STOREHOUSE – Deptford Storehouse, London

Founder and Concept Creator: Liana Patarkatsishvili

Creative Director: Sophie Larsmon

Deep in darkest Deptford, abandoned for twenty years, stands Rupert Murdoch’s old News of the World (AKA News of the Screws) storehouse. A cavernous structure surrounded by scrubland on the edge of the Thames, it’s surrounded by neglected estates while financial and business towers sparkle in the distance. This fascinating structure, once the home to so much reproduced, often dubious sleaze, scandal, and salacious gossip, is the location for London’s latest immersive theatre production that explores misinformation in a digital age. What could be more perfect?

In this site-specific piece, STOREHOUSE is transformed into a fictional repository, an archive to contain and catalogue every piece of information ever posted or published since 1983, when the internet arrived. With bursts of scary music from that time, including Bucks Fizz and Duran Duran, a participant becomes one of the trustees, guardians of the truth, who each swear an oath to uphold the aims of the project. Ushered through a series of spaces, each stranger and more extraordinary than the last, it soon becomes apparent during this dystopian mystery tour that all is not well with the system or those in charge.

Despite some stellar voiceovers that include Toby Jones and Meera Syal, the gaming-inspired narrative of STOREHOUSE is overly complex, and audiences may struggle to connect or care about any of the performers. The building, however, is extraordinary. One huge domed space, which represents a place of worship, is configured to look like a brain, with groups of books arranged in the cellular crevices and creases.

Another is like a Hobbit’s den, constructed from willow. The final expanse is a vast intergalactic network with ‘truth lanterns’ dotted all around; a jaw-dropping spectacle. When you come out, you’ve experienced external forces attempting mind control, considered the nature of truth and reflected on the provenance of knowledge. The subtext is that culturally we are in a dark space, that truth has been the first casualty of the information war, but we can be conscientious objectors, we can think for ourselves and emerge blinking into the light.

CEO of Sage & Jester, Liana Patarkatsishvili, who wishes to educate people about the media – democracy – power paradigm, has first-hand experience. Her father’s TV station was seized by the Georgian Government, which led to a 17-year-long battle with the state. She harnesses immersive theatre to educate and encourage participants to think responsibly about their information consumption and behaviour. In the context of Harry Potter and Paddington Bear experiences, this rather noble remit should be applauded. The number of creatives and producers who constructed the set, led by the Creative Director, Sophie Larsmon, Lead Producer, Rosalyn Newbury, and Production Designer, Alice Helps, is astounding. – and it’s only on for 16 weeks.

For anyone interested in media, knowledge and power, STOREHOUSE is certainly interesting and ambitious. It’s a fake news fiesta where Bradbury meets Brecht, Orwell has a staring match with Kubrick, and Marshall McLuhan beats out ‘told you so’ on drums. It has echoes of The Crystal Maze, Logan’s Run and Doctor Who.

STOREHOUSE is a fun day out for librarians, bibliophiles, and cyber addicts. It comprises an effective conversation starter for families with youngsters born after 1983 who only know life post-internet, but all generations, whatever their relationships to the digital or analogue worlds, might find something here to entertain. The chance to visit Murdoch’s old shed, where he used to keep his mucky newspapers, is a lure in itself. It’s also magnificent to see what can be built in the real, physical world with human creativity, willpower, and imagination. It’s Deptford, Jim, but not as we know it.

Runs until 20 September 2025