Audiences have a chance to open door to get Inside No 9

Since the introduction of the award-winning production Sleep No More in 2016, the concept of immersive theater has been widely adopted by the drama scene in Shanghai. In fact, the concept has been embraced by many operators of murder mystery games and escape rooms.

"These games have actually influenced the drama production and helped China's theater workers go further in their creation of immersive experiences for theatergoers," says Zhao.

"We watched the entire series (of Inside No 9) and after discussions picked three stories best for immersive theater experience," says Tang Xiawa, playwright of the theater show.

"Audiences love murder mysteries, and they want to play a part in finding out who did the crimes. Immersive theater also makes the experience more vivid and exciting," she says.

While the storytelling is similar to traditional framed theater, it is the design and setting of the show that gives audiences new avenues to experience the story, she explains.

The biggest challenge in creating an immersive show is not how the story is presented, but rather, how the audiences perceive it, Zhao says.

"We have designed a journey for audiences to experience the three stories. In this journey, they start from curiosity and move on to horror before experiencing a joyful discovery," he adds.

The 1,000-square-meter studio theater at SGT has been separated into three sections for each of the three stories. Audiences will walk along a corridor before stepping into the setting of the first story, in which they are passengers on a platform witnessing the drama unfolding in a sleeper car.