Many Happy Returns
Many Happy Returns is a twist on traditional threatre. It was incredible to see a site-specific, immersive play in Fringe. And love that it's something that can be returned to, and each time is a different experience. I highly recommend seeing it if you have not tried this type of theatre before, or, are someone who likes to play role-playing games as it has plenty of character interactions to explore.
I had seen advertisements of this show circulating before Fringe. When I saw it had joined the festival, I immediately got a ticket. I love escape rooms, puzzles, and immersive theatre, so I was really happy to add this to my lineup.
The goal is to obtain artifacts from the characters by helping them fulfill their wishes, which you can only learn by interacting and chatting with them. Everyone works together collectively, so there is lots of chatter and plenty of ways to get involved.
The gameplay was fun and easy to pick up, and they did an excellent job of balancing the atmosphere and immersion with clear gameplay. Everyone was engaged and seemed to be having an excellent time.
The actresses were fantastic. They were great at staying in character and improvising around whatever was happening in the room. They engaged as many people as possible and did an excellent job of giving hints while remaining in character.
As a large group of sober people (we played at 2:30 p.m.) we managed to collect nine out of 10 artifacts!
My understanding is that if you missed this experience during Fringe, there will be more showings outside of Fringe in the near future! I certainly recommend.
This was a very satisfying foray into immersive theatre. The host was great at explaining the rules in an entertaining fashion.
It was a great workout for the mind and I got a chance to interact with performers which I've really never done before. Got interacted with frequently even though I didn't know what I was doing. Lol.
Some artifacts were harder to get and some solutions towards obtaining an artifact were interesting and the host made the experience inclusive by summarizing how artifacts were obtained in case out of the loop. Concept was interestingly structured as some actors were there more to guide and others were central points in the drama of this new years party.
Because there were different arcs going on at the same time, you couldn't hear or be a part of everything and there was competing noise so that made it a bit tough. Towards the end though I was a bit tired, it's work!! lol. I did wish there was a bit more drama and less artifacts so I could enjoy and take it easy. But that would make it less of a game so I get it. The game aspect invests the audience more.
All in all, definitely worth the ride. Kudos to the actors. None of them made it awkward when I didn't know what to say. It's a nice place to meet your audience members and meet performers, while in their role.
This was such a fun, interactive show. The concept was really interesting, the audience had to work together in this interactive performance. The performers themselves were very talented, and had to be quick at thinking on their feet while staying in their role. Highly recommend!