We're back in the swing of things here at NoPro, although this first Review Rundown of 2026 is more of a "batting cleanup on 2025" affair.
This time out we're in Denver and London, where we check out new work from OddKnock Productions and the processional production of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, respectively.
NoPro is 100% reader & listener supported. Become a subscriber to secure & expand our coverage of Everything Immersive!
Want more? Check out our most recent edition and our REVIEWS section.
Check out our How To Get Covered By NoPro guide to submit your events & experiences for review.
Want to get listed in our newsletter?
Submit a listing to Everything Immersive.
Test Kitchen 2 (Denver, CO)
OddKnock Productions
$26.90
Oct. 23-26; Nov. 20 - Dec 7, 2025; Round 3 dates TBA
OddKnock defines their Test Kitchen series as “a rolling residency for physical theater artists” where each show, over the course of four months, “will be written, directed, and devised in collaboration with a local cast and design team to create three work-in-progress showcases of new immersive theater productions.”
That means bringing a show from concept to full run in under two weeks, and presenting work that may not have found the best iteration of itself yet. It also means taking risks, testing new ideas, and being incredibly vulnerable.
Which is probably why limited tickets to these shows have been flying off the shelves ever since they went on sale back in October. It’s a chance to see raw creativity at work in an intimate format that feels very exclusive and underground. Nevermind if an actor misses a cue or a particular narrative goes over your head; this is art in the making, and you may never have the chance to see it again.
The ephemeral nature of the Test Kitchen series is, perhaps, what’s turning these experiments into sell-out runs, but there’s more magic at work here than just convincing fans to pay $27 for an hour of unpolished work. (Exceptionally good, unpolished work, I might add.)
For one, attendees are encouraged to stay after the show to mingle with the producers and discuss what they liked, as well as what may not have worked for them. It’s a chance to ask questions in both directions and inform what direction future OddKnock shows might take… or even how tomorrow night’s show might run!
The aptly named series also sets an expectation for the experimental nature of the show, thus giving the producers and actors the freedom to try new things and (to our delight) get really weird with it. Test Kitchen is a beautiful interpretation of the idea of “failing fast” by using rapid experimentation to validate concepts before investing in them.
This appears to be ‘The OddKnock Way,’ as it’s exactly how their stand-out debut From On High was born, as I detailed in this 2022 interview with Zach Martens. This time around, they’ve taken audiences to both an ironic 1950’s dating show and a purgatory nightclub, with one more Test Kitchen concept yet to be revealed. I, for one, can’t wait to see what they’re cooking up next.
— Danielle Riha, Denver Correspondent
The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy (London)
Arvind Ethan David, Myriad Entertainment
From £42; Riverside Studios, Hammersmith
Until 15 February 2026
It’s important to note that any attempt to translate the voluminously tangled written work of Douglas Adams into visual or physical media, particularly to be absorbed in less than two hours, is about as easy to do as stuffing a whale into a bowl of petunias before teatime.
The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy certainly has the money behind it to try: a promenade performance, it’s led through four major spaces with impressive physical detail. In-universe television content, wall-sized projections with visual design reminiscent of the 2005 film, clever stagings between live performers and digital characters, musical performances…
Yes, musical performances. It surprised me too.
While there were some standout performances (Robert Thompson’s singing and Oliver Britten’s comedy) it seems the lion’s share of effort in HGttG went into location, set, and direction. What didn’t get much budget was R&D for audience inclusion beyond moving us from space to space and allowing us to buy drinks. The plot advances without the burden of guest contribution, always a double-edged sword: casual punters enjoy a low-stakes journey through the IP they already know, immersonauts get the same but will come away saying “and also we were there, I guess.”
Some guests were having a great time. They’d brought their towels, bopping along to the music and generally enjoying the nostalgic “remember when?” callbacks to HGttG content. But from an immersive perspective we had no agency on our experience, and it broke my heart every time a character would amp up a pantomime reply or undercut the narrative by referencing the fact that we were all at a show.
A keystone of immersive buy-in relies on character commitment: the in-world people the audience encounter simply have to believe in what we’re all doing together or the whole structure falls apart. Suspension of disbelief only works when the performer lives 100% in the world they’ve built and pulls us in behind them. HGttG misses the chance to live up to the legacy of Doctor Who: Time Fracture and its frenetic invitation to the guests to live their own wild adventure rather than be the incidental accessory to the Main Character. It feels like this show doesn’t know what it wants to be. Cabaret? Pantomime? Immersive?
To adapt Adams’ words, what we have here is a very pretty garden with just a lack of fairies at the bottom of it. It’s shiny fun for audiences looking for a physically & emotionally accessible show with familiar IP and an equitable journey. Hardcore immersonauts, however, are likely going to keep their thumbs firmly extended skyward.
— Shelley Snyder, London & UK Curator
Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, home of NoPro’s show listings.
NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our backers. Join them today and get access to our Newsletter and Discord!
In addition to the No Proscenium website and our podcast, and you can find NoPro on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and in the Facebook community also named Everything Immersive.
Discussion