Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

It is with a very heavy heart that we have to let you know that Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Experience has been forced to close its doors at 56 Leadenhall Street, London, after seven incredible years.

This is due to Ellipsis Entertainment, the company licensed to operate the Experience, having ceased trading.

What makes this particularly painful is that the Experience had just undergone a £400,000 upgrade to the venue and production that we were due to announce imminently. We rebuilt both major VR sequences from scratch using Unreal Engine and next-generation headsets, added new scenes, introduced a track to The Red Weed Bar, reimagined the Royal Engineer scene, and for the first time Jeff Wayne appeared within the experience himself. This was not a production coasting on its success. This was a production investing ambitiously in its future. That investment deserved far better than this outcome.

When we received the sudden and unexpected news that Ellipsis had ceased trading, Jeff Wayne Music Group moved immediately to intervene. We attended the venue, met with the production’s staff and performers, and shared our intention to take on the production ourselves and preserve the Experience going forward.

We did everything in our power to keep the Experience running and to protect continuity for the production, the staff, and the audience. As part of those efforts, Jeff personally covered the Ellipsis staff and actor payroll of approximately 60 people during this period, determined to protect the livelihoods of the people who had given so much to this production while we worked to find a way forward.

However, we were informed late last night that due to legal and insurance requirements, the venue could not continue operating under the current structure. As a result, we were left with no option but to close the production.

** For Ticket-Holders **

If you purchased your ticket directly through LW Tickets, you will be automatically refunded. There is no need to contact them for this to happen.

If you purchased your ticket using a third-party ticket agent or gift experience seller, please contact the company from whom you received the voucher/ticket in order to obtain a full refund or an exchange.

We are very sorry for the disappointment this will cause. We share it too.

We want to sincerely thank every member of the team for everything they brought to The Experience. Your talent, professionalism, and commitment are a huge part of what made it so special.

Although this is not how we expected this chapter to end, we remain incredibly proud of the show and deeply grateful to everyone (all 320,000 of you) who stepped inside and survived the Martian invasion with us. Highlights include winning 15 major industry awards, five consecutive years as the world’s top-rated immersive experience on TripAdvisor, and becoming GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title holders for the longest theatrical run of a musical immersive theatre production.

The War of The Worlds is not going away. Our touring concert productions continue as planned. Behind the scenes, we are actively exploring ways to bring the immersive experience back in a different way.

We are truly sorry to be delivering this news.

With our deepest gratitude,

Jeff Wayne and The War of The Worlds Team