BritMums journalist Roni Dutta and her Doctor Who obsessed 9-year-old review Doctor Who: Time Fracture, the time-travel based immersive theatre experience in London’s Mayfair
To curb the amount of time my 9-year-old son was spending on YouTube, we recently instated family viewing hour. After romping through Ghosts and a couple of superhero movies, I decided to see if Doctor Who would hold his attention. We started with the 2005 comeback starring Christopher Eccleston and sure enough, he was hooked after the first episode.
So when we were invited to take part in Doctor Who: Time Fracture – our very own time-travelling adventure, we were most definitely in.
What is Doctor Who: Time Fracture?
It’s a live-action experiential event that plunges you into the world of the Doctor. It’s based in London’s Mayfair, The action starts from the second you enter the custom-built UNIT HQ (originally, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, the alien defence organisation) where you are thrust into the storyline by actors and a recorded video message from the current Doctor (Jodie Whitaker) urging us to help save the world from impending doom. (Frequent theatregoers may know the locale in Davies Mews as one of the homes of Immersive LDN theatre group.)
Tickets start at £29.95 and standard performances take place several times a day during the week and on the weekend, with more shows added occasionally because of demand.
The Whoniverse is the perfect backdrop for an immersive theatre production of this nature with different rooms and corridors transporting the audience through different time zones to meet various allies and enemies of the Doctor.
We were genuinely scared being led into a room with Davros creator of the Daleks who gave us a proper grilling. Then — bam — we were in Elizabethan England and being groomed by Shakespeare to take part in one of his plays before a Cyberman chased us onto a spaceship where we witnessed an Ood on the run. We made a hasty escape from the Weeping Angels by not blinking and went on to save the universe with the help of the Time Lords and our fellow audience members.
Why I love Doctor Who for kids
I don’t know exactly what it is about Doctor Who that commands such a fiercely loyal and dedicated cult following amongst young and old. Certainly, it’s partly down to the storylines, scriptwriting and casting which are all excellent. But watching it again all these years later and seeing my son take in the Doctor’s complicated conundrums, quirks, suffering, highs and lows for the first time, it dawned on me that the Doctor is possibly the only non-musclebound six-pack wielding superhero out there. The Doctor’s superpowers are intelligence and wit. OK, they have a sonic screwdriver, two hearts, the ability to regenerate and a Tardis, but the character is 100 per cent geek.
With the plethora of muscled Marvel and DC superheroes presented to impressionable young boys, Doctor Who is a much-needed counterpoint: A great communicator who’s great with people (and aliens).
A child’s review of Doctor Who: Time Fracture
“I liked how the actors pulled you into the story by name and also the realisim of the outfits and props. They were exactly how they look in the show. It was fantastic! I loved it.”
– Arun, 9yrs
Who would love it?
There’s absolutely no question: Time Fracture is a must-see for Doctor Who fans!
Tickets are on the pricey side but it’s easy to see why. The set is astonishing and the actors and costumes outstanding. Avid fans will notice a sprinkling of props and items from the TV show such as K9. As with all immersive productions, you will get out of it what you put in. Be prepared to throw yourself into the action and interact with the players.
The whole adventure is around two hours long and is nonstop. Even the interval is aboard a space bar with an alien cabaret.
Need to know
- Recommended for children 9 and up accompanied by an adult (although I think I was more scared than the boy for most of it)
- Be prepared to be on your feet for most of the time, so wear comfortable shoes
- Masks must be worn
- Proof of vaccination or a negative lateral flow result required for entry
- There are 43 live actors and 17 different worlds to explore so no two visits to Time Fracture will be the same and visitors are encouraged to come again to experience different aspects of the show
- Audiences and groups will have a different adventure based on which characters they interact with and which rooms they are led to
- Toilets are located next to the bars
- Showing until Spring 2022
Doctor Who: Time Fracture
UNIT HQ, Davies Mews, London W1K 5AB
https://www.immersivedoctorwho.com/event/doctor-who-time-fracture
About Ronita Dutta
Former BritMums Brilliance in Blogging judge and award-winning freelance journalist with over 20 years experience producing engaging content for clients including BBC Studios, The Independent and Penguin. She's written on a diverse range of subjects from health and beauty to parenting, education, psychology and even the weather. Daughter of Bengali immigrants, Ronita was born and bred in London where she and her son can often be found building endless Lego creations.