Have you ever wanted to explore the stars? Do you reckon you could lead a mission into space? Fancy dropping yourself into your very own Star Trek-esque adventure? If you answered yes to any of these, you’ll want to plot a course for London’s extraterrestrial immersive space experience, Bridge Command.
Bridge Command is a unique new adventure for Londoners that goes well beyond the realms of simply strapping on a VR headset and wandering around a room. Instead, the experience blends the worlds of gaming and theatre for a truly immersive experience that makes you feel like you’ve stepped right into the world of your favourite sci-fi show. And it all takes place within a truly impressive spaceship set.
Participants take on unique roles within the starship’s crew as they work together on special missions in space. You could go head-to-head in combat against another spaceship, or explore the mysteries of space. And don’t worry if that all sounds like far too much responsibility because professional actors are on hand to guide you and keep the mission on track.
This impressively immersive experience comes courtesy of Parabolic Theatre, which has been creating groundbreaking, fringe interactive experiences since 2016. Their works “explore the social and political issues of the age, in creative and historically connected ways”. To do so, they draw the audience members and participants fully into the action. The audience members are never just there to observe, they “occupy the same narrative world, and have the capacity to influence the story and its outcomes.”
The Bridge Command experience
Well, first thing first – you’ve got to look the part! You can’t be exploring space in your scruffy street clothes. So you’ll first have to get kitted up in the Bridge Command uniform.
Once you look the part, you’ll join the crew and adopt a unique role. There are four basic classes of team members: Operations (make sure the ship is running in tip-top shape), Science (navigation and data collection), Engineering (ship repairs and maintenance), and Command (leading the crew).
Within each of these classes, there are multiple individual roles. These include the Helm (the actual spaceship flight – don’t hit the asteroids!), Comms (the voice of the crew), Weapons (with an impressive arsenal of railguns, torpedoes, beams, and shields), and the First Officer. One participant will even step into the role of the Captain!
Across the teams, participants will work together on one of several possible missions. These range from Military to Exploration missions, which include head-to-head combat and exploring the stars. Or you could end up on a Diplomacy mission, travelling through space to negotiate with colourful characters and share the vision of a unified human species. There are also ‘Intrigue’ missions, which confront participants with curious goings-on, such as missing ships and suspiciously silent comms.
As you travel through space, the set will change in response to your actions throughout the missions. Whether there’s an enemy attack or a ship malfunction, the physical setting around you will react. Systems will break down. Sparks will fly. And it’s up to you and the rest of your crew to solve any issues that arise along the way.
Owen Kingston, Artistic Director of Parabolic Theatre said: “This is a truly unique project that has been years in the making. It is a remarkable blend of immersive performance, interactive storytelling and gaming technology, and there really is nothing else out there quite like it. We are extremely excited to finally share it with the world.”
The story continues…
Unlike most immersive adventures, this isn’t a one-and-done type affair. Instead, the adventure carries on from where you left off when you return to Bridge Command on subsequent visits. The episodic nature of the experience means that events and decisions from previous missions will influence the content of future missions.
Could you one day end up ruling the stars? Only time – and multiple journeys with Bridge Command – will tell.
So, what are you waiting for? Get ready for your journey into the stars. (And maybe even start thinking about when you will return!)
Tickets start at £40.
📍 You can find Bridge Command at 63 Albert Embankment, SE1 7TY. The nearest station is Vauxhall.