When was the last time you spent 24 hours without thinking about looking at your phone? When was the last time you felt able to do it? When I returned to the real world after visiting Key of Dreams, the realization I hadn't felt from staring at a screen all the time was eye-opening. If you really want to get lost in an immersive experience, with your phone stowed away, a notebook and pencil in hand, Key of Dreams surpasses the others.
Set 24 hours a day, from noon to noon, at Treowen House, a secluded 17th-century Welsh mansion that's as atmospheric as you'd expect, this lavish blend of interactive theater, escape room-style puzzle solving, and branching narrative is, by its very nature, brilliantly absorbing and absolutely exhausting, although not for the reasons I initially expected.
Key of Dreams is the latest experience from Lemon Difficult, the small British company whose team I previously spoke to to get a behind-the-scenes look at how it was founded and its vision for how interactive theater can offer the types of options seen in video game storytelling. But it's one thing to talk about an experience like this and another to do it yourself.
Prior to my visit, I received an in-universe summons to Lovecraft's Miskatonic University mansion, on whose behalf I, and about 20 other guests that weekend, would be investigating some mysterious goings-on. I also filled out an online questionnaire with some personality questions, which felt a little like filling out a D&D character sheet or choosing a backstory when starting an RPG. I answered as honestly as possible and asked myself how my answers would affect my experience when I started.
Upon arrival I was greeted by the cast of the event, already incarnated. There was Treowen's affable but confused current owner, an English gentleman called Wynn Haffenden who, for some reason, couldn't explain why he was the owner. Then there was the pompous Dr. Carter, leader of the Miskatonic field research team, whose best days seemed to be behind him. Next was the mysterious Dee, Carter's rebellious second-in-command with previous connections to the house. And finally there was The Curator, a brilliant collector of stories who had taken up residence in the house's library.
It was the performances of these characters that really began to cast a spell on the group of guests now gathered in the great hall of Treowen. From the beginning, it was clear that each figure had a backstory to explore, causes to help, and rivalries to resolve. Equally important, these characters' stories were told by actors who could sell all of this while also interacting naturally with the audience. (Speaking of who, it was a pleasant surprise to discover how welcoming my group of researchers was. I had wondered what kind of clientele the £400 ticket price for the event might attract, but I was relieved to find a friendly group, all in the same place wavelength.)
With the introductions over, the group received surprisingly little instruction on exactly where and how to start, and instead were left to begin exploring a house filled with strange objects, treasure hunt clues, and a small library of written documents. Ultimately, more structure was gained through optional meetings with some of the characters, who provided more helpful guidance at specific points, although the early afternoon hours were largely spent working out what exactly had happened before we could move on to the actual investigation of why.
The different factions that emerged caused something of a dichotomy for the rest of the evening. On the one hand, I felt a greater motivation to help the character I was becoming closer to, so that he did not fall into the schemes of other players. On the other hand, I also sometimes felt FOMO: that the events I had heard whispered about in other branches of the night's history were taking me to a more exciting place than my own. Again, there were times where the progression felt a little confusing, but towards the end of the evening more direct instructions were given. Did I want to save the character I had allied myself with? Was it worth taking more danger to bet on a better outcome? And should I trust the small glass bottle another player had just given me? Immersed in the Key of Dreams story for over 10 hours, I couldn't think about anything other than accomplishing the task at hand.
The night concluded in an electrifying crescendo of events, where the characters' fates were decided and the cast collided in some memorable scenes. Without getting into spoiler territory, it's safe to say that the atmosphere in the house changes dramatically throughout the night, reflected in the music, the lighting, and the guests now running through the dark hallways with flashlights. Only after the experience is over do you look back and reflect on how natural it suddenly felt to be part of demonic rituals. It is something fascinating and absorbing.
The next morning, the process concluded with a few loose threads tied up, the opportunity to read some of the various stories I had missed, and a final moment that again evoked the best of the experience: its characters and how we, the guests, ended. as part of their stories. I had gone into Key of Dreams expecting to be very impressed with the mechanics of it all: puzzle solving and clue finding. In the end, however, what I really remember were the characters and their stories, including some brilliantly acted moments, both big and small. Witnessing a perfect performance of Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven will at one point be etched in your memory for a long time, while hanging out into the wee hours of the morning with guests and various cast members (still very much in character ) offered a nice drink.
For me, the event entry price of £400 didn't seem unfair considering the length of the experience, the quality of the cast and the food included. Spending the night at the house is listed as optional, although the remoteness of the place and the appeal of being able to fall into bed while staying in the center of all the action make the idea of staying elsewhere seem impractical. Still, £350 for the cheapest room, on top of the main ticket price, may give some pause.
Returning to the real world (the cast of the event had taken their final bows and were now in civilian clothes) was like witnessing a spell broken. Would I go back? Yes, and knowing what to expect and how much story is on offer, I think I might enjoy a second chance even more. Laboriously crafted and finely staged, Key of Dreams is confident enough in its story and setting to know that guests will persevere when they're unsure of what to do next, although its admirable desire to never spoon-feed sometimes tips the line too far. balance towards showing instead of telling. Key of Dreams is unique: baffling, brilliant, bold and truly an experience in every sense of the word.