Waiter, there's a murder in my soup: immersive theatre in London

[caption id="attachment_4619" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The actors sang, dance and acted so well![/caption]

 

This weekend we found an unusual way to have fun in London - theatre and dining all at the same time! Here's what we got up to, from Robert, aged 14 and Jess, aged 18.

Robert says:

Mum, Jess and I found ourselves about to hear the legendary prima donna Marchioness du Jour perform; people would kill to hear her sing! However, we never actually got to see her in the flesh as she was found dead minutes before her scheduled performance. Detective Susan Gusset was on the case and what followed was an afternoon of clue solving, music and fine dying. The restaurant at the Troubadour theatre, a group of eccentric suspects and a three course meal: these could only be the ingredients for an immersive whodunnit and a recipe, for success.

I’m a huge fan of immersive theatre and Waiter, There’s a murder in my soup was a brilliant afternoon out. Transported back to the 1940s, Mum, Jess and I followed Susan Gusset as she unravelled the murder of the Marchioness du Jour, and found out who did it. The play – including songs – took part around the meal, which meant you could chat, and try to solve the mystery, between courses. We were given a case file to work things out and the whole performance was really different to anything we’d seen before.

[caption id="attachment_4621" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Robert and Jess read the case notes[/caption]

The food:

Further adding to the experience was the meal, which was truly delicious. There was a great array of options (including vegan) and I decided on the roasted squash soup, seabass and chocolate fudge brownie sundae. The play was performed in an actual restaurant so it was no surprise how good it was; you could say the food was to die for.

[caption id="attachment_4622" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Delicious desserts![/caption]

In conclusion we all really enjoyed Waiter, There’s a murder in my soup. The whole cast was entertaining and I particularly liked the Irish priest who kept popping up behind me. The actual whodunit was good, as was the food and all in all it was a great, and unusual way to spend an afternoon in London.

Jess says:

I'd never been to a piece of immersive theatre before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I was ready to spend an afternoon ducking people's gazes, out of fear of being involved! Luckily, I was not picked upon and I had a really fantastic time.

[caption id="attachment_4624" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Antonio Fingerelli - one of the suspects[/caption]

 

"Waiter, there's a murder in my soup" managed to combine two of my favourite things - theatre and food. It seems no surprise that I really enjoyed the experience. The plot was interesting, the play was well acted, and all three of us laughed throughout. I loved that we were sitting in the restaurant - essentially part of the set. This meant that the actors interacted with us, asked us questions, and we could see them up close. It definitely felt more engaging than a normal play or musical.

The food:

The Studio 5ive restaurant is a real restaurant, so the food was delicious. All three of us really enjoyed our various courses between the play's acts, and I had a particularly lovely mushroom wellington.

[caption id="attachment_4623" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Jess enjoyed her Mushroom Wellington[/caption]

Overall, I had a really enjoyable time at "Waiter, there's a murder in my soup". The play was funny, the food was great, and it was an exciting, lighthearted way to spend an afternoon. I would definitely recommend it.

Disclosure: We were given a pair of complimentary tickets to see Waiter, there's a murder in my soup (and we purchased a third one!), but no one from the company had any input into this blog post.

Waiter there's a murder in my soup is on until 19th March. Tickets cost £49.50 including a three course meal (Tue - Thu), £55.00 including a three course meal (Fri - Sun), £19.50 for the show only (no food included with this ticket) (Tue - Thu)  or £25 show only (no food included with this ticket) (Fri - Sun).

I should also say that this all happens in Wembley, which has so much to offer now - there are loads of shops and things to do in the area and the restaurant we went to (see below!) is less than five minutes from Wembley Park station (Metropolitan and Jubilee Line).

 

 

Alice's Adventures Underground

Robert, aged 12, writes about an evening out which we shared - and loved - in London: 

Mum and I went to Alice’s Adventures Underground and it was genuinely the best night out I’ve had in years. Alice’s Adventures Underground is an immersive performance based on Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice in Wonderland. Throughout the show every person has decisions to make that will influence the rest of their personal journey, meaning you can do something completely different to everyone else.  

Near the beginning we saw the White Rabbit and one of the queen's guards eating and drinking. Whenever the two ate, they seemed to grow larger and whenever they drank, the pair seemed to shrink. This led on to the first decision of the night, to eat or drink. Whichever action you choose corresponds to a door you have to walk through and both these doors lead to completely different stories. Mum and I chose to eat (meaning hearts or diamonds) and had a fantastic time but from what I’ve heard, choosing to drink (clubs or spades) is equally great. 

The journeys are split up into lots of sections, each unique to the suit you get after entering the doors (e.g hearts, diamonds…). Most of the scenes and rooms are really hands on and involve loads of jokes. A lot of the scenes also included bits of magic that was genuinely mind-blowing. One of our scenes was quite creepy and another involved a song that was really quite beautiful. 

The sets were so imaginative and amazing. They were all incredibly detailed with small touches that most people don’t even look at but added to the atmosphere of the story. Everything was done at the perfect time like when two suits mixed to see the same thing but were then split up quickly afterwards. Conversations between the characters were written so well, they were exciting and had no boring gaps. One of our section involved spying on another group and the things we saw were important later on, it was things like that made it so fun and exciting. 

Everything was so clever (the lines, plot and props) and I would’ve loved to learn what the other groups did. There were four main possible pathways to the story so you could definitely go back again. All the groups met for a very quirky tea before being escorted to a courtroom with a hilarious court case that involved all the four suits at the end. 

For me it was 90 minutes of sheer brilliance where every section connected to another. I loved it and would really recommend going while you still can.  

Alice's Adventures Underground is on at the Vaults (near Waterloo Station) in London until September 23rd. There are a variety of ticket options available, ranging from a standard ticket for £54 on a weekend evening, to £39 for a weekday evening. There are also cheaper tickets for certain performances if you're under Under-26, and more expensive options if you go for the Premium ticket, which grants you a cocktail, programme and edible treat. You can find out more about all these options on the website.

Disclosure: We were given two free tickets in order to write a blog post, but all the thoughts contained in it are our own.

Do note that there is also a version for the under-10s, which will obviously be very suitable for children. The lovely Nell from Pigeon Pair and Me has written a post on this from when she went to this show. And it also sounds great! It's on until September 3rd.

(In case you are wondering about the lack of photos from the show, you aren't allowed to take pictures during the performance),

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