REVIEW: Escape Live opens in Stratford
ON the face of it, being locked in a room for an hour and working as a team to escape, might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but there is no ignoring the escape rooms craze currently sweeping the globe – and now Stratford.
The concept sees teams of 2-6 people tasked with solving a series of puzzles and challenges which ultimately allow them to 'escape'.
On Saturday Escape Live, an award-winning operator of escape room venues in Coventry, Birmingham and Southend, opened its newest attraction on Greenhill Street, and a team from the Herald were given the chance to try it first.
None of our five-person team has ever visited an escape room type attraction before, but we were soon thrown into the spirit of things as the room’s theme – a magical wizarding world called ‘Chalice of Champions’ – was introduced to us.
The setting itself was impressive and immersive and we were soon busy on the hunt for clues.
It’s worth mentioning that if you’re struggling to work out some of the puzzles (as we were on occasion), you’re not just left on your own, you can request hints!
As newcomers we were a little slow at first, but by half-an-hour in, we were well into the swing of things as the room revealed secret after secret.
In the end we were beaten by the clock and failed to get out, but it was heartening to hear that we were only two or three clues away from cracking the room.
Herald Arts Editor, Gill Sutherland, said: “I must confess to being deeply competitive when it comes to sport and games, and so when I was invited to try the new Escape room with the Herald team, my initial reaction was very keen – We must win! Let’s do it!’.
“But then the fear set in “What if we don’t win?!”. On the day we didn’t win, but actually I was surprised how much that didn’t really matter. We had fun trying. Think quiz show Crystal Maze but harder!"
Escape Live on Greenhill Street is certainly worth a try and I can see why the concept has become so popular.
For more information visit www.escapelive.co.uk.