Review: PHANTOM PEAK: JONACON, Canada Water

In something of a quiet revolution, Phantom Peak has clambered its way to join the best atop the immersive theatre pile - an impression that its latest season fails to dismiss.

2024 was something of a fallow year for the art form’s more established companies. After their potentially ruinous The Burnt City, Punchdrunk squeezed out Viola’s Room, an audio-based promenade that was comparatively as short in length as it was on ambition.

Secret Cinema too were relatively quiet and only in recent weeks have announced their first film-based event in London since being bought by TodayTix in 2022: the upcoming Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical will be an updated revival of a production seen in Birmingham the summer before last. Layered Reality (the people behind the long-running War Of The Worlds as well as The Gunpowder Plot which closes this month) are taking care of business with the much-anticipated exhibition Elvis Evolution initially due to open last November but then postponed to February and then again to this May.

And yet the strange goings on in the mysterious mining town of Phantom Peak keep on keeping on. It’s a place that thrives on crazy physical inventions (bespoke arcade machines, a range of video consoles and the world’s most annoying AI Clacky) as well as narrative re-invention: a new themed season is produced every three months, each with ten new “trails” or missions which work within and extend an overarching story arc.

Strictly speaking, there are 11 trails with the last one only available to those who complete all the others for that season - something only achievable over a number of visits. Every season dedicated fans arrive in droves, turning up in person wearing outfits that speak to the Wild West-slash-steampunk concept (ten-gallon hats are as common here as welding goggles) before going home to discuss progress on their dedicated Discord channel.

This time around the focus is on Jonacon, an event celebrating the mining company Jonaco and featuring the Jonalympics. There’s even more platypus malarkey as Platman fights for supremacy in the Old Town against new superhero DiaMan (quite what The Church Of The Platypus has to say about that, we didn’t get to discover). General store owner Datchery and Mayor Pocket are set for their big day - but will the wedding go off without a hitch? And in the sporting contests between the miners, the engineers and the metaphysics team who will win the grand prize?

If that all sounds hokey or corny, rest assured that the writing is still guaranteed to leave us smirking ear to ear. We went on two trails, both as endearingly silly as each other. In the first, we’re sent on a time heist at the bidding of Professor When (yes) and find out that the missing green diamond everyone is after has been stolen. And then stolen again and yet again as we follow its trail from one end of town to the other. Even if the ending is something of an anticlimax, it’s a fun journey all the same. A more amusing trail saw us working for Sherlock Bones to solve the mystery of who was trying to murder the canine detective. Could it be Meowiarty at the Reichenbark Falls? Or maybe Dogtor Watson in 221b Barker Street? 

This kind of experience is not for everyone. Those who consider the Bridge Theatre’s Guys & Dolls to be (in the words of one critic) “as immersive as it gets” may struggle with all the talking and walking. Spending the four hours between the opening and closing ceremonies navigating around the open world design and having to interact with its kooky denizens and charming technology is a core part of Phantom Peak’s appeal. Its quirky and fantastical storylines will amuse children as well as any adults brought up on the humour of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. 

With all the big names promising their devotees new experiences this year, Phantom Peak will have a harder time maintaining its lofty position despite its unique offering. Not everyone who starts a revolution ends up wearing the crown and 2025 could be a make-or-break year for everyone involved with this fast moving art form.

Phantom Peak: Jonacon continues until 11 May.

To post a comment, you must register and login.