Goosebumps Alive at The Vaults in Waterloo

Things are certainly going bump in the night down at The Vaults (beneath Waterloo Station) courtesy of the world premiere of Goosebumps Alive - a new, immersive, theatrical event, which transports patrons into the pages of R.L. Stine's beloved novels. For those of you blissfully unaware, Goosebumps is the umbrella title for a series of children's horror stories, published back in the 1990s. Since then, the brand has expanded with spin-off novellas, audiobooks, a television series, theme park attractions and most recently a feature film, starring Jack Black, which was released in October 2015. Due to the success of last year's immersive show 'Alice's Adventures Underground,' The Vaults was able to acquire copyright permission to produce a live production based on the Goosebumps books - the first of its kind - and so a stage adaptation can now be added to that long list of achievements in the name of entertainment.

As the immersive theatre scene in London grows ever more popular and theatregoers strive to experience new and innovative ways to enjoy an evening out, I can't help but feel that Goosebumps is a perfect fit for the genre. Sadly, I was never acquainted with the books as a child, being perhaps too obsessed with the works of C.S. Lewis and Roald Dahl instead. Perhaps the nostalgia factor was therefore slightly lacking, as I attended a press event at The Vaults yesterday evening. But fear not, those of you who are equally unfamiliar with the brand, as Goosebumps virgins are bound to experience something truly unique, as they stride into the dark to pop their proverbial cherry. Fans of the series, meanwhile, will be in their horrific element.

So how does it work? Patrons are split up into four different groups - rats, spiders, snakes or crows - before the show commences. (I had the pleasure of becoming a dirty rat for the evening.) You then have the opportunity to socialise with other members of your group in an assigned bar area, until a highly distressed, young man interrupts the proceedings and we know that the curtain has risen for the evening. The young man, who becomes a recurring character throughout the show, is plagued by nightmares and we soon become aware that we have the misfortune of living out these nightmares over the course of the next 90 minutes. We are ushered single-file (with a hand on the shoulder of the patron in front of you) through the eerily decorated corridors of The Vaults on a carefully choreographed route. Each stop along the way, we witness a scene inspired by the original R.L. Stine novels. The show will vary, depending on the group you have been allocated at the start, but as a rat, I encountered scenes lifted straight from the pages of "Stay Out of the Basement," "Night of the Living Dummy," "The Girl Who Cried Monster," "One Day at HorrorLand," and "The Cuckoo Clock of Doom," among others.

Designer Samuel Wyer, who worked on the Alice project last year, has done a fantastic job of bringing these ghoulish creations and spooky settings to life. Hats off to Tom Salamon too, for writing and directing the show, which must have been a woolly mammoth of a task, in terms of the timings for each scene and the logistics of each of the four routes. A special mention also goes to The Tiger Lillies for their original, menacing score, which accompanies you on your hellish journey.

Our dreams and our nightmares have always been a rich, vivid source for creativity. Goosebumps Alive takes full advantage of the fascination we have for nightmares, bringing them to life in this unique, immersive fashion which will undoubtedly leave your forehead covered in sweat and your arms covered in... Yep, you guessed it!