The Crash of The Elysium
Described by the organisers as promenade theatre, Crash of the Elysium is an energetic, highly immersive, interactive experience that takes you into a complex plot about spaceships, alien creatures, time travel and a strange two hearted man called The Doctor.
Not that you would know that from the start. The unassuming entrance is tucked away inside a small marquee, and with no reference to Doctor Who, you would think that you are entering a real historical museum exhibition. What you don’t see before you enter is the mass of marquees and containers that are lined up behind the main entrance which are where the main components of the show take place.
But, back to the story and a boring museum talk is suddenly interrupted by military personnel in a scene that sets the pace for the remaining hour. From here on in Crash of the Elysium is a totally believable race through time and space with an ever lurking threat of some of Doctor Who’s most memorable monsters.
Clues to the identity of the creatures and what The Doctor wants us to do are leaked out through several scenes and although he is never physically with us, the interaction and use of screens and projections, convey a genuine and believable threat. We have a mission to help him save the world and along the way we have many tasks that need to be completed before we can progress.
Of course, never far behind us are the terrifying monsters and the threat of 'attack' is around every corner. In one cleverly choreographed and staged scene, we all end up cowering in the corner with fear as we are stalked mercilessly by one of the creatures. This scene alone was worth the entry price and interestingly was not an 'after dark' extra but is part of the main kid’s shows. If people don’t have nightmares after Crash of the Elysium then they must have a heart of stone!
It would be so easy to say what creatures were stalking us but that is half the fun of the show, so you’ll just have to visit yourself to find out. Of course, as people who watch the TV show, we knew the history/reputation of the characters but this is repeated and reiterated so newcomers can stay involved.
Anyway, through instances that can only be considered spoilers, a large portion of the show takes place in a different time and the simple effect of this reveal was breathtaking, as we transported from a tiny corridor into a massive scene that was filled with detail and wonder. This room and the marquee holding it was probably bigger than most temporary attractions in their entirety!
The rest of the show plays out in different rooms, strange mazes and tight spaceship corridors, and as we fight to save The Doctor, we are continually attacked from a number of different sources. At this point, the whole audience is entranced in the completely believable environments and situations. This is no passive experience and we run, we cower, we hide and we explore. It is so hard to reconcile that we are really in a marquee in the middle of an Ipswich car park!
Not that you would know that from the start. The unassuming entrance is tucked away inside a small marquee, and with no reference to Doctor Who, you would think that you are entering a real historical museum exhibition. What you don’t see before you enter is the mass of marquees and containers that are lined up behind the main entrance which are where the main components of the show take place.
But, back to the story and a boring museum talk is suddenly interrupted by military personnel in a scene that sets the pace for the remaining hour. From here on in Crash of the Elysium is a totally believable race through time and space with an ever lurking threat of some of Doctor Who’s most memorable monsters.
Clues to the identity of the creatures and what The Doctor wants us to do are leaked out through several scenes and although he is never physically with us, the interaction and use of screens and projections, convey a genuine and believable threat. We have a mission to help him save the world and along the way we have many tasks that need to be completed before we can progress.
Of course, never far behind us are the terrifying monsters and the threat of 'attack' is around every corner. In one cleverly choreographed and staged scene, we all end up cowering in the corner with fear as we are stalked mercilessly by one of the creatures. This scene alone was worth the entry price and interestingly was not an 'after dark' extra but is part of the main kid’s shows. If people don’t have nightmares after Crash of the Elysium then they must have a heart of stone!
It would be so easy to say what creatures were stalking us but that is half the fun of the show, so you’ll just have to visit yourself to find out. Of course, as people who watch the TV show, we knew the history/reputation of the characters but this is repeated and reiterated so newcomers can stay involved.
Anyway, through instances that can only be considered spoilers, a large portion of the show takes place in a different time and the simple effect of this reveal was breathtaking, as we transported from a tiny corridor into a massive scene that was filled with detail and wonder. This room and the marquee holding it was probably bigger than most temporary attractions in their entirety!
The rest of the show plays out in different rooms, strange mazes and tight spaceship corridors, and as we fight to save The Doctor, we are continually attacked from a number of different sources. At this point, the whole audience is entranced in the completely believable environments and situations. This is no passive experience and we run, we cower, we hide and we explore. It is so hard to reconcile that we are really in a marquee in the middle of an Ipswich car park!
Searching for clues
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"follow me - quickly - your life depends on it"
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This is where the show excels – it promises to take you away to different places and it does this so easily due to the incredibly detailed and realistic sets and believable actors throughout. Accompanying us in many of the scenes and really upping the tension, Murray Gold’s score felt completely natural and was perfectly timed with the action around us. This wasn’t just a CD of music playing in the background but structured, choreographed pieces, to coincide with what we were doing at the time.
Also, for a scripted performance, we have to comment on how natural everything felt. Clearly the actors have a level of improvisation to deal with and it must be hard to gauge what a scared bunch of people are likely to do in the dark. So while controlling us, they still had to get across important key plot points and ensure our safety. This never felt contrived or false.
When the show finally finished, it was actually a shame to come back to earth and into normal life. For the Doctor Who fan, it felt like we had just spent an hour inside one of the scariest episodes ever and even those who didn’t watch the programme felt they had been immersed in something special and scary.
The show has a number of different versions depending on audience age, but we think that most kids would be terrified (in a good way) by some of the darkness and frantic nature of a few of the scenes! Some of the interactive elements were probably better suited to a younger audience, but all the adults in our group were joining in actively whenever asked to do something or look for a clue. The creators have been clever by adding a few 'extra' scares along the way for us adults, but it was confirmed to us that the main family show is still pretty scary – after all isn’t that what Doctor Who is all about?
Another key thing to praise the team on was the swift and efficient organisation of the attraction, from checking in through to checking out at the end. Batching 20 people every 10 minutes and keeping 6 different groups moving through the show at any one time should be a logistical nightmare, but was efficiently handled and we entered and exited the show exactly on the times stated - an achievement in itself . The fact that the front of house staff were so friendly and helpful as well, really made for an enjoyable customer experience from start to finish.
So with realistic acting, amazing sets, an engaging story, jaw dropping special effects and some of TV’s most scariest villains, The Crash of the Elysium is clearly the attraction to beat. It was certainly one of the most entertaining and genuinely scary things we have done in a very long time!
Also, for a scripted performance, we have to comment on how natural everything felt. Clearly the actors have a level of improvisation to deal with and it must be hard to gauge what a scared bunch of people are likely to do in the dark. So while controlling us, they still had to get across important key plot points and ensure our safety. This never felt contrived or false.
When the show finally finished, it was actually a shame to come back to earth and into normal life. For the Doctor Who fan, it felt like we had just spent an hour inside one of the scariest episodes ever and even those who didn’t watch the programme felt they had been immersed in something special and scary.
The show has a number of different versions depending on audience age, but we think that most kids would be terrified (in a good way) by some of the darkness and frantic nature of a few of the scenes! Some of the interactive elements were probably better suited to a younger audience, but all the adults in our group were joining in actively whenever asked to do something or look for a clue. The creators have been clever by adding a few 'extra' scares along the way for us adults, but it was confirmed to us that the main family show is still pretty scary – after all isn’t that what Doctor Who is all about?
Another key thing to praise the team on was the swift and efficient organisation of the attraction, from checking in through to checking out at the end. Batching 20 people every 10 minutes and keeping 6 different groups moving through the show at any one time should be a logistical nightmare, but was efficiently handled and we entered and exited the show exactly on the times stated - an achievement in itself . The fact that the front of house staff were so friendly and helpful as well, really made for an enjoyable customer experience from start to finish.
So with realistic acting, amazing sets, an engaging story, jaw dropping special effects and some of TV’s most scariest villains, The Crash of the Elysium is clearly the attraction to beat. It was certainly one of the most entertaining and genuinely scary things we have done in a very long time!
Is it wise to be cutting a route INTO the crashed ship?
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The Doctor needs you - you are his only help!
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The Crash of the Elysium runs until Sunday 8th July with various performances throughout the day – there are a few tickets left for midweek dates but they are going very fast. Check on the main website for details.
You Review
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You Review
The Crash of the Eylisium is a Doctor Who based event made from production company Punchdrunk, all though it did not have many actors (excluding stagehands) but the sets were really impressive, especially that they were in marquees next to the city's swimming pool!
After a long wait you were injected into the first room and what seemed like a museum exhibition but then the military smashed through and locked the curator in a room and forced us to sprint up the stairs and but on decontamination suits and a gas mask on in under 2 minutes and then walk through a tunnel containing gas.
Through here was the incredibly gigantic structure of the Elysium, a crashed ship. Inside, the interior featured pipes falling down from the ceiling in what was nearly pitched blackness (apart from the actor's torches). Every now and then there would be a room where you would wait, which included lots of props for people to research (the data and scientific teams) or close barriers (patrol team, lucky me!). Here on we were chased by the (deleted to save spoilers!) and a new Doctor Who villain (which seemed to be a possessed radioactive suit)which slowly tried to capture the audience.
From here on there was a lot of tension, from crouching from the enemy to being sent back in time and heading through a very slippery mirror maze (which I led) and then it came to a close containing very strong strobe lighting!
Overall it was an incredible attraction, and was definitely great value for money. It seemed much more involving and intense than the Doctor Who Experience. Crash of the Elysium featured some great scares, even though most of the items involving them were just statues!
After a long wait you were injected into the first room and what seemed like a museum exhibition but then the military smashed through and locked the curator in a room and forced us to sprint up the stairs and but on decontamination suits and a gas mask on in under 2 minutes and then walk through a tunnel containing gas.
Through here was the incredibly gigantic structure of the Elysium, a crashed ship. Inside, the interior featured pipes falling down from the ceiling in what was nearly pitched blackness (apart from the actor's torches). Every now and then there would be a room where you would wait, which included lots of props for people to research (the data and scientific teams) or close barriers (patrol team, lucky me!). Here on we were chased by the (deleted to save spoilers!) and a new Doctor Who villain (which seemed to be a possessed radioactive suit)which slowly tried to capture the audience.
From here on there was a lot of tension, from crouching from the enemy to being sent back in time and heading through a very slippery mirror maze (which I led) and then it came to a close containing very strong strobe lighting!
Overall it was an incredible attraction, and was definitely great value for money. It seemed much more involving and intense than the Doctor Who Experience. Crash of the Elysium featured some great scares, even though most of the items involving them were just statues!
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