Tom Felton will play Guy Fawkes London’s biggest new attraction.
The capital’s latest attraction opens 20th May in Tower Vaults at the Tower of London, in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces. The Gunpowder Plot sees in the starring role of Guy Fawkes actor Tom Felton who first found fame playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series. Since then, Tom has starred in numerous film and TV productions including ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’, Neil LaBute mini-series ‘Full Circle‘, and Ridley Scott’s ‘Labyrinth’.
Tom can most recently be seen starring in Netflix’s war epic ‘The Forgotten Battle’ and in the Sky Original film ‘Save the Cinema’. Tom will next be seen on screen in the upcoming thriller ‘BURIAL’ and he makes his West End debut in ‘2:22: A Ghost Story‘ this Spring.
Now he is set to play the starring role in The Gunpowder Plot, which mixes both live actors and digital stars in a multi-sensory theatrical adventure. Tom will work with leading Virtual Reality experts Figment Productions, whose magic will allow Tom’s image and movements to be motion captured and rendered “live” in the virtual world. Here audiences will interact with Guy Fawkes inside Virtual Reality, as they infiltrate the plotter’s company and learn of the conspiracy against the Houses of Parliament.
Tom Felton:
“I’m very excited to be playing a character so famous (and infamous!) for being at the centre of the most famous conspiracy plot in UK history. Guy Fawkes is a fascinating character with a complex history and with passionate advocates and detractors then and now. To be able to bring the character to life through Virtual Reality, and to allow him to interact with audiences in a way that has never been done before, is thrilling.”
The team of talented digital actors also include Gary Beadle as Edmund, Taqi Nazeer as King James. Michelle Asante as Alice and Ash Rizi as Jack.
The Gunpowder Plot is a seamless integration of immersive theatre and virtual reality where live actors, the latest in digital technology and a cavalcade of multi-sensory special effects combine to allow audiences to step back in time to 1605. Here audiences don’t just witness the action, they play an ever-active role in one of the greatest stories in British history. The guests’ mission: go undercover, infiltrate the plotters and become part of history’s most daring conspiracy.
Writer Danny Robins:
“This is a story about activism. It’s about trying to change the world but then realising that you’re doing it the wrong way.”
“We cannot wait to share this groundbreaking production with an audience. Incredibly realistic sets you can step onto and run your hands across. Cutting edge VR that puts our audience in the heart of London in one of its most volatile moments. Layered levels of immersion so everything you see, feel, touch, and even smell takes you further into the story. Add live actors and a brilliant script and our audience will have an experience like no other.”
The experience has been created in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity which cares for the Tower of London. Audiences will find themselves in a purpose-designed immersive theatre space in Tower Vaults, a location that was last accessible to the public two decades ago. Tower Vaults are situated alongside the UNESCO World Heritage Tower of London, where much of the prelude to the real Gunpowder Plot took place over 400 years ago.
Layered Reality is fast establishing itself as one of the foremost providers of immersive experiences in the capital – their recent project, ‘The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience‘ won the prestigious THEA Award and is in TripAdvisor’s Top 10% of attractions globally. Intricate, large-scale walk-around locations and first-class actors performing live are integrated with ambitious technology including virtual reality and projection mapping, ambisonics and multi-sensory SFX. The final layer, intended to fully immerse audiences is physical sensations: temperature, scent, taste, touch and sound.
Layered Reality Creative Team statement:
“We want it to feel like somebody made a movie version of the Gunpowder Plot and it came to life around you and exploded in your face with bits of Jacobean London flying at you”.
The Gunpowder Plot opens May 2022 in Tower Vaults at the Tower of London. Tickets are on general sale now at www.gunpowderimmersive.com
