For the better part of the past decade, the name Delusion has been synonymous with the best of what Los Angeles’ scene has to offer, converting fans of haunted houses and theatre alike into immersive adventurers. Delusion’s hallmark is classic tropes mixed with game-like mechanics and world-class stuntwork to create a perennial Halloween crowd-pleaser.

Now, after a year-long hiatus on the live show, Delusion is back with a brand new production that moves the horror-themed series into fresh territory: a time-bending adventure that sets audiences on the quest for the mythical Blue Blade, said to have the power to cut through space and time.

It’s been described as one part Indiana Jones, one part Time Bandits… and frankly, we only needed half of that sentence to have us hook, line, and sinker.

We bent space-time to ask Delusion mastermind Jon Braver a couple of questions.

No Proscenium: What’s been the craziest thing you’ve encountered putting this together so far?

Jon Braver: I remember thinking about doing a more simplistic play for this year. Not in a bad way, but I wanted to just keep it simple. So what did I do? I dove into a time-traveling story! The complete fucking opposite of simple. Been tortured ever since. To be honest, the craziest thing I’ve encountered is the edge of insanity. There is a subtle note in the play about how the further one is from their present, the more sick in mind they become. This is good practice for life, but the concept manifested itself in my mind from time to time and caused some scary shit. Yet, I’m coming out of it…. for now.

Oh, and one other crazy thing was getting $160K worth of a certain set piece for FREE!! A story for another time.

NP: How is this going to be different from other instances of Delusion?

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JB: This one is different in many ways.

  1. This play requires some stamina! Definitely going to be an exhilarating and wild adventure, so come prepared!
  2. We will now have eight people per group instead of 10 or 11. Shows will be more intimate.
  3. We’re venturing out of the traditional turn-of-the-century setting and diving into eras never before explored.
  4. As much as we love old homes, that is no longer feasible in LA (#LEIA). Yet, our new venue fits the story just right! Plus, guests will be able to begin and end their evening at our bar and restaurant where we can have exclusive Delusion events and live music!
  5. Mixing the feel of Indiana Jones, Blade Runner with a splash of Time Bandits for this one! Quite a different direction for us, but crazy exciting and fresh!
  6. And finally, the play will have some of the most elaborate set design we’ve ever done.

Tickets are $95 and go on sale next week (Monday at 10am PDT for Delusion’s subscribers, Tuesday for everyone else) for a run that starts on September 20th and runs through December 16th, and if history is any guide you just might need a time machine in order to score tickets once they go on sale.

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