Hidden treasure ... Punchdrunk's Masque of the Red Death. Photograph: Tristram Kenton
One of the things I like about Punchdrunk's thrilling Masque of the Red Death is the way it embeds other shows within the main action. Kneehigh, Blind Summit, Wildworks, Improbable, Melanie Wilson and 1927 are just a few of those who have made special short pieces of work, or performances within the performance. Local schools have been involved too. If you look hard in the crypt you'll find a wonderful installation created by children from Southfields school who have been inspired by Poe's creepy stories to create their own tale of murderous impulses.
And the shows within shows in Masque of the Red Death are only the beginning. There's also an interactive treasure hunt that's a theatrical game in its own right. It is inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's 1843 short story The Gold-Bug, about a man who leaves a trail of puzzles and ciphers leading to Captain Kidd's treasure.
For the last six months increasing numbers have been returning to Masque of the Red Death with the express intention of finding those puzzles and ciphers. If solved, they could lead them to a treasure which, in Masquerade style, has been hidden somewhere in London. Both the story and the hunt have spread out beyond the building and into cyberspace, where the community of hunters sharing stories and collaborating to crack the codes has steadily grown. They gather at a mysterious website, and those who help solve the clues often find themselves in receipt of tickets to Masque of the Red Death (even though it is officially sold out) so that they can carry on the hunt within the show.
This bears all the hallmarks of an alternate-reality game or ARG. Theatre practitioners are increasingly drawn to ARGs. Not so long ago, the National hosted an adventure by an elusive Rabbit, who may well have his paw in this treasure hunt too.
At Devoted and Disgruntled earlier this year there was a great deal of excitement around the impact of Web2.0 on theatre, and the way theatrical and IT trends could be made to work creatively for each other. The Gold-Bug illustrates this potential very well indeed.
