Review: The Traitors: Live Experience

Review by Daz Gale

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One of the biggest sensations, if not THE biggest, in the last few years has been the launch of The Traitors as a format. It isn’t just the United Kingdom that has become obsessed with the antics of a group of strangers and their celebrity counterparts, viewers all over the world have been gripped by the events of each episode, and had their own discussions on how they think they would fare if they were on the show. Well, wonder no more as you now have the opportunity to put yourself in that iconic cloak (or not) and you don’t even have to travel to a castle in Scotland to do it. Instead, travel into the heart of London, opposite the Gillian Lynne Theatre (coincidentally soon to be the home of the anticipated stage show The Traitors - Acts Of Betrayal) for The Traitors: Live Experience. I have been to experiences based on TV shows in the past that haven't quite managed to match the magic from the show, but have never done one for a show I am as obsessed with as The Traitors - what would happen when I went along with two friends to take part in the experience? I’m 100% faithful that you’ll want to read my report of both my own game and the experience in general!

Our group on July 23rd

First, let me assure you that this review is not going to spoil anything from the game itself. Though the heart of the game is down to the players themselves, any specific information such as what the tasks are or how the traitors strike will be reserved for your own experience. As for how many traitors are in a game, I can safely say that isn’t the same every time after a discussion with the group following ours who had a different number. This is also an experience where knowledge of the show doesn’t necessarily give you an advantage, and the format will deviate ever so slightly while keeping that distinct and dark essence associated with it.

So how does it work? There are multiple games taking place at the same time, with everyone booked being assigned to one of the different rooms. Each table can seat up to 14 people, though games can take place with as few as ten (we had 11 in our game). As it is impossible for Claudia Winkleman to be everywhere at once, different hosts step into her fringe (not literally) for your game. If you book for a group, you will all play the same game, but unless you have booked for 14, you will be with other people as well - though playing with strangers does make the whole thing more fun. You are given a chance before the game begins to secretly select whether you would be happy being a traitor, though it is the host who ultimately decides… initially at least. As is a big part of the TV show, The Traitors will have opportunities to recruit as the game proceeds. Each game lasts approximately two hours, but with time to get to know your fellow players before the game starts and time to debrief in the Cloak and Dagger bar following the game, allow up to three hours to get the most out of the entire experience.

Set-up shot at the round table

Now the question I’m sure you want to know the answer to. Was I a faithful or a traitor? It is a question I had pondered from the first episode of The Traitors, and even more intensely in the weeks since getting the experience booked in. I am an overtly honest person, almost to a fault, so I wasn’t sure I’d be comfortable having to lie as a traitor, yet I knew as a faithful I would be overwhelmingly paranoid about everything that was going on around me, suspecting everyone at all times. I didn’t know what the lesser of two evils was, though decided to live a little and said I would indeed be happy with murdering my fellow players. The moment the blindfold went on and our host selected the traitors, I had instant regret and hoped I wasn’t selected. In the end… I wasn’t, and played the game as a faithful from start to finish. As I can be a bit loud and overbearing at times (understatement from those who know me, I’m sure), I also wondered whether trying to be a bit more reserved and quiet might work in my favour as I had a huge inkling I was going to be the first to be banished otherwise. Ultimately, I decided to play the game as myself and see how long it would take the others to murder or banish me.

Turns out, it took quite a while. I went with my friends Liam and Sam, and we were joined by eight people we didn’t know who were all there mostly in pairs - Bella, Danielle, Ebun, Jennifer, Kerry, Louise, Nina and Thomas (all of whom are happy to be included in this post). Before the first vote had taken place, my friend Liam had commented I was acting differently which planted suspicion in my head about his motives - I turned this around on him, effectively “throwing him under the bus” as he became the first to be banished. Turns out, he was a faithful the whole time. My other friend, Sam, was banished shortly after in one of the more emotional moments of the game (yes, it gets emotional), leaving me as the last man standing in our group. When you are banished or murdered, the game isn’t over as you are whisked off to another room to watch the rest of the game play out and even get to play your own tasks to help contribute to the prize pot. As I remained in the game until the end, I didn’t get to see this room for myself but understood it was every bit as intense and fun as being at the round table, if not more so.

L-R Sam, Daz, Liam - friendships that thankfully remained after the experience.

I found myself taking quite a leading and vocal role during the course of the game, happily voicing my suspicions and making a fool out of myself every time. After pairing up with Nina for a task, I happily came up with a huge theory why she had to be a traitor, and was absolutely mortified to be proven wrong when she declared herself a faithful. We could hear the cheers from the next room as they apparently caught traitor after traitor, but our group failed to catch a single one until the end game where anyone banished was forbidden from revealing their role. The final three came down to me, Bella and Danielle. There are clues in the final couple of games that help you work out identities if you really take the time to think about it, and through a bit of deliberate gameplay I had worked out Danielle had to be a faithful. There was the chance all three of us were faithfuls, but I had a huge suspicion on Bella and voted for her. The problem was all three of us voted for someone else - it was down to Danielle to choose whether to change her vote to Bella or cast me out. Watching the anguish as she tried to make this impossible decision was exactly like Mollie’s iconic dilemma in series 2 of the UK series. With me refusing to change my vote to Danielle (you learn a lot about yourself in the game), Bella easily changed her vote to see me finish third, and won the game as a traitor after flying under the radar and even killing her own mother early on.

Now, this isn’t real life and there is no money at stake. The only prize is the pride and satisfaction of winning as well as a cool little certificate. However, things get real at the round table. I always talk about theatre at its best providing total escapism, and that is exactly what happened in this small room. Incredibly intense, all 11 of us took the game seriously, determined to root out the traitors, and failing. Whenever somebody announced they were a faithful, the disappointment was real. There were tears, frustration and a lot of stress, though what was nice was how respectful everyone was. Each game is going to be different depending on how you act, but my recommendation would be to take the game seriously and you’ll find you have a lot more fun doing so. It really was like being on the real show but in a more intense space of time. You genuinely get upset finding out someone has been murdered and are angry at yourself when you banish a faithful - the amount of hugs and apologies these previous strangers were doing once the game ended was not anything I ever expected (I didn’t waste a second in apologising to Nina. Liam, not so much). Really with these experiences what you want is something absolutely immersive, and that is as immersive as it has ever been for me.

Our brilliantly deceitful traitors, Ebun and Bella

I have to mention how wonderful our host was. Known as H, he actually goes by the name Rhys Owen, an actor you may well have seen on a West End stage. Of course, there are many different hosts and I’m sure they are all brilliant, but I can only speak for ours, and Rhys expertly handled it. From quick quips as the drama unfolded to perfectly keeping a sense of stability when it threatened to get chaotic at times, he may have lacked Claudia’s fringe but he certainly matched the cheeky fun and sense of genuine investment he had in the game. We may not have been the loudest of groups with nobody shouting, breaking up or friendships ruined (I’m pleased to say me and Liam are still friends) but it still proved particularly intense, with the final playing out just as grippingly as some of the best finals from the TV show.

In fact, the whole thing has been incredibly executed, for lack of a better word. The majority of tasks take place around the round table, though there are times you need to move around the room - it is a clever use of space with secrets to be found (or not, in our case). The use of sound was also particularly striking, transporting you into the dark and gothic feel of the series through sound effects and music to the extent you wouldn’t have been surprised to hear a brooding ballad version of ‘YMCA’ playing as the game reached a particularly tense moment. The most impressive aspect is the design, however. You wouldn’t expect a fairly nondescript door a stone’s throw from Covent Garden would home such an intricate world resembling that of The Traitors but that it does. The moment you are taken from the bar to descend a staircase into the game, it is immediately impressive, with the round table room feeling like a perfect replica, even if there is no breakfast to enjoy during the game. Other design aspects I won’t spoil, but it consistently wows, effortlessly transporting you into the world of The Traitors.

The Traitors Turret, but how and when you visit it must remain a secret

Are there any tips I can give you? Firstly, have fun but also buy into the game. If you dismiss it as nothing but a game with no consequences, you may not get as much out as if you truly invest in capturing the traitors, or try to remain uncaptured if you are one.

Use the information given to you to try to work out who is playing an honest game - as the game progresses, the clues to people’s identity become much clearer and there are ways of proving somebody’s innocence or guilt, but you need to be paying attention.

Finally, don’t wear any noisy clothing as traitors have to remove their blindfolds in their seats and the last thing you want is a rogue piece of jewellery to give you away.

I had high hopes for The Traitors: Live Experience and have been dying (for lack of a better word) to check it out since it was first announced. Needless to say, it didn’t disappoint. The thought that has gone into recreating the TV show for a live setting is a key part to what has made this such a success, with clever ways to downscale the grandness from the show but still make it feel every bit as riveting and intense. The most inspired aspect is how the game continues even once you are banished or murdered, with no risk of feeling short changed if your time at the round table comes to an end before you have even had a chance to finish your glass of fizzy rosé. I can safely say I have never enjoyed an experience I have attended quite as much as I did this - it was everything I wanted from a Traitors live experience and more. I can safely say I consider this to be the best experience in London, and one that any self-respecting Traitors fan should murder for the chance to attend. That being said, no matter whether you are a Traitors obsessive who has seen every episode of every version from around the world or have never watched an episode in your life (as was the case with one member of our group), I am 100% faithful you will have the time of your life at The Traitors: Live Experience, or should that be the time of your death? 

The Traitors: Live Experience is currently booking until 8th November 2026 with tickets from www.thetraitorslive.co.uk 

Photos a mixture of setup shots provided by the experience, and pictures of me and my group from our game on July 23rd.