The Crown Duels! presented by DBY Interactive, is an immersive evening of crime, mystery and murder à la the TV show Peaky Blinders, but this caper features the North West England’s infamous gang, The High Rips who are at odds with rival gang, The Logwoods.
This interactive crime-solving performance
is based on historical events depicting how rival gangs battled for control in
post-war Britain when poverty and crime had taken control. A missing crate, rumoured to contain jewels
belonging to the Crown, disappears at the docks and everyone wants to get their
hands on it. As the story unfolds everyone seems to be the culprit and the
audience has to decide who is guilty.
I have watched the DBY
Interactive cast perform previously at more light-hearted productions, this one
has a more serious theme. A projection screen is used with videos and stills depicting Liverpool
post war, along with other relevant representations pertinent to the story. The audience are provided with a card to note
the clues they have found and the motive for the murder and are asked to solve
the puzzle of who murdered Steven, one of the High Rips gang members.
The theatre was set up cabaret
style with 8 tables, seating 9 people at each and a meal was provided with each
ticket. The meal was delivered prior to the start of the performance with the theatre
lights down, making the theatre very dark; this meant diners were unable to see
what they were eating. For future, it would be better if the meal was served
with the theatre lights on as many of the diners commented on the fact that they couldn’t
see what they were eating and this rather spoilt the enjoyment of the
experience. Meat-eaters were aware of what they were being served, but non meat-eaters
didn’t know what they were getting and it was very difficult to see what the meal
was.
The cast are enthusiastic and
their passion for the story is evident, unfortunately a lot of the dialogue
could not be heard, especially by the female cast members playing Nora and
Molly. Audience members sitting close to the actors were unable to hear so for those
at the back of the theatre it must have been much worse. This is a shame as the
actors worked so hard to tell the story.
The use of head mics is vital as they are essential in a setting such as
the theatre so that everyone present can hear every word said by the actors.
Looking around at the audience, I noticed there was a large percentage of older
people who may have had hearing difficulties so this makes head mics even more necessary. I had visited the theatre the previous
evening to watch an immersive performance by a different production company and
all the cast used head mics so every word could be heard whichever part of the
theatre they were in.
The performance included lots of
atmospheric music and audience participation, which came as a surprise to some.
They could work in teams if they wished and were allowed to question the
suspects and make their assumptions known. DBY
This production is suitable for
ages 12+ when accompanied by an adult. The
performance contains some mature references and language and includes
interactive elements.
Details of further events are available at https://oaktheatreandstudios.co.uk/
Further information about DBY Interactive may be found at https://www.dbyinteractive.com/our-story/
Reviewer: Anne Pritchard
On: 25th October 2026
