Escape from Fort Lagoon

The world premiere of immersive theatre show 'Escape from Fort Lagoon' came to Mildenhall, with an epic game of cat and mouse along the banks of the River Lark.

On the Spring Bank holiday the world premiere of Escape from Fort Lagoon came to Mildenhall. The quiet market town in Suffolk was the perfect place to host this one-of-a-kind immersive theatre production, with an epic game of cat and mouse along the banks of the River Lark. 

Over the weekend, Mildenhall was transformed into a ‘luxury resort’ of the future. Escape from Fort Lagoon depicts a dystopian reality where water sources have tipped over the PH level safe for human consumption. Teams of players followed clues and solved puzzles throughout the town to escape the resort where all is not what it seems. Once they evaded capture, participants escaped to the sanctity of the river where they had the option to swim. The warm weather certainly helped, with lots of people taking the plunge into the river over the weekend.

“It was unlike anything I’d done before. A totally new type of immersive theatre. It was amazing! I feel brave!”

The participants who took part in this unique experience came from both the local area and further afield. When participants were asked if they would come to something like this again, 100% of them agreed. 

There was lots of involvement from the local community. Brandon’s Happy to Sing Choir performed a piece especially composed for the show, while local drama group The Bunbury players, took on some of the acting roles. Members of Mildenhall Library’s craft group used their skills to make items for the ‘Water Museum’ and St John’s Walk ‘n’ Craft group led a watercolor activity in the precinct as part of the production. 

Although light-hearted in tone, Escape from Fort Lagoon also makes a serious point about the quality of our waters, facing challenges such as plastic pollution and sewage discharge. Creators Wake the Beast teamed up with Surfers Against Sewage – ‘a charity campaigning for cleaner seas and rivers. 50% of booking fees from all ticket sales will be going to Surfers Against Sewage.

One participant said: “We have just managed to escape from Fort Lagoon. At times we had to run down the street. It was so exciting and such fun. It’s an amazing premise, because it could be our terrifying future without water, but it is light-hearted. At the end we got to have a glorious swim surrounded by the most beautiful music.”

Escape from Fort Lagoon, Mildenhall, was presented by Wake the Beast and Submersion Productions in collaboration with Marketplace – Creative People & Places.

“Loved the experience. So immersive, fun and just the right amount of scary!”