Immersive experience: The Stella Artois Time Portal

Under an unmissable cinema sign on Stoke Newington Road in Dalston, stands an unassuming bar. Within, a mysterious Time Portal links back to Victorian London. And you are inside. You are a spectator, but also the key to influencing the future.

This July, Stella Artois - the Official Beer of Wimbledon – is creating an immersive theatre experience celebrating the humble beginnings of the two brands and the characters behind these legacies. Taking audiences through The Time Portal, into Victorian London, they will experience a time when both Wimbledon and Stella Artois were only just starting out, and their success was still not assured.

Bursting with an alluring cast of Victorian characters and one-to-one interactions, The Time Portal will place audience members at the centre of the performance, by involving them in a cinematic adventure from a modest looking bar through to the smoggy streets of London, guided by a mysterious character who is determined to take them to a little known tennis tournament that is just starting out. At the same time, we also encounter the founder of a little known beer brand that is also passionately trying to make a name for itself in Victorian London.

Commissioned by Stella Artois and drawing on the creative expertise of acclaimed immersive theatre companies Les Enfants Terribles – who created the hugely popular Alice’s Adventures Underground, and Framestore - the creative studio behind the Oscar® winning film Gravity, the experience is a heady adventure through time that will immerse its audience into a world where two world famous brands are making their way up, thanks to the determination of two risk-takers.

The return into a sophisticated bar in the present day will show just how far both brands have come thanks to these entrepreneurs, where you’ll be able to savour the now famous Stella Artois and take in the 130th Wimbledon in style, and watch new names make their mark on the world.

Filled with intriguing and unexpected moments, The Time Portal is a unique experience that will inspire its audience to consider how they will make their own mark by showing that we all have to start somewhere.