VR immersive theatre starring Harry Potter actor vividly stepped me back in time to the Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot
IMMERSIVE theatre is always pretty good fun but when you throw VR into the mix, it's something else.
A new experience just outside the iconic Tower of London has just opened, putting you right in the heat of Guy Fawkes's foiled Gunpowder Plot.
- The Gunpowder Plot Tickets, from £40 -
Tom Felton - known to many as Harry Potter nemesis Draco Malfoy in the movies - stars as the infamous lead, though you only get to see him in VR form.
You'll find yourself and your group thrust into the action as Catholic prisoners locked up in the Tower Vaults at a time of religious tension in England.
But you are suddenly offered a chance of freedom, if you agree to become spies who gather critical information about a suspected plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament, along with King James I - and we all know how that ended.
Read more about VR
There is a false sense of choice in the experience, allowing the group to decide whether you want to prevent the explosion and mass of deaths, or withhold crucial information so it goes ahead.
The majority of us wanted to see how things could have turned out, but sadly for our twisted desire, the end result was still the same fate we know of reality.
VR is a great way to bring those more dramatic moments to life and the Gunpowder Plot features three.
Unfortunately, the graphics were not always that impressive and the headsets had the occasional glitch, but they were still a good bit of added fun.
Most read in Tech
Of the three, a boat ride along the Thames was probably the best of the bunch, with bumpy physical sensations and even real water splashing up at you for a cheap thrill.
Here we get the most of Tom Felton as Guy Fawkes - aka John Johnson.
While it's all well and good having big names, the live actors physically present bring more to the experience, with strong teary scenes and a particularly tense moment where they attempt to hide you in tight wall spaces from guards and their dogs.
The retelling is heavily dramatised, as you'd expect, but tries to stay as close to fact as possible.
We get a quick explanation at the end of what's based on real people and who is made up.
Overall, it's a packed hour and a half or so that flies by - and I felt like I actually learnt more about the story of Guy Fawkes than I previously knew.
Clearly a lot of effort was put into everything from writing to set designs.
Read More on The Sun
But with so many VR experiences around now, the tech side needs some improvement to push the whole package up from good to great.
- The Gunpowder Plot Tickets, from £40 -
The Gunpowder Plot
Tower Vaults, London
★★★★☆
- Read all the latest Phones & Gadgets news
- Keep up-to-date on Apple stories
- Get the latest on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram
Best Phone and Gadget tips and hacks
Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find those secret features within social media apps? We have you covered...
- How to delete your Instagram account
- What does pending mean on Snapchat?
- How to check if you've been blocked on WhatsApp
- How to drop a pin on Google Maps
- How can I change my Facebook password?
- How to go live on TikTok
- How to clear the cache on an iPhone
- What is NFT art?
- What is OnlyFans?
- What does Meta mean?
Get all the latest WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and other tech gadget stories here.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]