Well this is certainly ambitious: a lavish seven-part, two-and-a-half-hour, three-present immersive Christmas experience that will take over Shepherd’s Bush Green for the seasonal period. We’re promised ‘a series of richly detailed theatrical settings’ that pay homage to Dickensian London as you’re sucked into a full-bore story that revolves around a mysterious secret of Santa’s. There’s shopping included too if you don”t want to break the spell and head into nearby Westfield. The named areas are Dickens Lane, Clement’s Study, Father Christmas’s Grotto, The Magic Winter Garden, The Gift Giver’s Guildhall, Aurora’s All-Elf Theatre, Christmas Village Square plus the festive market.
The full adventure costs £60 per person, but there’s a cheaper £35 kids/£15 adults pre-school option lasting just 90 minutes (just one present but you still meet Santa) or £15 for entry to the shops and entertainment only. Every ticket gets you one go on the carousel.
It all sounds very impressive on paper although until we’ve seen it it’s difficult to gauge exactly how good it’s liable to be until we’ve seen it: there is little information about there about producers The Seco beyond the fact they’ve staged a pumpkin patch in Parson’s Green. Still, the very fact it’s taking over Shepherd’s Bush Green for a month suggests a bit of cash behind it, which is certainly required to realise its ambitions.
