Is it really any wonder that a movie tied to the best-selling video game of all time has already more than doubled its $150million budget, even though many critics have branded it cash-in dross?
That A Minecraft Movie appears to be a creative mess is largely irrelevant given the passions its source material stirs in its youthful fan base and their eager-to-please parents. Commercially it’s as close to a sure bet as you can make in the arts.
How hard would it be to take a kid-friendly brand, established on a foundation of more than 300million games sold – plus all its associated merch and tie-ins (Lego, I’m looking at you) – pump it full of film stars and still come out with a proposition that wasn’t at least mildly appealing to guardians’ wallets?
It doesn’t have to be particularly good for companies to collect that sweet, easy cash.
Here, in a space once occupied by The Range homeware store, we walk down a dimly lit corridor to a desk where bright smiling folk supply us with glowing cubes – securely fastened to our wrists, presumably to prevent them flying off and hitting a llama in its digital eye.
Visitors get glowing cubes – image by Minecraft Experience
stepping into the space
Initially it feels pretty cool.
The game’s pixelated aesthetic is well reproduced as we’re introduced to two avatars on a big screen who, it’s explained, will lead us on some sort of quest, or something.
If you find vagueness of plot troublesome, this isn’t the experience for you. Initially we’re corralled in a sort of holding room.
It’s not immediately clear what we’re supposed to be doing other than taking selfies with a couple of giant game characters.
The lit cubes allow us to interact a bit with a Minecraft forest which coats one wall but it’s a clunky experience and there doesn’t seem to be an obvious pay-off for chopping down the trees.
No matter though. The kids in our group are already fully immersed.
For them it’s a first taste of climbing inside the game and it keeps them occupied for a spell.
Eventually our cubes go green and the steward indicates it’s time to move to the next room. Here things are better.
It’s not always clear what we’re doing or why – image by Minecraft Experience
making stuff at Minecraft Experience
We use our orbs to transport materials to make things to crafting recipe specifications.
There’s probably some kind of story we’re following, but it gets lost to the background noise and instead another steward jollies us into picking up sticks, wood and stone.
Pleasingly the cube changes colour once loaded with items and there are rewarding chimes when we get the mix right.
But overall, as we move through further rooms, it’s patchy.
There’s no obvious tally of what we’re collecting and making (let alone, why we’re bothering).
It feels very much as though we’re mindlessly completing a series of scheduled operations to little clear benefit.
We wave our orbs about to defeat an unnecessarily relentless stream of enemies, we combine water and lava to make a portal (albeit one with disappointingly low production values).
But, unlike the actual game, there’s no jeopardy, no suspense and – worst of all – no building.
At least 60% of Minecraft is about creative construction. It’s like digital Lego, a tool for minds to make whatever a person can imagination.
At one point the floor is digital lava and we’re encouraged to hop from safe block to safe block as they appear. Or not.
Walking across the room works just as well.
No materials must be harvested and no bridge built to cross successfully.
What a wasted opportunity.
That said, for younger kids this is a delight.
It looks like their favourite game and delivers just enough to make it seem as though they’ve stepped into the screen.
Its creators though, could have dug more deeply and made a better world.
*** (3/5)
Kids will love it so – image by Minecraft Experience
Minecraft Experience: Villager Rescue is located at Corner Corner in Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, a short walk from Canada Water station until June 25, 2025.
The experience is suitable for all ages. Under 2s go free and there are discounts for kids aged 3-15.
Tickets start at £27 for adults and £22 for children including booking fees. Family tickets for four people (max two adults) start at £92.
The per person price on group tickets for 7-14 people drop as low as £21.50 per head.
But it won’t be so very long before she’s carrying passengers and cyclists from Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf and back.
When that happens, it’s not an overstatement to say London’s public transport will have entered a new era – one where vessels on the river are powered by electricity.
“She’s the first of her kind, not just for us, but in the country and, when considering the way she operates, possibly in Europe and perhaps even the world,” said Sean Collins, CEO and co-founder of Uber Boat By Thames Clippers.
“Orbit Clipper is designed as a double-ended ferry, which is nothing new – it’s a well established method for loading and unloading vehicles, passengers and cyclists.
“What’s different is that when she’s in operation, the route will feature automated docking on both sides.”
This innovation is essential.
One of the things limiting the wider adoption of electricity as a power source for boats is the battery capacity.
In order to perform effectively, Orbit needs to top up her reserves each time she reaches a pier, disengaging her engines and effectively plugging in.
When Thames Clippers’ other vessels visit a pier, the captain holds the craft steady against the currents of the river using its engines which, in combination with ropes, allow gangways to be lowered, passengers to get on and off and then a speedy departure.
Uber Boat By Thames Clippers co-founder and CEO, Sean Collins – image by Jon Massey
automated docking
“To work properly, Orbit has to be fully secured so power can be disengaged,” said Sean.
“There will be an arm that extends and pulls her into the dock, which gives the batteries some downtime and that’s what allows us to operate over a full day before she recharges fully overnight at Canary Wharf.
“While Orbit will depart and arrive from the piers automatically, a captain will be in command of the vessel as she travels across the river.
“At present we still need that although there may be a time in the future when that’s no longer the case.
“It’s a challenge because there are so many other vessels on the water and with the navigational rules we have, the ferry doesn’t have the right of way.”
The plan for Orbit is that she will cross the river every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes at weekends.
This is similar to the service level provided on the route by the previous ferry, but the new boat offers a considerable increase in capacity.
“She caries a lot more people and there’s room for 100 bikes too, so the boarding may take slightly longer,” said Sean.
“I think the demand will be there for this route – you have to build for the future.
“Looking at the way the world has changed – the amount of food deliveries that are now being done by push bike, for example – there’s so many more opportunities around zero-emissions transport.
“We’ve reduced the gradient of the walkways down to the river and passengers will be able to access the ferry from Rotherhithe Street.”
Finishing touches: While Orbit Clipper was built on the Isle Of Wight, she’s completing her fit-out in east London – image by Jon Massey
reducing emissions on the river with Orbit Clipper
Supported by Innovate UK and built on the Isle Of Wight, Orbit is the latest project for Thames Clippers in its ongoing pursuit of environmentally friendly transport solutions.
Aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050 and a 50% reduction by 2035, the company recently launched its third hybrid boat, Mars Clipper, as part of its river bus fleet.
Currently, Orbit is finalising her fit-out at Trinity Buoy Wharf before a programme of testing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf can begin.
As the automated docking system is completely new, Sean and the team need this time to ensure everything is working as it should before their first zero-emissions craft welcomes members of the public.
“The ferry route was an obvious one on our network for us to look at converting to an all-electric craft,” said Sean.
“Each journey across the river is just over a minute long and electrical power works well for that sort of duration. It’s the right thing to do for the environment.
“At the moment all-electric operation would not work for our longer routes as each vessel would have to fully recharge for an hour for every loop.
“The amount of batteries we’d need to carry would also make the boat very heavy, which would have repercussions for stability and safety.
“At the moment we turn boats round in 10 or 15 minutes between loops – charging just wouldn’t work commercially.”
scope to expand
“However, I see systems like the one we’ve developed for Orbit as being of national, even global significance, as a way to cross rivers without impacting the free navigation of vessels on them,” said Sean.
“When you look at bridges that lift to allow boats under, they create significant delays for traffic and pedestrians and the boats can’t go on their way unless they’re raised.
“Tunnels are often difficult to access, especially if elevators have broken down.
“We’ve got to be thinking about getting people out of their cars and onto public transport and boats like Orbit provide a really great alternative for people who need to cross the river on foot or by bike.
“She has multiple doors at either end so people can walk their bike on, stand next to it and then push it off when they reach the other side.
“We’re aiming to launch it in the spring or summer, but the system is a completely new design, an engineering first, so it does need testing thoroughly.
“We’re really thankful to Innovate UK, Canary Wharf Group, and the Port Of London Authority as well as Tower Hamlets and Southwark Councils for supporting us to get this project underway.”
key details: Orbit Clipper
Orbit Clipper is expected to start ferrying passengers between Canary Wharf Pier and Doubletree By Hilton London Docklands Riverside in the summer.
Now in its third year of operation, the stately pleasure dome of Phantom Peak – decreed in Canada Water by Nick Moran, Glen Hughes and their team – recently launched a fresh season.
The fully immersive townscape, complete with canals and platypuses, has welcomed some 83,000 guests to its 30,000sq ft playground.
Part role-playing game, part escape-room, part platypus, the show has seen visitors wind their way through more than 100 storylines split into 11 seasons with live actors and digital counterparts on hand to weave the pleasant fictions.
Having recently celebrated its 400th show, the venue is currently hosting JonaCon.
Its 12th season sees the town all shook up with the arrival of buff and marvellous Jonas, founder, director and celebrated figurehead of JONACO, the company that runs pretty much everything in a completely unsinister way.
Despite being the townsfolk’s supposed saviour, this is the first time Jonas has appeared in person at Phantom Peak’s actual performances and visitors will quickly pick up on the tensions, unrest, secrets and rebellious fervour.
Indoors, outdoors, Phantom Peak is a whole world to explore including a network of black canals – image by Alistair Veryard Photography / alistairveryard.com
a world to discover
Mysteries that demand examination abound.
The latest season includes 10 new stories to explore as JonaCon features exclusive Q&A sessions with key figures, teasing tales such as The New Adventures Of Jonas and The Real Househubbies Of Phantom Peak.
As ever, performances start with a grand opening ceremony and close with a finale performance.
In between, visitors are free to explore the open-world environment, taking advantage of the attraction’s various hospitality options as they see fit.
There’s a reason Phantom Peak has won a multitude of awards since opening, with many guests returning time and again to discover fresh stories, puzzles and silliness.
The experience is ideal for groups and inquisitive minds – image by Alistair Veryard Photography / alistairveryard.com
key details: Phantom Peak
JonaCon will run at Phantom Peak in Canada Water until May 11, 2025.
The attraction is open from 6pm-10pm on Thursdays and Fridays, from noon-4pm and 6pm-10.30pm on Saturdays and from noon-4.30pm on Sundays.
Tickets start at £42 per person. Wharf Life readers can get 10% off with code WHARFLIFEat the checkout.
It might be that the place is essentially an island, cut off from its surroundings by road and a construction site.
It could be the expansive decked and covered area out back that feels somewhere between beach club and botanical garden.
Then there’s the rough-hewn planks of timber suspended on concrete that make its seating singular and even the bright images of pacific destinations that jazz up its toilets.
It’s all these things, of course, and more.
Because what founder Toby Kidman has managed to fill the venue with, is a good dose of pure, old-fashioned soul.
Purpose-built as a pub in the 1980s, the Pac Tav was formerly known as the Quebec Curve before spending 14 years as a Vietnamese restaurant.
Today, however, it has fresh legs as a pub, restaurant, bar, gig venue, sun trap or just a place to grab a coffee.
Toby is, in many ways, its ideal ambassador.
Like his venue, he comes across as laid back – a man with a sunny disposition ready to warmly welcome anyone who wants to visit for whatever reason.
Toby Kidman of the Pacific Tavern
a new creation
“We’ve created a local tavern – pulled together a classic bar and drinks list with a good couple of craft beers and freshened things up with some delicious cocktails,” he said.
“They’re the kind of drinks that could transport you to feeling like you’re on holiday.
“On the space that used to be the car park, we’ve built a weatherproof 120-cover terrace with walls that can be removed and a couple of shipping containers in the open-air part with an outdoor bar and a stage for musicians, DJs, actors and comedians to perform on.
“It’s fun – you could be on a beach.
“When we built it we thought we might have afternoon and day parties with people dancing on the tables and feeling free – events where everyone is welcome.
“We’re starting to achieve that and people are really starting to enjoy the music we’re programming.
“There are no rules. If you want some food, grab it. If you want a beer, have one.
“There are no constraints, it’s like a community hall.”
The venue has a large, covered area with tables and a kitchen to its rear
all the way from New Zealand
That focus on meeting customers’ needs when they want is in Toby’s hospitality DNA.
Originally from New Zealand he came to London aged 18, taking his first steps in the industry before returning home to pursue a career in the sector.
A six-month stint working on a 72-foot catamaran in Greece saw him return to Europe, before a temporary trip to London to see a friend on the way home. In the end, he never left. That was 15 years ago.
“I had some friends who were starting an antipodean restaurant in the capital in 2010,” he said.
“At the time, the coffee here was mostly dreadful, restaurants were opening for lunch, closing, then reopening for dinner – it was all white tablecloths and there wasn’t much casual dining.
“Breakfast was either in a hotel or a workers’ caff.
“I’d never understood why all-day dining wasn’t popular.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Large regeneration projects are a marathon, not a race.
Their benefits often appear incrementally – a crescendo building to something truly revolutionary for an area transforming the lives of those who live and work in it.
As those who’ve already read this piece will know, the first of up to 3,000 homes to be delivered across the site are now on sale.
But this article is about more immediate, material changes that are coming.
Nearing completion, for example, are the luxurious red curves of Asif Khan’s boardwalk, dipping pond and pergola which form the centrepiece of a package of improvements to Canada Dock itself.
Those arriving at the station will be confronted by an enriched waterside habitat replete with reed beds, benches and steps down to the dock edge – all aimed at boosting biodiversity, water quality and access to the blue stuff.
But these installations aren’t just a pretty gimmick – they’re a practical statement of intent, guiding visitors more directly towards what will be the new town centre.
In the meantime, the bridge will also bring people to a new foodie destination that is expected to open up at Surrey Quays Shopping Centre.
“While we’re waiting to redevelop it, we’re in the process of taking back the unit that’s currently home to The Range,” said Emma Cariaga, joint head of Canada Water at British Land.
“We’re going to convert that into a food, beverage and cultural space, which will start to be symbolic of the sort of programmes we’ll be running locally.
“That will be in place before Christmas and the bridge is set to open around September time.
“Both should be open before we complete on our first buildings at the end of the year and will be a really good amenity for them.
British Land’s joint head of Canada Water, Emma Cariaga
“They too will have restaurants and cafés on the ground floor – overlooking the water at the front and spilling out into a courtyard at the back.
“What we consistently hear from residents locally is that they love Canada Water but what they need in the short term is more places to eat and drink.
All this speaks to a key benefit of having a single developer involved with a project for a significant period of time.
British Land, now backed by the financial muscle of pension fund AustralianSuper, knows it has to deliver a consistent, compelling pipeline of amenities and attractions with visitors as much as it is future residents.
Fortunately it has both the time, money and imagination to do this, having already altered its scheme to include the retention and upgrading of Printworks London as a venue.
“We’ve worked really well with Broadwick, which has run the venue – it surpassed all our hopes and dreams of what it could become,” said Emma.
“It’s seen millions of people pass through its doors over the past six years and, while it’s become best known for electronic dance music, we’ve also had the Canadian Royal Ballet, Secret Cinema, the BBC Proms and a whole range of product launches, conferences and studios using it as a filming location.
“This diversity really gave us confidence that we wanted to keep it as part of the project.
“Ultimately people will come to Canada Water because they live here or work here – but the key to success is also to get them to visit because they enjoy what’s here.
“Printworks has done that – we’ve had visitors not only from across London and the UK but also internationally.
“It has that kind of reach. It will be a catalyst for the site’s ongoing development.”
In addition to housing, plans for Canada Water include some 2million sq ft of office space, 650,000sq ft of retail and leisure space and 12 acres of new public space.
“We’ll be delivering a really healthy mix – somewhere that people will want to live and work, but also great places to come out and enjoy themselves,” said Emma.
“We have lots of open spaces all around us with Southwark Park on our western boundary and Russia Dock Woodland to the east.
“Then we’ve got our own spaces including the most significant which is a new public park of three-and-a-half-acres.
How the first phase of Canada Water will look when exiting the Tube station
“That will be delivered alongside Printworks and we hope to start work before the end of the year once we’ve got planning permission.
“Construction will then take about two years.”
Alongside the cultural venue, Printworks is expected to house 158,000sq ft of flexible workspace, and boast 10,000sq ft of external terraces on its third and sixth floors with views across London.
Also mooted is a full complement of food and drink establishments to keep both visitors and workers appropriately sated.
Coming sooner to the overall scheme will be The Dock Shed – one of the buildings delivered as part of phase one.
Located next to residential tower The Founding, and just a few seconds from the station, this combines 180,000sq ft of office space over five floors with a new leisure centre to be run by Southwark Council.
This includes pools, sports courts and a gym spread over the basement and ground floor of the structure.
“We’re really pleased to have this facility, which includes an eight-lane, 25m pool because it will provide constant footfall,” said Emma.
That’s something that, with all these plans progressing, is only set to increase in the years to come.
key details
The Canada Water masterplan covers 53 acres of space on the Rotherhithe peninsula and will see a new high street and shopping destination created alongside 3,000 homes.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
“People are smart nowadays, they’re not just buying somewhere because it’s a great place to live – they’re looking at lots of different elements and whether they’re going to see capital growth on their purchase,” said Yolanda Jacob, sales and marketing director at Barratt East London.
“Even if they stay for five years, they want to see a property will be a good investment for them.
“Buying at the beginning of regeneration is nearly always the best time to purchase, because you’re going to see capital growth because of everything that’s going on in the area.”
We’re discussing Bermondsey Heights, the developer’s latest south-east London scheme.
When complete, the Ilderton Road complex will house 163 one, two and three-bedroom homes as well as 32 shared ownership apartments, rising to 26 storeys at its highest point.
This includes the Skyline Collection, a clutch of properties spread over the top four floors with an enhanced specification and, presumably, the best views the scheme has to offer.
Barratt has a bit of a track record in building developments in areas that then go on to see vast swathes of regeneration unfolding, with buyers enjoying the upswing in property values and boost in amenities that result.
Maple Quays at Canada Water and Enderby Wharf on Greenwich Peninsula would be two examples.
This could well be true for Bermondsey Heights as well.
The development features views across London from its communal roof terrace
Over the road to the north, Renewal has plans for some 3,500 homes, office spaces and, potentially, a new Windrush Line station on land surrounding Millwall FC’s ground.
For context, New Bermondsey is a scheme comparable in size to Royal Arsenal Riverside in Woolwich or Kidbrooke Village.
“House prices locally are forecast to rise by 25%, which is huge compared with other areas,” said Yolanda.
“People who bought at the start of similar schemes in Brixton, Shoreditch or King’s Cross will be very happy with their investment after five or 10 years.
“These are destinations people now go to for socialising, entertainment and shopping.”
But what will those future residents actually be purchasing?
“Each apartment will have outside space – either a winter garden or a balcony,” said Yolanda.
“They have open-plan living areas and kitchens with all your appliances, finished to a high specification.
“Buyers can have the option to choose a colour scheme – they can bespoke the apartment and pick flooring, tiles, carpets and bathroom decor.
“The designs are very fresh, clean and bright.
Apartments feature open-plan design
“We also offer furniture packages, with designers who can come in and help buyers personalise their home.
“Then there’s a concierge service at the development as well as a podium garden and a roof terrace for residents.”
While some developments come stuffed with facilities, Barratt’s approach in South Bermondsey is to pare back its offering to keep service charges down in a move it believes will be attractive to buyers.
“These days new-builds offer so many options,” said Yolanda. “There are developments offering cinemas and golf simulators, but you’re going to pay a lot for those facilities.
“What we want to do is make sure we’re building homes that are affordable, and where they don’t have the worry of having to pay thousands of pounds a year on service charges, for facilities they may not use that much.
“In the middle of London such amenities can easily be found and we don’t want to tie people into spending lots of money on things they don’t want to use.
“Our aim is to cover the basics and then leave it up to personal choice.
“That way we can keep the service charge to around £3 per square foot, which is attractive to buyers.”
Bermondsey Heights is located within 10 minutes’ walk of South Bermondsey station for services into London Bridge.
Residents can also walk 15 minutes to Surrey Quays station for Overground services on the Windrush Line and connections to Canary Wharf within two stops.
One, two and three-bedroom homes are available
“It’s a largely unregenerated area at the moment with industrial units, workshops and warehouses – but there’s a major injection of funding coming and it has brilliant backup with its neighbouring places,” said Yolanda.
“You’ve got Deptford down the road, which has seen quite a bit of a resurgence in popularity as well as Surrey Quays and Elephant And Castle, which have already seen extensive regeneration.
“Then there’s New Bermondsey in the pipeline.
“Bermondsey Heights for people looking for affordability and somewhere they can put down some roots.
“It’s an interesting proposition in terms of pricing – statistics from JLL show we’re about 19% lower compared with other Zone 2 developments across the capital.
“That’s been a huge draw for people whether they’re buying for investment or to live in because they can see lots coming here and that the infrastructure is going to improve.”
An explanation, perhaps, for the fact Barratt’s scheme is already more than 50% sold.
Be quick.
need to know
Properties are now on sale at Bermondsey Heights through Barratt East London.
Prices start at £490,000.
A new show home is set to launch at the development in May, 2024, with further details available online.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Debut has returned to the Brunel Museum, bringing a fresh series of classical music concerts to the venue’s subterranean Thames Tunnel Shaft.
The monthly events – set to run this year from March until September, 2024 – combine the delights of cocktail pop-up Midnight Apothecary, Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches from Lo Viet and performances by musicians for audiences of up to 65 people sat at cabaret-style, candle-lit tables.
The vibe is welcoming and accessible, based on a format created by Debut founder – curator, host and soprano Lizzie Holmes.
“I launched the company back in 2015, with concerts in different locations,” she said.
“The Shoreditch Treehouse was our first regular series and it became really popular.
“I’d attended an acoustic pop gig there through Sofar Sounds and told the owner that it was an amazing experience but that they needed to get some classical pianists and opera singers in to match the size and volume of the venue’s Steinway Model D concert piano.
“We also did performances in places like the Old Operating Theatre and at the Cutty Sark, but that’s more challenging as there’s no piano.
Debut’s Lizzie Holmes
“Then a friend mentioned the Brunel Museum – we went along and saw the Grade II listed Thames Tunnel Shaft and remarkably, there’s a piano that lives down there.
“The environment and the atmosphere are beautiful – the acoustic is like a church and it’s steeped in history.
“It dates to the 1840s and so much classical music was created around that time.
“With Midnight Apothecary on the roof, it’s a match made in heaven.
“It’s very exciting to be able to breathe new life into the space and to encourage audiences to discover it.”
A typical Debut evening begins at 6.30pm with botanical cocktails created by Brunel stalwart Lottie Muir and her team.
“At 7pm the Tunnel Shaft opens with the first performances starting at 7.20pm.
“There’s a half-hour interval at 8pm, with the second half finishing around 9.15pm with the bar (and its fire pits) open until 10pm.
“When people come to a concert, first of all they’ll be greeted on arrival and then encouraged to chat to the performers,” said Lizzie, who trained at the Royal College Of Music.
“In London, or any big city it can be hard to find connections and we want everyone to leave feeling they’re part of a community – that they’ve had a communal experience for an evening.
“The energy is electric. During the concerts the musicians will share anecdotes to connect with the audience – something we often don’t get the opportunity to do, having performed to thousands of tiny faces at bigger venues.
The Brunel Museum’s roof garden above the venue
“We make sure that audiences are never spoken down to – we just share the music.
“If a performer just enters a room and breaks out into an aria, people’s jaws will be on the floor. Sometimes you don’t need to do any more.
“It can be amazing and thrilling, but it has to be presented in the right way with the right story.
“People like seeing that the incredible skills of an instrumentalist or a singer are coming from a normal person who you might see going to the shops or queuing up at the dentist.
“It’s about creating that sense of normality alongside the extraordinary.”
Lizzie said: “People love Sam, he takes lots of requests and is also a brilliant collaborator.
“Prezemek is a superstar from Poland who has a big following on Instagram – he’s flying over from Europe.
“The whole idea is that people get a real mash up of different composers and musical feelings throughout the evening.
Audiences sit cabaret-style in the Thames Tunnel Shaft
“Leila is a wonderful singer who I met six years ago and Rianna is a woman of many talents who is joining us for the first time – she also plays clarinet and saxophone and has just graduated from the Royal College.
“We’ve got Debussy, Chopin, a little bit of jazz, Offenbach, Bizet, Mendelssohn and Mozart, with the Flight Of The Bumblebee to finish.
“It’s nice to have that variety and a combination of rising stars and people who are firmly embedded in the industry and making waves already.
“We’ll always have a guest singer and a guest instrumentalist, and sometimes a duo, such as guitar and flute. It’s always a very healthy mix.”
Lizzie finds musicians for Debut through her extensive contacts, word of mouth and via direct application.
She said: “We get about one a week applying and our doors are always open.
“In 2020, we also ran an artists development programme called the Horizon Project, which attracted 150 applications.
“This year we held an open stage for the first time where we had 25 new musicians we hadn’t worked with before coming along to play a couple of pieces.
“It was like a Debut night, but without an audience.
Midnight Apothecary’s botanical cocktails are available at the events
“To perform with us, you need to be a brilliant musician, but it’s also about personality.
“The audience will miss so much if you can’t show them that inner person and so that event was really helpful in identifying the right performers for Debut.
“For some musicians, it can be quite disarming to be that open with an audience – it’s an interesting balance.”
Lizzie often performs at Debut nights herself, but says her main interest is in providing a platform.
“I do a solo here and there – I love to sing – but I revel in seeing other musicians flourish,” she said.
“Discovering new talent and sharing it is such an amazing thing.”
Tickets for Debut’s March 14 concert at the Brunel Museum cost £32.
Other events at the venue and Shoreditch Treehouse are also available.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
The passenger craft Sean Collins has been running on London’s great river have always had a futuristic edge to them.
Starting with three Hydrocats in 1999 – each able to carry 62 people from Greenland Pier in Rotherhithe into the City – the zippy little twin-hulled craft helped carve out an image of Docklands’ modernisation that boosted the area’s ongoing regeneration.
As Canary Wharf, east and south-east London have grown and developed – so too has the river bus service, now based at Trinity Buoy Wharf.
Today, the vessels in Uber Boat By Thames Clippers’ fleet are larger – long slender craft that hug the water as their engines blast them rapidly along.
While to the untrained eye, the sleek lines of the 220-passenger vessels might appear similar, don’t be fooled.
There’s change afoot – a journey that started with the arrival of Venus Clipper in 2019 as the service targeted green improvement.
The next step on that path, somewhat delayed by the pandemic, was the recent launch of Earth Clipper – a vessel that is aesthetically similar to the rest of the fleet, but is also completely different.
Earth Clipper runs purely on battery power in central London
Firstly, at 40 metres long, she can carry an extra 10 passengers.
But this is a mere tweak in comparison to the main difference – the way she is propelled. Earth Clipper uses a hybrid combination of electric power and biofuel power to slice through the brown waters of the Thames.
In central London, she uses only an electric motor with a biofuel engine kicking in out east to recharge her batteries and push water through her jets.
“Earth Clipper has been just under three years in the making.
“We started working on the specification in 2019,” said Sean, CEO of Uber Boat By Thames Clippers.
“We needed extra capacity, to be able to serve our routes with the expansion down to Barking – the increasing volumes that were there and those in the pipeline, such as Battersea.
“We’d just commissioned their predecessor – Venus Clipper – and we were already focused on reducing weight and therefore power in that vessel.
“That was already a 20% emissions improvement on the core boats in our fleet for the same carrying capacity.
The boat is similar to other vessels in the fleet but produces 90% less CO2 emissions
“With that one, we were asking how we could make the boat lighter while providing an enhanced level of comfort and all the facilities our passengers expected.
“We worked on that whole design with 123 Naval Architects and came up with Venus.
“From that, we decided we had to move it on to the next level.”
The drive to do that came from the company’s goal to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and to achieve net zero for the overall business by 2040.
Sean said: “Boats have to last 25-30 years – they haven’t got a similar shelf life to most other above ground vehicles.
“With that in mind, to reach our sustainability goals, we realised we had to have a significant step forward.
“We looked at the options, took a lot of data from the operating profile of Venus and used it to establish what might be achieved by using a hybrid model.
“From that, we realised we were not going to be able to achieve 100% battery power at high speeds, but that we could when going more slowly, as we do in central London.
“We formulated a specification and went to the shipyard that had built our previous five vessels and signed contracts to move on with building Earth Clipper.
She has a biofuel engine that charges her batteries and provides power outside the centre of London
“It does exactly what we wanted it to do.
“The model has resulted in a 90% reduction in our CO2 emissions and a 65% drop in oxides of nitrogen and sulphur.
“Those are figures based on measurements we’ve taken during actual running on the Thames.
“There are two more in build – Celestial and Mars – which will both have joined the fleet by spring 2024.
“We all have a duty of care and a duty to deliver on improving the environment.”
There are other benefits too.
Earth and its two sister ships hail from the Wight Shipyard Co on at East Cowes on the Isle Of Wight – a boost to the local economy with 65 people involved in their construction, including 14 apprentices.
There are also other operational benefits closer to home – welcome news as passenger numbers are already exceeding levels seen in 2019.
“Earth is significantly quieter and smoother on battery and that’s even the case when the engine is running,” said Sean.
“From a noise perspective, it’s a significant improvement and there’s absolutely no compromise at all from the customer’s point of view.
“The seating is also an upgrade in design – we’ve managed to make all 230 lighter, improving the efficiency of the vessel.
“We had to add nearly nine tonnes of additional weight with cabling, batteries and the motor to enable us to use this method of powering the boat.
“So that’s a process we’ve been through with every component.
“When stepping on Earth Clipper, we feel a sense of achievement.
“We’re really inspired by feedback from the public and also the crews that are working on the boat.
“They really love it – the technical advances and the sense of having taken that step forward.”
The use of battery-only power in central London equates to an extra 16.5% reduction in emissions in comparison to using the biofuel engine alone.
In the future, Sean said hydrogen would likely provide further cuts in emissions as electrical power was currently impractical as a way to deliver high speed services on the river, given the charging times needed.
Earth Clipper can carry 10 extra passengers
A Rotherhithe – Canary Wharf Crossing
However, Uber Boat By Thames Clippers is also pressing ahead with plans for an all-electric cross-river service for pedestrians and cyclists.
The aim is to have this up and running on the company’s Rotherhithe-to-Canary Wharf route by spring 2025 and then use it as a template for similar services elsewhere.
Sean said: “We’re committed to delivering that as part of our plans to invest £70million in new boats up to 2030.
“There are also opportunities between Silvertown and Charlton as well as Thamesmead and Barking in the east.
“We’re also aiming to add more stops including a pier that has planning permission at Blackwall Yard, which the developer will hopefully build over the next few years.
“One of the things that happened over the pandemic is that more people discovered the river and we’ve had three record days this year.
“Our figures for 2022 were higher than 2019 and Canary Wharf, for example, is thriving. The footfall at that pier is exceeding pre-Covid levels.”
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
…we’re on the trail of a missing package, but something sinister is going on. There’s blackmail, a robotic AI doctor that’s scathing about our putrid human bodies, a curious undertaker, odd business cards, a disgusted scientist and TVs that play sinister messages when tuned to the right channel. Oh, and there’s something just not quite right about that mayor…
Welcome to the strange, uncanny world of Phantom Peak.
The comic book adjectives seem appropriate for an immersive experience that aims to place those attending right in the middle of a larger than life narrative.
Located a short walk from Canada Water station inside and outside a disused industrial building, the venue promises a fully realised steampunk town complete with canals, waterfalls and residents to interact with.
But things don’t stand still.
The place may have opened a little over a year ago, but it’s just launched its fifth season – the latest chapter in a complex, involved saga designed to keep people coming back for more.
Each time it resets, there are fresh characters to meet, new mysteries to solve and adventures to go on – an approach that for co-founder Nick Moran is akin to another medium altogether.
“When you come to Phantom Peak, you’re essentially coming to a real-life, open world, role-playing video game,” he said.
“It’s up to you whether you walk to the hills and carry on walking or spend your time crafting minerals – you can do what you like.
“It’s all about player agency, creating a world where people can explore and experience many different things.
“You can do all the events that the townsfolk run all day, or you can follow the trails and the stories.
“It’s not like immersive theatre where you don’t know what you’re doing – you’re guided through the experiences.”
The setting is Phantom Peak, a cultish sort of town in the grip of corporate entity Jonaco, which rebuilt the place after a suspicious blimp accident, founded and controlled by the buff, messianic figure of Jonas.
Part of the vast Phantom Peak installation in Canada Water
Visitors are encouraged to download an app and answer questions to find a quest to follow – although everyone is equally free just to wander around chatting to the townsfolk, playing games and indulging in the street food and beverages on offer from the various outlets.
It’s extensive, expansive and – because of the myriad paths on offer – filled with eager puzzle-solvers hunting solutions, intrigue and adventure.
Oh, and there’s a platypus hooking game in honour of the town’s peculiar mascot.
“This place was an abandoned warehouse and a car park when we came here,” said Nick.
“We’ve transformed it and it’s impossible to do everything at Phantom Peak on a single visit.
“Each time – whether you come with your friends or your family – it will be different, with new stories and trails to explore.
“Then, each season, we create a new chapter in the life of the town – some characters may have gone, others will remain, but there will always be something new and it allows us to move forward or backwards in time with the narrative. “
That’s an aspect Nick and the team take extremely seriously.
Following a degree in classics he trained in writing for the stage and screen before working to create live experiences around newly published books.
This led to a job as creative director of Time Run – a pair of escape room-style games that welcomed thousands of competitors through their doors.
He then performed the same role for The Game Is Now, an immersive experience – officially tied into TV series Sherlock – which he co-wrote with Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat.
The puzzle, which features Gatiss, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Andrew Scott, continues to run in west London.
But, having teamed up with set-building expert Glen Hughes, Nick wanted to create something that went beyond the medium of escaping from a room.
“We decided we wanted to do something that would combine all the things we liked about immersive experiences – gamification, storytelling, open world, choice and being able to sit and relax too,” said Nick.
“Escape rooms are all about high engagement, high throughput and pushing people from one thing to the next.
The level of detail at Phantom Peak is phenomenal with much attention paid to props, characters and design
“Phantom Peak isn’t like that. It’s about being as engaged as you want to be. It’s all about stories – less a fundamentally passive theatre experience than a place where you can take on a role.
“We wanted it to be a world of play – man-made canals, platypuses, a huge muscular impresario named Jonas.
“From there the stories write themselves – but we take it seriously. It’s like making a TV show.
“There’s a writers’ room where we think about the characters and how we can make the narratives resonate with people.
“It’s novelistic – a place that has real depth, where there’s lots to explore but also lots to do.
“It’s like the platypus itself, the mascot of the town. It’s neither one thing nor another – not quite a mammal, not quite a bird.
“But it’s the symbol of the place and the townsfolk love it.
“Some of the actors we have working here have been with us since we opened and they’ve really grown with the town.
“They are as much a part of the place as anything in the stories and it’s been a real pleasure to see it develop that way.”
Nick and Glen are currently raising funds to expand Phantom Peak globally.
Tickets for Phantom Peak start at £19, with experiences lasting up to four and a half hours. Use code WHARF20 for 20% off. Shows take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Declarations that it is “The most wonderful time of the year” are being blasted at us from all angles.
That perfectly trimmed TV turkey, the handmade centrepiece online, families decorating in matching Christmas jumpers.
Fomo is more rampant than ever, but with the shadow of Covid just over our shoulders and the cost of living crisis in our faces, do we really need to embrace it?
Phil Willmott from Rotherhithe Playhouse knows no-one wants to be Scrooge, but thinks it’s important to highlight that we don’t have to be Stacey Solomon either.
The theatre, which launched in summer 2020, is marking its second festive season with The Christmas Wife – a dark comedy offering couples the chance to pause and reflect.
Showing from December 15-30 at the theatre’s new home in The Hithe, it is an adaptation of Ibsen’s The Doll’s House, which tells the story of a wife whose perfect Christmas starts to unravel due to one bad decision.
It will be tempered against family favourite The Wizard Of Oz, also showing December 15-30, 2022, which launches a new scheme offering up to four free childrens’ tickets with a paying adult.
I sat down with Phil to find out more about the plays and the theatre’s plans for 2023.
The Christmas Wife is set to play at Rotherhithe Playhouse
why this play for Christmas?
We’re all about getting people to go to the theatre who haven’t been much.
There’s a great tradition in this country of doing theatre for families and children at Christmas and I wondered if it might be possible to present slightly intelligent plays that could be a Christmas night out for adults.
I looked for something that would be thrilling and entertaining and The Doll’s House is one everyone has heard of, but not many people have seen.
why rename it?
The original is set during Christmas and I have upped the ante slightly on the angle of providing the perfect Christmas and how the pressure makes the wife start to buckle.
Often men don’t take responsibility for the perfect Christmas, they just expect it to be there and don’t see the hard work.
I had seen The Doll’s House and liked it, but when I read it again, I realised there was so much more to it.
It’s extraordinary how this was written about a Victorian couple but we could so easily be eavesdropping on any modern house.
There are the same kind of money worries, the same stresses and strains that come about when a family is thrown together so intensely in the festive period.
what’s the aim?
It shows that the struggle to get through Christmas is a sort of universal thing. It pulls on your heartstrings and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Perhaps if we opened up the discussion a bit more there wouldn’t be the pressure to recreate the mystique of the perfect family Christmas with an elaborate dinner and a beautifully decorated house.
If it was more collaborative, there would be a shared responsibility for it.
what happens in the play?
The character is the perfect housewife, during the perfect Christmas. She’s got the perfect husband – he’s just been promoted – and perfect children.
They are having a party and the house looks gorgeous, but to pay for it, she gets the equivalent of a payday loan.
She didn’t quite make the payments back and due to a series of coincidences, the guy who organised the loan ends up at their house.
She becomes terrified her husband will find out and about the repercussions. Will he stand by her and be sympathetic?
We see what she decides to do and what that says about their marriage.
is that a common scenario today?
I did some research and the main reason people divorce is money.
The main time the cracks begin to show is at Christmas.
So there’s a sort of double whammy of creating this amazing time, not spending too much, but also not being a Scrooge.
is it more stressful this year?
Yes. We are in the middle of an economic downturn and there is still the pressure to create the perfect Christmas.
You’re also worried about whether you’ve had the heating on too long.
My elderly parents are certainly thinking twice about it.
The pressure has doubled down and you find yourself thinking: ‘What if it isn’t a great Christmas?‘ or ‘What’s wrong with me?
Why aren’t I happy like the rest of the world?’. In fact, the rest of the world is thinking the same.
The festive season is very strange like that. Coming in, you should be happy and making a fresh start. Also, 10 years ago who knew we all had a credit rating?
Suddenly it’s something you have to worry about. We are confined by something that’s almost entirely artificial and has been sort of forced on us.
what are you like at Christmas?
I’m a gay man in a relationship, so we don’t really have those same pressures, and we’ve often just taken ourselves off for a nice weekend or something.
But I remember seeing it in my parents when I was growing up and looking back, I see things I didn’t understand as a kid.
My grandma had quite severe, MS and my granddad was her main carer, but somehow on Christmas Day, he produced dinner for 12. That must have created a great amount of stress.
As kids we took it for granted.
what causes the stress?
Everyone wants their children to have the most magical Christmas.
Then there’s the pressure for the extended family to come together and siblings might not get on, but because its Christmas, you have to.
Very few people are motivated by just pleasing themselves at Christmas.
how has the Playhouse evolved?
After last Christmas, we took a break to think about how to do things better.
We used to set up a theatre in a different venue for each production, but decided it would be good to have a home, so people know where we are.
This is the second production in our new home at The Hithe. It’s a hub for startup businesses and we’ve got one of the biggest studios upstairs.
We wouldn’t normally be able to afford it, but I approached them and made the case – because the owners are tuned into our philosophy of lifelong learning and trying to keep theatre alive, they have let us have it for just under market rent.
Rotherhithe Playhouse’s home at The Hithe
why did you want a home?
We used to move around because, as Covid lost its grip, there were lots of institutions and buildings, which needed to show the public they had opened again – a play was a good way of getting people through the doors.
That’s become less useful now and it’s more useful for the community to know there’s a place where every school holiday, there’ll be something for kids for free.
If people choose, they can come back and see some of the greatest plays ever written with tickets you can afford.
does the future feel more secure?
I think so. We’re very reliant on people’s goodwill and it’s taken a little while to build that up. We had a good momentum but then disappeared for six months so we need to build up the audience members again.
This project is not entirely make-or-break, but if we can’t turn the corner with a production of The Wizard of Oz, then we are doing something wrong.
We’ll sit down at the end of this and look very carefully at the box office figures and hopefully, the books will tell us people are enjoying coming and we should continue.
I suspect we will carry on. There’s enough interest in the project that we can keep building it. The ultimate goal is to get everyone paid properly and make it sustainable.
is The Christmas Wife a gamble?
Yes. Will people exhausted from work want to see it? I don’t know. The other reason I decided on The Wizard of Oz is that’s such a well-known title and hopefully, the 50 seats will fill themselves.
It will be an added bonus if people come back for the drama, which will have 30 seats.
is it still a minimalist set?
Yes. I don’t want to do those great, long lumbering, stodgy productions with bits of scenery cranking about.
At its heart, this is about an audience sat around in a semicircle, with very good actors telling a story very clearly and carrying people along with it.
is it hard to find actors these days?
The arts are still decimated after Covid, so many people have left the profession because there was no work and a lot of them have stayed in permanent jobs.
There’s a shortage of actors who want to give up long-term stable employment to take a short-term contract.
We try to keep rehearsals and performances outside of office hours so it’s possible to maintain your survival job and also practice your craft.
do you still have a day job?
Yes, I’m still also a professional journalist, but this has become more my main job, although it doesn’t pay like it.
It wouldn’t operate without a high level of focus on my part.
I’d like to delegate more, but you need a certain calibre of person that you are happy to leave things to.
We are so open to anyone getting involved. Even if you don’t have any experience and would like to volunteer, we will teach you.
plans for 2023?
It is quite dependent on how people react to these plays.
The only thing I’m absolutely sure of is that every holiday and half-term I want to do a piece of kids theatre where the tickets are free for kids so that they don’t just go to the theatre a couple of times during their childhood.
I want it to be something they can do regularly so that it demystifies the process and it makes it feel natural and comfortable.
