Walking Shadow has staged several immersive theatrical puzzle events, such as Cabal and Reboot. We call these activities Plays with Puzzles. These shows often get compared to an Escape Room and for good reason! Both of them involve many of the same elements:
- A team of attendees
- An immersive environment
- Interactive puzzle elements
- Working together to accomplish a goal
What is an Escape Room?
In an Escape Room the goal is time-sensitive.
Participants are trying to solve puzzles and unlock the secrets of the room before time runs out, usually after 60 minutes. This means players often work on many different puzzles at once! Because of this, individual players rarely see the full experience, so the story isn’t the focus.
Even so, Escape Rooms can be super engaging!
The Twin Cities have many great escape room companies, including: Missing Pieces Escape Games, Lock and Key Escape Rooms, Hidden MN, Mission Manor Escape Rooms, Escape the Room Minneapolis, Trapped Puzzle Rooms, The Great Escape Room Minneapolis, Puzzleworks Escape Company, and many many more!
Each Escape Room company has their own unique rooms with original puzzle elements, and we encourage you to check them out. There are some great Escape Rooms in Minnesota!
But Plays with Puzzles are a little different!
Like escape rooms, Plays with Puzzles involve solving puzzles in immersive environments, but in our shows the story comes first.
The audience works together on each puzzle, while live actors create an unparalleled sense of theatrical immersion, performing scenes in and around the audience.
Imagine a cross between a popular immersive play like Sleep No More NYC, but with the hands-on puzzle engagement of an Escape Room, and a polished script like at the Guthrie Theatre.
Walking Shadow Theatre Company’s Plays with Puzzles join innovative and challenging puzzles to an immersive environment with incredible attention to detail in support of a thought-provoking story presented by a talented cast.
Our first play with puzzles 1926 Pleasant was staged at the 2006 Minnesota Fringe Festival. Since then we’ve produced several more plays with puzzles, including the spy-themed Saboteur, the award-winning online AI-themed Reboot, and our ongoing magic-themed immersive production Cabal.
Cabal is a story-driven escape room experience
In Cabal, you become an initiate of a magical order – but not everything is as it seems. You must work together with your fellow initiates to uncover clues, solve puzzles, and discover the hidden truth behind the Order of the White Stag.
Cabal is an immersive experience in Minneapolis, Minnesota for 6-10 players. Come as a group, bring a date, or join in with strangers – you won’t be strangers for long!
You can also book a private performance for your family or friends, or schedule it as a team building event for your business or board.
Experience Cabal for a unique combination of puzzle and story.
