adventure that is probably best described as a walk-alongside-the-story experience. There is a combination of live-acted scenes with a little, largely optional improvisation and scenario-based activities, not quite complex enough to be called puzzles and not quite common enough to cross into escape game territory.

The live scenes were far and away the strongest element with the main story being told in clear, bold strokes that I could not just follow but really enjoyed. The characters were wonderfully realised for such a short time - Chicago was empathetic but dignified, Shanghai was a hair-raisingly scary motherfucker - and the actors were bouncing off each other all over the place, obviously having a great time.

The scenarios themselves were fun and compelling and some had the makings of epicness. I’m not too proud to admit we got to do things I secretly always wanted to, like take part in a stupidly expensive auction, deal with a room of lasers (lasers!) and, more world-specifically, take on a city moniker.

My frustration came from the lack of ability to veer off a very strict set of rails that we were placed on. You wondered why the audience were doing the tasks when there were no consequences regardless of what mistakes were made, including WALKING THROUGH A LASER CANADA.

AND THAT’S NOT EVEN A CITY… JEEZ.

Regardless of gaffs we progressed at the same rate through the story. My overwhelming feeling was that it was a shame the production didn’t drop some of the activities and lean into the strength of the story and characters further, taking it full theatre.

At one particularly exciting point we were in a room falling over each other to run from a psycho killer and really, qu'est que c'est? Why couldn’t we talk to him? What was his story? It was a genuine pity we never found out.

At this point I’m probably overstepping, but I think it could have been taken to a whole other level if we were able to take sides as factions emerged. If I had been trying to aid a particular person it may have given the experience more intrigue and some of the activities more purpose. It would also have made better use of a larger group as we would have to compete to be first or best. As it was there never felt like there was quite enough for all of us to do.

Still, it was an enjoyable evening and perfect for larger groups as you can get 20 of you on the same journey altogether. As a newbie to the world I felt I like I had been bitten by the bug, or rather, welcomed into la familia. To that end - mission accomplished. Now I’m off to start season 1.

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