Of all the annual Christmas specials, the one that always made my heart sing as a youngster were the Crystal Maze specials, where a group of hapless adults were replaced by a group of equally hapless children. It gave me a giddy thrill to see kids not much older than myself taking on the dastardly (and some might argue rather vague) challenges of the Industrial, Aztec, Medieval and Futuristic zones, so I was obviously gutted when the series came to a sudden halt in the mid 90's (though we all knew it was the beginning of the end when series star Richard O'Brien left).
So when I heard that there were plans underway to revive the series as an interactive experience, needless to say it caught my attention. Those plans are now finally being released to the public, with the venue, set designer and ticket information now officially confirmed for the London-based experience, which will be open from March 15, 2016. Tickets, meanwhile, are a perfectly reasonable £50. So whilst it might be a little too late, I now know exactly what I want for Christmas!
Plans for the revived Crystal Maze experience are now finally being released to the public, with the venue, set designer and ticket information now officially confirmed
The revival has been spearheaded by Ben Hodges, Dean Rodgers and Tom Lionetti-Maguire, all in their 20's, and all obviously as mired in hopeless nostalgia as myself. They launched an Indiegogo campaign to create a full-scale replica of the popular Channel 4 show that ran between 1990-1995. The trio raised a staggering £930,000 in just four weeks to create the experience, which (much like the show) would see teams of eight taken around the four zones by their own quizmaster. If they're not bald, well-dressed quick-draw quip wielders, I might be asking for my money back.
In each zone, teams will complete a series of challenges designed to test intelligence, skill and physical ability with failure to complete a task in the set time meaning they will be locked in, but released if their teammates can complete a quiz (so a little more lenient than the original). In each game, players will earn time in the famous Crystal Dome to grab cash, which will be equated to prizes collected at the end.
The experience is set to open from March 15, 2016, with tickets priced at a perfectly reasonable £50
Following six months of development, the team have confirmed the acquisition of a 30,000 square foot venue between Kings Cross and Angel in North London for three years. Tickets went on sale yesterday (December 1), with those who gave to the crowd-funding campaign given first refusal. Work to build the set is already underway, with designer Steve Scott, who created films such as Titanic, Die Another Day and Hellboy, behind the space. The show’s creator Malcolm Hayworth and rights holder Zodiak Rights have also been on board throughout the entire process so far.
As planned, a bar and viewing platform are also being built, with various street food offerings expected. So expect top grub and craft beer, not lukewarm lager and dodgy burgers. As well as the £930,000 raised by the team, a substantial private investment has also been invested in to the venture, which the team say will run for as long as there is demand for it.
Following six months of development, the team have confirmed the acquisition of a 30,000 square foot venue between Kings Cross and Angel in North London for three years
Lionetti-Maguire, an actor from Wood Green, said I've aged 25 years in the past 6 months. It has been non-stop working on this for six months. I think people may have seen the crowd funding campaign back in June and then heard nothing and assumed it had all fizzled out. But we have had difficulties with venue, with set, with all of it. But now we are finally here with a venue and work starting on the Crystal Maze and an opening date. It is exciting stuff. It has taken us by surprise how much people seem to be behind the idea. It shows how many people were fans of it and how much of a demand there is so something different to do in London.” Sounds like it's not exactly been an easy ride, but then, when has anything worth having ever come easy?
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and struggling musician from Kidderminster in the UK. His favourite Crystal Maze zone was always Industrial, so he was genuinely gutted when they replaced it with the lame Ocean zone.
