At NoPro we're dedicated to discovering the BEST in immersive art & entertainment and introducing new audiences to the experiences we love.

With so many shows opening – and reopening – we knew it was time to help those who are new to the joys of immersive experiences connect with the best examples of the form currently running. From high art to popular TV shows come to life and almost everything in between.

Your initiation into the mysteries of the immersive begins here...

[Alphabetical by city/region. Initial publication: 9/1/2022]

LAS VEGAS

Particle Ink: Speed of Dark

Booking Through: Sunday, December 4 2022

One of the most innovative immersive performances in years merits a trip to Las Vegas all on its own.

From our review:

Animated characters dance upon the walls and quest through the set pieces thanks to the art of projection mapping. Yet it is the human performers who, with their precise execution of dynamic choreography that borrows from circus arts, parkour, hip hop and more that truly sell the reality of those characters.

Have you ever seen someone do a full tuck spin flip off a piece of furniture three feet in front of you, grab a cartoon character off a wall that turns into light in their hand, and then toss that character onto another surface all in one smooth chain of action?

You will.
--Noah Nelson, Publisher



While in Vegas make time for Meow Wolf's Omega Mart and the Lost Spirits Distillery (if your party is all 21+) both at Area 15 not too far off the strip. A tryptich of all three over the course of a weekend can be a greater "immersive starter pack" for those wondering what all the hubub is about.

Also keep an eye on what Majestic Repertory Theatre is up to, as the local company, just down the street from Particle Ink's LightHouse, often has immersive & immersive adjacent work as part of their season.

LONDON

The Burnt City

Booking Through: Sunday, September 24 2023

Punchdrunk, the company that kicked off the Immersive Renaissance with the seminal Sleep No More, produce their most ambitious work in years at their new home base venue in London.

From our Review:

The cities — characters in and of themselves. Filled out with masterful strokes of light, scent, props, and razor-sharp music design (there’s little to no sound bleed between rooms, so spatial transitions are immediate and full), the audience journey down into the murky depths is meditative: trance-like through a mad carnival, wandering the smoking gloam between the two armies à la Apocalypse Now. If one manages to break free of the gravitational pull toward the neon glow of the large built-up town squares, shops, clubs, and arcades, wallowing in the pits of the military encampment as well as the dilapidated hotel and tenements yields the best appreciation for design detail. Usually we withdraw from filth, from garbage, from the debilitating emptiness of hoarders suffocating caves, and yet within The Burnt City we gleefully squeeze between stacks of dirty tin cans and forests of yellowing laundry to go rifling through cabinets and drawers, reading private letters and prayers and finding graffiti scrawled in Linear B.

–Shelley Snyder, London Curator

Phantom Peak

Booking Through: Saturday, May 10 2025

The doorway to an alternate history America where steampunk tech ushered in a very different frontier experience has opened in London. Phantom Peak is from the creative minds behind Time Run and Sherlock: The Game.

From our Review:

With reportedly up to 52 interactive storyline quests to follow (handily tracked via a private website), visitors can deep-dive into the lore of the town while enjoying quality local food and drink over the course of an entire evening or as a stop-off on the way to other adventures. The producers have promised seasonal content as well, providing continual revisit value.

Phantom Peak is a solid choice for immersive beginners as well as the completionists, the collectors, the families, and the foodies looking for fun.

–Shelley Snyder, London Curator

Peaky Blinders: The Rise

Booking Through: Saturday, May 27 2023

Step into one of the world's most popular TV series, Peaky Blinders, in this event from Immersive Everywhere, creators of the immersive experiences The Great Gatsby and Doctor Who: Time Fracture.

From our Review:

The audience enters Tommy Shelby’s 1921 “family meeting” through a converted warehouse in Camden, where the tone is immediately set. “Money” is pressed into hands, identities and passwords are given, and my guest (not a fan herself) and I were instantly charmed.

What happens once you’ve entered, and perhaps purchased a drink from one of several bars, will depend on your own choices. The Shelby family of gangsters and their associates will describe the “plan” (a somewhat convoluted takeover of London’s organized crime), but then you’re free to explore, scheme, gamble, flirt, and steal as you see fit. Tommy Shelby may be more of an immersive theatre fan than we know, as he tells the audience “fortune favors the brave.”

The cast throws themselves into embodying the roles, and work admirably to draw in those who are unfamiliar with the source material. My non-fan guest followed along perfectly.

– Ellery Weil, London Correspondent

LOS ANGELES

A Forest For The Trees

Booking Through: Sunday, December 18 2022

From the producer of In & Of Itself, The Atlantic and Superblue present a stunning work of installation art that focuses on what has been lost as the United States has sidelined indigenous peoples and their stewardship of the land.

From our Review:


Interconnectivity is a consistent theme in [Glenn] Kaino’s work and creative process. It appears literally and metaphorically in A Forest [For The Trees.] He also possesses a particular affinity for magic and illusion, whether it’s the magic of the natural world or the illusion of separateness. Kaino views A Forest... as a beginning, a catalyst for participants to witness and contribute to the “forest of stories,” and without that exchange the show is fractured and incomplete.

– Laura Hess, Arts Editor

NEW YORK CITY

Bottom Of The Ocean

Booking Through: Wednesday, December 21 2022

The co-creator of Whisperlodge summons up an entirely new journey through a mysterious seascape. Strange encounters await you on the bottom of the ocean.

From our Review:

Every single room, every encounter in BOTO, has been meticulously curated to ensure that I feel comfortable, even in potentially uncomfortable moments. Within its surreal walls, I am gently asked to confront quite real emotions and feelings. Questions of pain, or of memories both good and bad, or even of the afterlife itself, are raised during the performance. It is so hard to accurately describe the emotions that I feel during my time at BOTO, but despite the potentially “heavy” themes which are brought to the surface, I know that I am being cared for every step of the way. I am always given enough time to carefully consider my answers, and my answers are respectfully listened to, and may even return in unexpected ways later on during my time within the show. I may also occasionally experience an ASMR-induced tingle, but it is the inner workings lurking beneath the waves that truly move me.

–Edward Mylechreest

Heresy: 1897

Booking Through: Saturday, October 28 2023

The Doors of Divergence have opened, kicking off a three experience cycle where your choices in one chapter are meant to impact the ones to follow.

From our Review:

Sometimes, there comes a seismic shift in a scene. Doors of Divergence is today’s shift...

The room itself is stunningly realized. These are some of the best sets I’ve ever seen across dozens of rooms, doubly impressive for an independent, non-franchised creator. The presence of the actor in the room was far elevated from a standard game master. Both monologues and improvised banter were top tier. They even managed to integrate into their dialogue my absurd lie that I was receiving dirty letters from Edmund Cavanaugh, the disgraced heretical alchemist at the heart of the room.

What’s even more impressive is the clear unfolding nature of the larger game afoot. Having ended our game by (not so) accidentally releasing a demon onto the world, we quickly learned that this action inadvertently led to WWI, the setting of the next room in the series.

– Blake Weil, East Coast Curator At Large

Sleep No More

Booking Through: Sunday, January 5 2025

The show that kicked off the Immersive Renaissance has returned from its pandemic pause to celebrate over ten years in Manhattan.

Sleep No More invites guests to explore the hallways of the McKittrick Hotel, where a deadly plot stalks the royal guests. This wicked mashup of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Hitchcock's Rebecca set the bar for immersive theatre and put the creators, Punchdrunk, on the map in one fell swoop.

An intoxicating experience that rewards curiosity and repeat viewings. Sooner or later, all those who fall in love with the genre arrive at Sleep No More.

SAN FRANCISCO

Stranger Things: The Experience (SF)

Booking Through: Sunday, October 2 2022

Hawkins is in danger, again, only this time so are you! The biggest series on Netflix comes to life.

From our Review (of the NYC instance of the show):

[This] is an event that’s got something for everyone. It’s got a strong narrative and vibrant actors, but it’s not exactly theater. Audience members are moved elegantly through lines and across spaces that promise more than a few thrills, but it’s not really a ride. There are tons of great photo ops, but it’s definitely not (just) an Instagram factory. This is an immersive hybrid that seems engineered to keep people engaged and talking (about Stranger Things).

Which is a long way of saying that Stranger Things: The Experience is a hella fun way to spend your afternoon, whether you’re a fan of the show, cool spaces, 80s culture, production design, selfies, immersive theatre, theme parks, or whatever.

–Leah Davis, New England curator