This did not feel like a normal night out from the moment I arrived.
What I got instead was a group of strangers politely sizing each other up like we were all about to co-sign a very suspicious mortgage.
The Traitors: Live Experience in London did not disappoint
The Traitors: Live Experience is part immersive theatre and part social experiment, but mostly a reminder that the majority of us would crumble immediately under mild psychological pressure and a dramatic lighting cue.
The venue was a breezy 15-minute walk from Charing Cross and as soon as we stepped inside, it was clear – this is not your typical Tuesday after-work activity.
Instead, it’s a carefully orchestrated descent into distrust, with the addition of cloaks and candelabras.
I have to admit, I was quite apprehensive beforehand.
As much as I love to religiously watch the show and shout at the TV when yet another fellow faithful is voted out, this was different.
It was an easy walk from Charring Cross station, or you could get the tube to Covent Garden
On the train up to London, my friend and I made a pact that we would dive headfirst into the experience and completely commit.
In all honesty, this is the perfect way to embrace the three-hour interactive activity.
The set design leans heavily into the gothic grandeur of a Scottish castle, which is where the popular BBC programme is filmed.
There are even props from the show on the walls and a knight in shining armour guarding the stretch of corridor you walk through.
We grabbed a fizzy rosé (a shout-out to the much-loved murdered faithful, Diane, in series two) and introduced ourselves to the group before being called for the game.
Reporter Cara Simmonds and colleague Alex Langridge tried out the immersive experience
Now don’t panic, you can tell staff if you really don’t want to be a traitor before it starts – but seriously, where is the fun in that?
Then, after being led to our own round table room, it begins and everything escalates quickly. Everyone had switched into detective mode almost immediately.
Now I don’t want to spoil anything, but the game whizzed by. I was chosen as a faithful by our own ‘Claudia’, the amazing (and fittingly befringed) Morana, who guided us through the whole experience.
Teams are formed, tasks are explained and trust is encouraged.
Which, of course, is the first joke. Because within minutes, trust is already collapsing in on itself like a badly constructed soufflé.
A chandelier made up of spooky cloaked figures hangs prominently in the main bar area
The missions are well-paced and suitably theatrical, designed to get people talking and inevitably accusing each other based on what can only be described as “vibes”.
At one point, someone was considered suspicious because of the way they covered their face when laughing.
My friend was then accused of “being too quiet and looking like she knows something”, which, in fairness, is a dangerous facial expression to have in this environment.
And then comes the round table, along with the classic banishments.
Accusations are made with increasing confidence and decreasing logic. I was very much guilty of this.
Even the corridors that you are led down reflect the gothic theming perfectly
The people you met 45 minutes earlier are suddenly defending each other with courtroom-level intensity.
It would be intimidating if it weren’t so unintentionally funny, and we all constantly found ourselves cracking up in fits of laughter.
Production-wise, it is super slick. Lighting and sound do a lot of heavy lifting in creating tension, and our fantastic host kept everything moving even when the group dynamic threatened to veer into total confusion.
There is, inevitably, a moment where players are sadly either murdered or banished.
But don’t worry, the experience doesn’t end there – instead, you are taken to another room where you can watch the remaining game unfold as you complete your own tasks.
Players can win themselves shields to protect them from being murdered, just like the TV show
I managed to fight my way to the final, where I was then sadly voted out.
By the end, you leave with two certainties.
One is that the production is cleverly designed, immersive and hugely entertaining.
And two, if you were ever placed in a real-life traitor scenario, you would probably accuse your partner within the first five minutes and feel extremely confident about it.
I myself left questioning the reliability of strangers, my friend and my own ability to judge basic human behaviour. In summary, it was brilliant.
Celebrities David Olusoga, Nick Mohammed, host Claudia Winkleman, Alan Carr, Cat Burns and Joe Marler at the final of The Celebrity Traitors. Picture: BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry
If you fancy being the next traitor like Alan Carr or faithful like Joe Marler, don’t miss out and book The Traitors: Live Experience now.
General admission starts from around £34, but you can also get cheaper tickets if you book further in advance.
From Tuesday, May 19, there’s also a selection of new missions to sink your teeth into.