While cinemas are struggling and London’s West End has witnessed a significant escalation in ticket prices, creatives behind immersive experiences say their sector is experiencing “a gold rush moment”.

From shows built around obvious fan bases – such as Mamma Mia! The Party – to those working with established intellectual property, including Squid Game: The Experience, the UK has proven to be a world leader when it comes shows that make audiences feel part of the action, rather than just observers.

Little Lion Entertainment are the team behind two shows currently running in the UK: Pac-Man Live in Manchester and the Crystal Maze Live in London.

Its CEO Tom Lionetti told Sky News: “There has been a real boom in the experience economy… It kind of feels like a bit of a gold rush moment in this industry.

“It’s not nascent anymore, it really is a big industry and it’s getting bigger.

“West End theatre is incredibly expensive at the moment and even cinema can be expensive for what it is, so I think it’s about caring about the experience … you’ve got to consider value for money these days.”

Their Crystal Maze show challenges ticketholders to climb through tunnels and collect crystals just like contestants on the ’90s programme.

And it’s one of the longest-running immersive shows in the world, still going strong in London 15 years after the concept was first staged.

“The genesis really was this idea of breaking the fourth wall,” Lionetti says. “I was an actor and I come from a theatre background, but what we were really intrigued with was giving people agency so you become the star of the show.”

Last year, according to the Gensler Research Institute’s 2025 Immersive Entertainment & Culture Industry Report, the global market for immersive entertainment was valued at £98bn – and it’s projected to reach £351bn by 2030.

Despite times being financially tough post-pandemic, while cinemas have been struggling to put bums on seats, the continued popularity of experience events could indicate consumers are being a little more choosy about what they spend their hard-earned wages on.

Our eagerness to show off on social media could also account for some of what’s driving the boom, as well as the isolating nature of how technology-dependant we’ve become.

As Secret Cinema’s senior creative director, Matt Costain, explains: “Whether it’s competitive socialising or immersive experiences, people are look for something that offers them more… and this is an example of an activity where people can come together and have a sense of community.”

Secret Cinema – which combines live performance and film screenings – has been staging events for 15 years now.

In that time, they’ve partnered with major studios from Marvel to Netflix. Their latest offering will run from August see them bring Grease’s Rydell High to life.

Costain says: “When we first started this was niche, film fans who wanted to dress up and keep a secret… but immersive has moved mainstream and we’ve found ourselves one of two or three companies who’ve been in it since the beginning.

“Part of our job as artists is to help people remember that they really love to play.”

He jokes that those “who find it the most difficult to get started” are invariably the ones “at 11pm with their tie tied around their head and dancing on a table”.

While there are many shows working with established intellectual property (IP), there are also some hugely creative original works also being produced – Storehouse being one of those.

For 16 weeks, attendees at Staged in Deptford, which was once the archival store for Rupert Murdoch’s News International, will be guided through a story that takes place inside a ‘digital memory palace’ that supposedly houses every story, message, memory, and meme since the dawn of the internet.

Produced by Sage & Jester, its lead producer Rosalyn Newbery explains: “You’re not moving into a theatre with infrastructure, put it this way, we literally had to bring electricity to the venue, bring power to the venue, bring water to the venue, none of that was there for us… it’s a big old job and there’s a lot of detail that you can’t take for granted.”

Over 7,000 crew worked more than 57,000 hours to build the set.

Getting a show of this size and scale off the ground is a feat in itself. As creative director Sophie Larsmon says: “There are a lot of people trying to get these projects off the ground and there are a lot of projects that never see the light of day…because of the hoops that have to be jumped through for licensing and financing.

“It takes huge amounts of creative effort, I’ve seen a lot of projects where quite late in the process the green light is taken away.”

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While some creators might struggle to access support because the work doesn’t fit into traditional cultural boxes, it is certainly an industry that’s worth shining a spotlight on.

As Larsom says: “The UK has always led the way in developing this form… I think people are cottoning on to the fact that this is a sector [that’s] going to be a big revenue earner for the UK.”

The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience is on in London’s West End, near Piccadilly Circus.

Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical is at Battersea Park from 1 August to 7 September.

Storehouse runs at Depford Storehouse until 20 September.

Singer Chris Brown has pleaded not guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm over an alleged bottle attack at a London nightclub two years ago.

The US R&B star was arrested at a hotel in Manchester by Metropolitan Police detectives last month, after the singer flew to the city by private jet in preparation for his world tour.

The 36-year-old said he had gone “from the cage to the stage” after he was released on bail in time for the tour.

The musician had been remanded in custody following an initial hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court but was freed ahead of his court appearance after paying a £5m security fee to the court.

Brown is accused of attempting to unlawfully and maliciously cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Abraham Diaw at a London nightclub called Tape in Hanover Square, Mayfair, on 19 February 2023.

He confirmed his name and date of birth at Southwark Crown Court on Friday before entering his plea, saying: “Not guilty ma’am.”

His co-defendant, US national Omololu Akinlolu, 39, who performs under the name Hoody Baby, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

Both defendants are further charged with assaulting Mr Diaw occasioning him actual bodily harm, with Brown also facing one count of having an offensive weapon – a bottle – in a public place. They were not asked to enter pleas to those charges, with a further court hearing set for 11 July.

Last month, Manchester Magistrates Court heard Mr Diaw was standing at the bar of the nightclub when he was struck several times with a bottle, before being pursued to a separate area of the venue, where he was punched and kicked repeatedly.

Around 20 people sat in the public gallery behind the dock for the hearing, many of them fans of Brown.

The singer arrived at around 9am to a large group of photographers outside court and walked to the building’s entrance in silence.

A trial date has been set for 26 October 2026.

Dame Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci are among another 100 famous names who have added their signatures to a letter urging Sir Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity” in Gaza.

Sky News can exclusively reveal the Bond actress, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Conclave actor are among a host of public figures who have added their names to the letter.

At the end of May, Sky News revealed about 300 actors, bands, singers, activists and sportspeople signed the letter, organised by refugee charity Choose Love, calling on Sir Keir to suspend all UK arms sales and licences to Israel.

Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Lineker were among the celebrities to also urge the PM to use all available means to ensure full humanitarian access and broker an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Celebrities and activists also read out all the names of children killed in Gaza in front of parliament.

But three weeks later, they say nothing has changed.

Other new signatories include actors Florence Pugh and Russell Tovey, Dr Who star Ncuti Gatwa, singer Paolo Nutini, author Michael Rosen, musician Paul Weller, Little Mix members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, broadcaster Fearne Cotton, Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten, Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright and ex-England rugby captain Chris Robshaw.

The letter urges Sir Keir to “take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza”, and says children are starving “while food and medicine sit just minutes away”, in reference to Israel blocking aid into the territory.

It says 71,000 children under four are “acutely malnourished” and those who survive starvation “wake up to bombs falling on them”, with more than 15,000 children killed in the conflict so far.

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“Violence stamped with UK inaction – flown with parts shipped from British factories to Israel – could be obliterating families in seconds,” the letter adds.

“You can’t call it ‘intolerable’, yet do nothing.

“Every moment this continues, is another moment children die on our watch.

“History is written in moments of moral clarity. This is one. The world is watching and history will not forget. The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute.

“Prime minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war crimes, or the courage to act?”

What has Starmer said and done about Gaza?

In September, the UK suspended about 30 arms export licences to Israel, but government export licensing figures from May show the UK approved licences for £127.6m worth of military equipment from October to December 2024 – more than the total between 2020 and 2023.

Since the first letter was sent, Sir Keir has called Israel’s actions in Gaza – both the blockade of aid and strikes – “appalling and intolerable”.

Some of his own MPs are pressuring him to take further action against Israel and call the 20-month war – which started when Hamas killed 1,195 people in Israel and took 250 hostage – a genocide, but he has not used those words.

On 10 June, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians”.

They are banned from entering the UK and are now subject to a freeze on UK assets and director disqualifications.

Last week, Sir Keir said more RAF jets, including Typhoons and air-to-air refuelers, were being sent to the Middle East after Israel and Iran attacked each other.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby he is “worried about the impact” escalation between the two countries will have on Gaza.

Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of Choose Love, said: “Since we urged the government to end its complicity in the horrors of Gaza, more people have added their voice to our call. We cannot be silent while children are being killed and families are being starved.

“It took us 18 hours to read the 15,613 names of children known to be killed in Gaza. Every single one of them was someone’s whole universe. Every one of them deserved better.

“The situation is changing by the second, but until the UK government has halted all arms sales and licences to Israel, ensured that humanitarian aid can reach people starving inside Gaza and stopped the killing, they will not have done enough.

“History will remember how we acted in this moment. We beg Keir Starmer to end the UK’s complicity in these horrors.”

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A government spokesperson said: “We strongly oppose the expansion of military operations in Gaza and call on the Israeli government to cease its offensive and immediately allow for unfettered access to humanitarian aid.

“The denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.”

The spokesperson added: “Last year, we suspended export licences to Israel for items used in military operations in Gaza and continue to refuse licences for military goods that could be used by Israel in the current conflict.

“We urge all parties to urgently agree a ceasefire agreement and work towards a permanent and sustainable peace.”