Review: Bacchanalia by Sleepwalk Immersive (Hoxton Hall)

2023's best immersive show returns in an expanded form, bigger and better than ever before. Bacchanalia is an unmissable piece of immersive theatre.

Photo: Akil Wilson

When Bacchanalia was first staged at Crypt in Bethnal Green back in 2023, it was a sensation. Off the back of a cast made up of some of the immersive scenes most recognisable faces and the promise of a fresh take on the Greek tragedy, the show's initial run sold out in just over two weeks - long before the doors to Thebes opened.

It was an intense, intimate, and unforgettable immersive experience that proved the next generation of immersive creators could deliver shows as impactful and memorable as Punchdrunk has been doing for so long, with a fraction of the budget and resources. When we reviewed the initial run of Bacchanalia, we called it the best immersive show of 2023 and said Sleepwalk Immersive had 'captured lightning in a bottle'.

With this 2025 version of Bacchanalia, which is playing at Hoxton Hall until 6th April, Sleepwalk Immersive has outdone themselves. Expanding the show with additional storylines, characters, more one-on-ones, and a hell of a lot more space, their adaptation of Euripidies' The Bacchae has improved on the version presented at Crypt in every possible way, and they've delivered one of this year's must-see immersive shows.

Photo: James Lawson

Bacchanalia tells the story of Dionysus - the god of wine, pleasure, and theatre - returning to their birthplace of Thebes. Angered by the city's refusal to acknowledge their divinity and seeking to punish those who wronged their mother, the arrival of Dionysus throws the House of Thebes, made up of the recently inaugurated Mayor Pentheus and their mother Agave, into chaos as they struggle to keep the god's influence over the city and themselves at bay. The audience, who all wear black hooded cloaks for the duration of the 90-minute show, has the freedom to explore the venue and follow whichever characters they wish.

Sleepwalk's adaptation of The Bacchae has a distinct 1960s influence. There's a direct comparison being drawn between the rapidly growing chorus of Bacchae that Dionysus has under their spell, full of those happy to cast aside societal expectations in favour of ecstasy and radical freedom, and the Nixon-era counterculture movement that rejected mainstream culture, embraced free love, and came to define a generation.

Further reinforcing this aesthetic, posters scattered around the venue for Pentheus' mayoral run that bear a striking resemblance to those Richard Nixon had during his campaign, a soundtrack made up of songs from the era, and several costume designs that have seemingly been ripped straight from '69 Woodstock all help tie together the image of '60s Americana.

Photo: James Lawson

In comparison to the show's previous outing at Crypt, the move to Hoxton Hall has afforded the show some much-needed breathing room. Within the tight confines of Crypt, there was a sense that Bacchanalia's story was far bigger than the space available - it was an epic story, forced into being told at a small scale.

With their upgrade to the much more spacious Hoxton Hall, the story now has a venue far better equipped to contain it. Thematically, it's a wonderful match for a narrative about Dionysus - the god of theatre - and being able to explore the seldom-seen backstage areas of such a venue is exciting enough in its own right, but it's made all the more exciting when it's packed full of world-class performers and an audience eager to chase after them.

Of course, with that increased space comes a change to how audiences will experience the show. Spread across all four floors of the Grade-II listed building, there's a lot more navigation of tight hallways and corners needed to keep up with everything going on in Thebes. It's impossible to catch everything in one visit, but for fans of Punchdrunk's work, it's no doubt a welcome return to the familiar feeling of being lost in a labyrinth of stairwells and corridors with intense FOMO.

Exploration of every corner of Hoxton Hall is highly encouraged, even if it's just to avoid finding out later there were entire areas of the venue you missed out on (something we realised had happened to us after the show...).

Photo: Akil Wilson

For half the audience, their introduction to Bacchanalia begins on the top floor with Agave (Fania Grigoriou), who's awoken from a nightmare and slowly begins to get ready for her son to be sworn in as Mayor of Thebes. At the same time, several floors below, Pentheus (Christian Loveless) is sitting with an old friend, Tiresias (Fionn Cox-Davis), who's recently returned to the city and brings with him news about the 'divine crusade' he had been tracking on his journey home. Pentheus, who's on the verge of being officially made mayor, is dismissive, believing that Dionysus (Peter Broughton) is neither a god nor a threat to the citizens of Thebes.

It'll come as little surprise that Dionysus is in fact both, and the city will soon be succumbing to his wishes.

Photo: Akil Wilson

Nearly all of Bacchanalia's biggest moments, including Pentheus' inauguration as mayor and the show's climactic final moments, now take place both on the raised stage and in the centre of Hoxton Hall's Main Hall. With a two-tiered balcony overlooking the space, audience members can view these scenes from up in the gods or experience them up close on the ground floor as if they were citizens of Thebes. Having the space to let these key scenes spread out over a much larger area than at Crypt makes it far easier for audiences to get a clear vantage of what's happening, and the space's verticality allows moments like the arrival of Dionysus (Peter Broughton), who first appears under a spotlight on the first floor before sprinting through the balcony seating and down the stairs onto the ground floor, to shine.

There's also a whole host of moments that happen in the small confines of Hoxton Hall's backstage area that weren't present in the show's previous outing. Tiresias, who makes use of every surface and ledge throughout Hoxton Hall's stairwells as they traverse the venue's multiple floors, is a wonderful expansion on the similar scenes in Bacchanalia's Crypt run, which were limited to a small staircase at the rear of the main space.

As for the power struggle between Dionysus and Pentheus, the wonderfully tense interrogation scene between the pair, which now takes place behind a closed door for a select few, is a highlight. With Pentheus believing he has the upper hand over a disguised Dionysus, his confidence and self-righteousness are felt with every line, right up until Dionysus' voice settles back into its usual cadence and the mask drops.

Photo: James Lawson

Nymph (Ruth Howard) and Xanthias (Jordan Ajadi), who make up the chorus of Bacchae and are never far from Dionysus' side, both move around the venue with abandon and grace thanks to Howard's excellent movement direction. The pair twist and throw their bodies in symmetry, perfectly encapsulating their devotion to Dionysus, who will often command them with the flick of a wrist or pointed finger.

For Agave, their slow descent into becoming one of Dionysus' followers is portrayed brilliantly by Fania Grigoriou, who sells the enchantment Agave finds themselves under in the latter half of the show with zero inhibition and plays the family matriarch with warmth and love in the first half - something that makes their actions in the show's final moments all the more impactful.

The biggest additions to the show's story come in the form of Semele (Maya McQueen) and their former lover, Zeus (played by Rob McNeill), who is the only new character added for the Hoxton Hall run. While Semele was present in the Crypt version of Bacchanalia, their story has been expanded considerably, with numerous scenes in which Zeus and Semele tenderly push and pull against each other, as well as moments where Semele can silently observe the citizens of Thebes.

Photo: James Lawson

Bacchanalia has been a project seven years in the making for Sleepwalk's Artistic Director Sebastian Huang. From humble beginnings as a show for one audience member first conceived during his studies, through to the two sold-out runs at Crypt and now, taking over Hoxton Hall, it's clear that his passion for adapting The Bacchae into an immersive form has borne fruit.

Bacchanalia is an unmissable immersive show that's up there with the best work London has to offer, and with this latest iteration of the show, the Sleepwalk team have firmly established themselves as some of the city's best new creators.

★★★★★

Interview: Sebastian Huang on the return on Bacchanalia

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Bacchanalia runs at Hoxton Hall until 6th April 2025. Tickets are priced from £54.00 and can be purchased here. For more information about the show, visit sleepwalkimmersive.com