Review: COLOSSEUM: THE LEGENDARY ARENA, Eclipso

Ever wondered what it would be like to walk off a high street and into Ancient Rome?  Eclipso’s latest VR adventure plunges its audience into the roaring atmosphere of Rome’s Colosseum and explores a world of gladiators and gods. Their opening show here Titanic: Echoes From The Past is still running and their latest is another open-roam traipse through history.

The French company has come a long way since I first donned their headsets — literally. They have moved from their base in the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre to a completely unassuming spot on Camden High Street. Blink and you’ll miss the slim entrance directly opposite the high temple of headbanging that is the Electric Ballroom.

The experience itself is incredibly comfortable as things go. There’s no longer a need for a backpack these days and I can personally testify that bulky specs wearers won’t need to remove their goggles to have a good time. The setup is stupidly simple: find your numbered spot in the starting area, have the technician slip on the headset, adjust if necessary for focus and then you’re good to go. Up to 14 people can be accommodated at a time though smaller numbers are recommended so everyone can walk around in comfort.

Not that bumping into other people is that much of an issue. The VR comes with two very cool environmental features which help with that. The first is the ability to see your hands and fingers as you move them around (more on that later). The second is being able to see those standing close by. Rather than seeing others in classy Chanel outfits (as was the case in Blanca Li’s brilliant dance-themed Le Bal de Paris), they appear as white silhouettes, giving the whole experience more of a team vibe. 

Back to Rome. Eclipso never leaves us floundering for virtual company and, after a brief introduction from the giant figure of Mars (the god, not the chocolate), you’ll find yourself walking shotgun next to eager youngster Caius. The teenager has his heart set on meeting his hero Flamma, a real-life gladiator. It’s easy to see why he was adored: the Syrian battled  an incredible 34 times in the arena, won 21 of those and was offered (and turned down) his freedom on four separate occasions before dying aged 30.

Before we actually get to meet Flamma, Caius takes us to his home, through a marketplace and then above the great city. There’s a real sense of space all around us and it is hard not to be in total awe at the scale of the set pieces.

After working our way through the suburbs, we jump on a platform lifting us to the very top of the Colosseum from where we are greeted by 80,000 roaring spectators before going under it to meet the animals held in subterranean chambers. If getting face-time with a cute ear-waggling giraffe is on your bucket list, prepare to tick that box.

Once we are in the great gladiator’s presence, things step up a notch. It’s one thing reading about the fights in airport novels or seeing Ridley Scott’s depictions on the big screen, it’s entirely another to feel inches away from two men circling one another, examining each other for weaknesses before going in for the kill. Or being part of a naumachia - a naval battle fought in a flooded arena between two ships - as the opposing team of gladiators storms over via a gangplank, weapons held high. Or, back on the sand, seeing an elephant emerge from a far gate then rampage its way towards you at full pelt.

This is all vaguely terrifying in a PG way but also utterly immersive. Little touches add a lot of fun: during the battles, lifting your hands will reveal that you are gripping a virtual sword and shield which you can move around as you wish. Feel free to have your own friendly mano-a-mano with a colleague while Flamma sees off a foe. Alternatively, turn around and watch the “bread and circuses” crowd lustily cheer on this state-sanctioned brutality.

Colosseum: The Legendary Arena is more than just fancy technology. It is certainly a leap forward from what can be found elsewhere, though: Layered Reality (the team behind the infamous Elvis Evolution) incorporated short VR episodes into their flagship show, the highly successful The War Of The Worlds, as well as their recently-closed The Gunpowder Plot. There is plenty of drama here even if it doesn’t quite have the storytelling power of, say, ZU-UK’s sublime Within Touching Distance or the engagement levels of the acid house-themed In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats (where participants could activate screens and pick up and pass virtual items to each other).

The USP here is the attention to detail and the stunning visuals: the historical immersion is as deep as it gets in London, there are some genuinely jaw-dropping spectacles and these kinds of experiences could do for history classes what David Attenborough has done for nature documentaries. 

Colosseum: The Legendary Arena continues at Eclipso.