Review by Amanda Lancaster
For those unfamiliar with the concept, the Escape Room Treasure Hunt is an award-winning interactive experience that has just exploded in popularity all over the globe. Not so much a show or a viewing opportunity the Escape Room idea is an immersive theatre experience – intimate, site specific, and interactive, it’s an imaginative, enigmatic hour and a half thrill ride where the audience participation isn’t just welcomed, it’s 100% mandatory!
Custom-made environments and painstakingly curated puzzles and activities are beautifully matched in style to the thematic story-line for each escape challenge. Orchestrated and presented by the Offending Shadows Group it’s obvious that every effort and care has been taken to create an astounding interactive enterprise that will please just about any audience.
The story, in this case, is that you are a time-travelling lawman and your time portal has been tragically destroyed. In a stroke of luck you have found the emergency portal safe house. However, the safeguards of the emergency haven are created so as to restrict only true time travellers from utilising it. So now against the rapidly counting down clock you and 7 others must solve all the necessary enigmas shrouding your last and only hope to get home and time is running out my friends.
Throughout the room are hidden objects, puzzles, and multi level games of numbers or words. All of which must be solved withing the 60 minute time frame. Everyone in my team, except for myself and one other individual, had previously experienced the escape room challenge before. Being someone who hadn’t however meant the excitement and nerves of the mystery narrative still held for me if not totally for those who were old hands at how this format unfolds. The seemingly large gap in experiences however didn’t even seem to matter as we were all too busy and elated at finding and piecing things together throughout.
The exciting moment of truth as the clock ran down to its final few minutes had us all scrambling like mad things, with a truly dramatic mere seconds left on the clock we solved the final safeguard and were able to gain access to the highly coveted doorway. The finale and the “down to the wire” excitement plus our successful completion of the adventure had everyone cheering like children, something not too often seen nowadays and had everyone talking all the way to the pleasure garden exit if you can believe it.
A definite highlight for all those who love a bit of interactive fun with their festivals, and a must experience for the uninitiated escapees.
When: 20th January – 11th February 2017 | Times vary
Where: The Escape Room | The Pleasure Garden | PERTH
Tickets: $35 – $40
Info: Duration 90 minutes | Recommended 15+ | Audience participation