JEFF WAYNE’S MUSICAL VERSION OF ‘THE WAR OF THE WORLDS’
THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE 2
AS HE CELEBRATES THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS MUSICAL VERSION OF THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, JEFF WAYNE ANNOUNCES THAT THE MULTI-AWARD-WINNING IMMERSIVE SENSATION IS TO RELOCATE WITH GROUND-BREAKING NEW PRODUCTION
NEW COLLABORATIONS TO COME WITH VENUE OPERATORS AND
CUTTING-EDGE AI, VR AND AR DEVELOPERS
Today, Friday 9 June, marks the 45th anniversary of Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds, one of the best-selling albums of all time. In tandem, Composer and Producer Jeff Wayne announces that the multi-award-winning immersive experience, described as ‘boundary pushing, pulse quickening’ and ‘the future of entertainment’ will be relocating to a bigger location in London and feature the newest cutting-edge technology.
Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds – The Immersive Experience opened its doors on 16 May 2019 at London’s former Metal Exchange on Leadenhall Street.
Set in 21 rooms over two floors, the current production features a unique blend of immersive theatre with a diverse cast of 12, plus projection mapping surround sound, multiple virtual reality sequences, and 5D effects, all set to Jeff’s iconic score.
Featuring the recorded voices of Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward, Inglorious’ Nathan James and Kaiser Chief’s Ricky Wilson as well as digital and holographic performances by Carrie Hope Fletcher (Les Miserables, Heathers, and The War of The Words – Alive!), Tom Brittney (Grantchester, Make Me Famous) and Anna Marie-Wayne (The War of The Worlds – Alive! & Audible’s The Musical Drama.)
In the new production, visitors will interactwithfamiliar characters from Jeff’s Musical Version as they visit the Royal Observatory; sneak into what they believe to be a deserted house (but is it…?); escape London on a boat down the Thames while trying to survive the Martian invaders, culminating in a breath-taking balloon journey to Mars.
The current experience has grossed more than 8m to date and willremain at its existing location until December 2023 as work continues on the new production.
Jeff commented: “When we first opened our Immersive Experience, it was only booked for a 3-month run, yet great reviews, multiple awards, word-of-mouth attendances by existing and new fans have been so taken by it, here we are over four years later, and still going strong!
Since we launched in 2019, London has seen so many new diverse and high-quality immersive experiences, whether theatrical gems such as Peaky Blinders, Secret Cinema,Guys and Dolls, or Punchdrunk productions, plus art exhibitions like Frameless, Van Gogh and Hockney at the LightRoom, or social play spaces including Monopoly Lifesized and the holographic success ofAbba Voyage.
AI, VR and AR technologies in the entertainment space, have grown substantially in the last five years (including Apple’s just announced debut headset), and we intend to continue being at the forefront of this new era.
We’re mostexcited to collaborate with the hottest specialist companies, immersive producers and venue owners, to continue to stun our audiences.”
The War of The Worlds: The ImmersiveExperience has also achieved widespread critical acclaim, winning the prestigious TEA THEA Award, considered the “Oscars” of the Entertainment world, the Gold Winners Award for Best Innovation, the Youth Travel Awards 2019, TripAdvisor’s coveted Traveller’s Choice Award two years running in 2021 and 2022, has averaged 5–stars out of 5 on TripAdvisor andover 10,000 5-star reviews across review sites.
Jeff also expressed his appreciation to Layered Reality for playing a pivotal role in the original production. “We’d like to thank our partners for the past 5 years, and wish them ongoing success.”