Visitors to the special Doctor Who immersive theatre experience, The Crash of the Elysium, got a surprise yesterday when the Doctor himself popped in to see them!

A fan of the organisers Punchdrunk since seeing one of their shows in New York, Matt Smith wanted to see the current production based around Doctor Who that has been taking place at the Manchester International Festival this month; normally, videos of the Doctor appear during the show, but producers arranged for him to appear in character yesterday instead of the final video, much to the delight of the 6-12 year old audience.

Commenting on the project, he said:

The final performance of The Crash of Elysium is today.

After enormous public demand, the organisers of the interactive theatre project The Crash of the Elysium at the Manchester International Festival have announced that a number of tickets will be made available enabling adults to enjoy the experience as well as children. The After Dark performances will run at various times between 8:00-9:00pm from 8th-15th July, and are only open to adults and children over thirteen years old.

The Crash of the Elysium will take place at the BBC's new MediaCity UK building at Salford Quays, and is performed by Punchdrunk in association with BBC Worldwide. The experience is written by Punchdrunk's Felix Barrett and Doctor Who writer Tom MacRae, based on an original idea by Steven Moffat.

Tickets (£25) will go on sale exclusively via Ticketmaster from tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00am.
(with thanks to Kate Carter/The Corner Shop PR)

---

Writer Tom MacRae recently spoke to the Telegraph about the premise behind the show:

---

Immersive theatre producers Punchdrunk are to create a new interactive experience for the Manchester International Festival based upon Doctor Who.

Aimed for children between the ages of six and twelve, The Crash of the Elysium is based around the wreck of the steamship and an exploration inside the remains. There are two tie-in websites that provide more 'background' to the adventure, the Northwest Historical Society's coverage of the crash, and a blog by salvage diver Daryl Christofi and his plans to visit the wreck.

The experience is written by Felix Barrett, creative director for Punchdrunk, and Tom MacRae - who wrote Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel for the 2006 series of Doctor Who - and the story is based on an original idea by series head writer Steven Moffat.

As with a number of associated projects in recent years, there's an introductory video on the site from the Doctor himself (see below for more on this)



The performances will take place at the BBC's new MediaCity UK building at Salford Quays as part of this year's festival, running from 30th June to 17th July.

The production is around an hour in length, and the audience walk throughout the performance. The show is restricted to children in the age range 6-12, with a version just for them and another which is aimed for younger children of 6-8 accompanied by a parent. Full details including booking information can be found on the festival event page.

---

Punchdrunk are known for their projects to convert old buildings into theatrical experiences, and as their site explains:

---

The video above has also appeared on the BBC website itself as part of a 'hidden messages' game played over the first few episodes of the last series.