Chaotic and disappointing, this app-based immersive production lacks the basics of good storytelling. Tension is nonexistent, the interactive elements are limited, the incongruous sci-fi framing is ridiculous, and the poorly organised structure is frustratingly restrictive.
The concept of this time-travel treasure hunt is that certain mysteries of the second world war remain unsolved. The ominous “Department” has called on us, the audience, to find the answers by going back to the past, the door to which happens to be in the basement of Churchill’s War Rooms.
Rather than being ordered about by actors, we are given instructions through a clunky, battery-draining app on our phones, with a ludicrous mystical-science-fiction storyline to justify its use. Unsurprisingly, this means the dim corridors of the complex are clogged with audience members wearily trying to make their devices connect.
At odds with the 1940s setting, the app and required headphones distract us from the actors, who are trying hard with what little they’ve been given. Our brief interaction with Joy, a typist who learns that her sweetheart’s boat is about to be attacked, is the only time throughout the show that emotions come into play.
To prod us around the space, we are all sent on different paths, with four tediously easy missions to complete. One task requires no more than scanning two pictures on our phones. There are no consequences to our actions, and no additional challenges thrown at us along the way. My friend and I are so frustrated by the lack of agency that when we are asked to choose one of three ways to steal a security pass, we decide to do them all. We are beset by the nagging feeling that we’re missing out on better storylines; the timings of tasks often conflict, so we have to wait around for the next scene to start, only to be told off for loitering in corridors.
Created by theatre company Wet Picnic, in partnership with the Imperial War Museum, this production had potential to engage audiences in the knotty complexities and sacrifices faced by people working in this building during the war. As it is, Operation Black Door feels little more than a botched corporate team-building day out.
