Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN SCRIBE ingeniously intersects immersive theater, escape room, and high tea

• By drediman
• February 20, 2024
• No Comments

This past weekend, I had the chance to take in the Order of the Golden Scribe: Initiation Tea, the brainchild of the folks over at Patchwork Adventures. The immersive theatrical experience – somehow intersecting immersive theater, escape room-type puzzles, and, why not, afternoon tea – returns to New York after two successful developmental runs at the cell. Now playing at the subterranean Caveat in the Lower East Side, the current set of performances is slated to run until the end of March for those of you who missed it at the aforementioned Chelsea venue.

In essence, Initiation Tea recreates an induction ceremony into a secret society – the titular Order of the Golden Scribe – over what can only be described as high tea. The immersion begins immediately with a speakeasy sort of vibe that takes over as you’re ushered into Caveat as a potential inductee. As you solve a progression of puzzles, food courses are correspondingly unlocked (e.g., tea, sandwiches, scones, dessert; for an up charge, you’ll even be served a welcome cocktail) and your bid to join the order becomes stronger. But what begins innocuously enough eventually takes a dramatic turn, putting a different spin on the proceedings. Indeed, the more you learn about the society, the more you realize that things are not what they seem (no spoilers here).

Initiation Tea does well to encourage and rewards interaction, teamwork, and curiosity. In terms of immersive theater, the game actors/moderators do well to draw you into the mounting intrigue. From an escape room standpoint, the puzzles (thankfully not too challenging) were well thought out and integrated fairly seamlessly into the initiation rite. As disparate as the individual components seem, the overall experience is ingeniously and elegantly cohesive, even if the conclusion seemed a tad rushed and anticlimactic.

RECOMMENDED

THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN SCRIBE: INITIATION TEA
Immersive Theater
Caveat
Approximately 2 hours (without an intermission)
Through March 31