Crash Of The Elysium Reviewed: MIF 2011

“It was the best thing I’ve done like that,” said the true judge, Ralph Schofield, aged 10. “I couldn’t believed that they’d chosen the scariest Doctor Who monster though. Remember how I’d said I really hope it wasn’t going to be them. It was amazing.”

Some Doctor Who monsters are enduring, some that you don’t expect to be frightening get to you. I hated the Cybermen, for most it was the Daleks. This generation of fans find horror in the - well that would be telling - but these new terrors are all over the crashed spaceship Elysium at MediaCityUK. And they work with the staging here to create an experience none of the kids who witness it will forget.

But then, Punchdrunk, the company behind the Crash of the Elysium, is adept at this. 

If you’ve got kids aged six to twelve, get a ticket, maybe borrow someone else’s six to twelve year old. Punchdrunk have delivered another superb MIF event. 

Two years ago at Manchester International Festival (MIF) it was something for the grown-ups with It Felt Like A Kiss (click here), a rampaging but thought-provoking examination of fifties and sixties America.

I had (and still have no idea) why disorientated guests were chased out of the building by a man with a chainsaw but it led to exclamations of shocked delight outside. The common comment was: “Have you ever seen anything like that before?”

This was echoed by all the kids on our Crash of Elysium visit. This is immersive and interactive theatre at its finest.

It starts with a viewing of a very static exhibition of the original Elysium steamship built on Manchester Ship Canal which foundered in 1888 – my son said, “This is a bit boring, isn't it?”. Suddenly an alarm rings, soldiers run in and the kids are whisked away.

The party is named Alpha Group, protective clothing is dished out, instructions and tasks given, and before you know it the group is crouched next to the crashed hulk of the space ship Elysium. And we have a mission, to find something very important to the Doctor. The soldiers ask for specialist knowledge of Doctor Who and the kids respond with enthusiasm, giving the captain in command clues.

The lighting and the sound – especially the sound – plus the staging of the production is perfect for the children; a hyperactive fairground Haunted House featuring Doctor Who himself.

Some kids find it challenging, one or two on our show wept, but everybody helped them out and reassured them. At times it was almost like an outward bound team-building session. 

If you’ve got a kid aged six to twelve, get a ticket, maybe borrow someone else’s six to twelve year old. Punchdrunk have delivered another superb MIF event. It ticks all the boxes for what this festival should represent. Exciting. Clever. Effective. Memorable.

Ralph was scaling street furniture all over The Quays re-enacting moments from the show afterwards. Peel Group's fastidious security guards were running in from all directions asking him to calm down, clearly unaware that he'd just helped save the Universe.

You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield

The Crash of the Elysium is on until 17 July priced £17.50. There are children only shows and family shows were kids can be accompanied by adults. The production takes place in MediaCityUK, where there is ample parking and a Metrolink connection. Click here for further tickets, details or to book