⏱️ This review relates to an experience that is no longer available. Creature runs until November 2026, but is currently SOLD OUT. If more tickets become available, we’ll update this review. Thanks for reading! ⏱️
Creature is an dream-like immersive adaptation of the literary classic Frankenstein, played out in a dark tunnel for a single audience member at a time…
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Creature Practical Information
What is Creature?
Creature is a theatrical riff on Frankenstein – the literary classic by Mary Shelley about a scientist who gives life to a patchwork monster built from spare body parts. This monster goes rogue, is hounded for its horrifying appearance, and eventually returns, burning with resentment, to take revenge on its own creator.
Creature is not just a retelling of this classic story, but a total re-imagining, which puts the audience in the shoes of the mad scientist who created the monster.
Uniquely, this experience is performed for a single audience member at a time. The viewer is seated in a wheelchair, and manoeuvred around the venue (a dark, tunnel-like space) while actors and puppeteers bring to life the story around them.
It is quite the spectacle.
The Good Stuff
➕ Creature is an incredible theatrical experience. It makes use of puppetry, close encounters with multiple actors, sound, light and touch to tell its story. And because this story is told for one person at a time, you always have the best seat in the house for experiencing each of these immersive effects.
The end result is genuinely dream-like. Gigantic puppets loom from the darkness, then lean in for personal, eerily intimate conversations. The scenery swirls around you like a fever dream. The whole thing is conducted with impressive velocity and precision. It is, in short, just really, really good.
➕ It’s a boutique, human-powered experience. At times Creature feels like a very intricate and detailed dark ride… but there are not automata here. Everything is human-powered, from the lighting provided by handheld torches to the movement provided by the actor pushing your wheelchair.
There is nothing else quite like it, and it is impossible not to admire the effort and artistry that goes into every moment.
➕ You’re taken good care of. Creature has some intense and potentially scary moments. The company make a point of speaking to you outside beforehand, and checking in with you afterwards to ensure that you’ve had a good time.
The Bad Stuff
➖ Tickets for Creature are expensive and in short supply. This is a labour-intensive production – indeed, perhaps one of the only productions where the number of actors exceeds the number of audience members. As such, it is unavoidably quite expensive – with tickets costing just under £100 at the time of writing.
Also as result of the nature of the show, these tickets are in short supply. It may be difficult to see Creature even if you really want to.
That said, this is perhaps a good thing: the high ticket price and short supply mean that only the people who are most likely to enjoy this kind of exquisite production are likely to see it.
Creature Practical Information
Creature has some intense and potentially scary moments – magnified by the fact that you are “alone” in the audience. It’s not deliberately confronting, but if you’re of a very nervous disposition, it may not be for you.
There is no need to actively participate in this show – you don’t have to make decisions or respond to the actors; though it’s not a problem if you do.
The venue is a little tricky to find, so allow yourself an extra ten minutes to get there. The door is marked with the name of the show. You can wait outside until your time slot. It is attached to a bar with toilets, refreshments and places to sit down.
Try to bring only small bags or coats – there isn’t an appropriate place to store large bags. You may be given a small souvenir at the end of the performance.
⏱️ This review relates to an experience that is no longer available. Creature runs until November 2026, but is currently SOLD OUT. If more tickets become available, we’ll update this review. Thanks for reading! ⏱️