Wake The Tiger’s Absurd City Launches in London

London (IAAPA NEWS) - Somewhere between the storefronts and shoppers at Westfield London, reality unravels as Absurd City flings open a portal to the extraordinary. 

On Oct. 15, the audacious new attraction—billed as “Europe’s largest immersive art experience”—became the latest creation from Wake The Tiger, the team behind the Boomtown Fair music festival and the “Amazement Park” in Bristol, England.

Clad in jumpsuits, the crew of the interdimensional travel agency Get Gone Travel welcomes “Daytrippers” into Absurd City, a sprawling 80,000-square-foot space divided into five fantastical districts. 

REX, Absurd City’s friendly, dog-shaped digital interface, controls everything and assures everyone that “EVERYTHING IS FINE,” even when it obviously isn’t.

Wake The Tiger’s creative team had the time of their lives transforming the former KidZania site—an interactive indoor city designed for children—at the Westfield London shopping center into something … far stranger.

“We’ve spent years imagining what a city with absolutely no rules could look like, and now people can finally step inside it. 

We can’t wait to see what London makes of it,” explains Luke Mitchell, chief creative officer and co-founder of Wake The Tiger.

The attraction name is inspired by the book ‘Waking The Tiger’ by Peter Levine. The novel explores themes of transformation and awakening a “fierce, powerful part within ourselves to drive change.”

Visitors to the new attraction are free to explore five realms, starting with Bloom Street, where rampant consumerism is the name of the game. Here, the Cutting Corner(s) Shop, Mock Exchange, and illuminated billboards urge Daytrippers to spend, spend, spend. 

Guests who dig deeper will find messages from the Wunderground resistance movement. During power outages, actors portraying members of the movement might even make contact. 

The Wunderground reveals that Absurd City—a domed metropolis built to protect people after climate collapse on the world of Meridia—is under threat. In Reclamia, resourceful people rise up through inventive recycling. Art is a force for good in Imaginopolis, a kaleidoscopic collection of surreal sculptures, sets, and theatrical experiences. 

Biohackers are hoping to reboot nature in Neon//Nexus. Meanwhile, the wealthy denizens of Elite HQ are hijacking REX and draining the Genny energy source that powers the city. Daytrippers must help the Wunderground save the day.

This week’s opening marks a “huge moment” for the company, according to CEO and co-founder Graham MacVoy. Born from the creative spark that launched Bristol’s Wake The Tiger in July 2022, Absurd City gives the team a much bigger canvas on which to expand its parallel universe, encourage interaction, and develop the story. 
Developers used Wake The Tiger’s three values: inspire, believe, and disrupt; the later believes in taking risks and challenging convention. By playfully blending fantasy with real-world concerns, the attraction invites visitors to explore the challenges facing Earth and discover how they can shape a better future. 

Wake The Tiger’s values are also reflected in the attraction’s creative upcycling—in the plant-based menu at the Wunderground Bar & Kitchen, and in the attraction’s ethically-minded gift shop.

“Beyond the scale and spectacle, this is about creating somewhere people can escape the everyday, reconnect with their imagination, and experience something genuinely different together. 

We want people to leave feeling inspired, curious, and perhaps looking at the world around them a little differently,” says MacVoy. 

london.wakethetiger.com