Jury Duty

Style: Immersive mystery
Where: Theatre Deli Leadenhall
Booking: https://www.designmynight.com/london/whats-on/something-a-little-different-events/jury-duty?fbclid=IwAR0nFX35dK2XrxAFJEIIgeCEsS7ygQlBFDUpIJvUrC6eyqxP07nS-8Pr9wM

Rating: 5 stars

The government’s court case backlog has spiralled – particularly since Covid. So they’re outsourcing jury decision making to concerned (and possibly tipsy – this is immersive theatre after all) citizens. So far, so horribly plausible.

There has been a fire and someone died. Harry Briggs was arrested at the scene – dazed, bleeding, confused and smelling slightly of paraffin. But is there more to this case than meets the eye? As a jury, you will work with the court officer to unravel the elements of this case in order to allow yourselves to reach a verdict on the counts of arson, manslaughter and murder.

Along the way, you are able to interact with the suspect at a few intervals throughout the evening. This is also a multimedia experience, with emails coming in from those who may have pertinent information.

Much of the success of this immersive show comes in getting audiences of strangers to work with each other. I was with one companion and a family group, but we almost immediately worked together and found useful roles that complimented each other. The sense of camaraderie built up over the 90 minutes was impressive and came because of the seamless experience we were given.

The story itself was complicated – but also followable. There were layers and depths that we uncovered that felt rewarding and interesting – but I think it would also have been fun if we hadn’t gone as deep as we did. The experience was very satisfying and never got to be too hard work to be fun. The balance was perfect, the timing superb and the actors found the perfect sweet spot between leading and guiding our experience.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good mystery and a truly immersive and cerebral night out.