Nocturnal Fandango’s Take Me is an extreme immersive theater that will leave a lasting impression

Warning: Mature Content Ahead

I’ve somehow stumbled upon a gay club, and there’s a sign near the door that reads “White Men Only.” I’m Asian and straight… but a stranger is asking what I’m doing here. I told him I heard someone calling my name, and he tells me that it’s dangerous in there if I go in without a widget. He urges me to install it on my stomach, and so I did. I instantly transformed into a tall, white man whose name is Hurricane. I entered the club and saw a bunch of guys dancing with music blasting in the background. A drunk patron took a liking to me and took me into a dark corner. I rejected all his advances, and that didn’t please him one bit. Things escalated when he and his friends cornered me, threatening my life if I didn’t do as they say. My new friend from earlier knocks him out, and I was able to escape with my life. Don’t worry, my life wasn’t really at risk, and this was all part of Nocturnal Fandango’s Take Me, an immersive theater experience.

Nocturnal Fandango’s Take Me is a two-hour interactive theater experience that utilizes live actors and sets to immerse you into a scary and distant future. You’ll feel like the main character of your own stage play, and you have to do it all by yourself. It deals with controversial subject matters that people can relate to, and with the intensity level very high, actors can apply more pressure than your standard immersive show.

The organizers even have to call you beforehand to ask you your tolerance level. One question asked if I was okay with personal nudity, which meant whether I was okay being naked in front of actors. The show will cater to your tolerance level, and everything done in the show is to serve and immerse you in the story. If you feel like things are too much during the show, there’s a safeword you can use.

Nocturnal Fandango’s Take Me wants each guest to arrive exactly on time to make the experience feel more intimate. I had to meet at a certain spot at a certain time, and I can’t loiter around before or after.

I walk through a door, and it reminded me of a cabin room. A man welcomes me, who used to be a friend from school. We’re reminiscing about our past and talking about what we’re up to. There was a scary story about the Fog Man that we used to talk about, and the friend showed the Fog Man book to me. (It was creepy.) After a long conversation, we decided to sleep, and that’s when I was taken away in a dream… or nightmare.

The dream takes me to many different places, and they’re all set in the distant future where people can turn into anyone thanks to a widget. With people able to become someone else, paranoia runs rampant. I even got lost in a forest, meeting those who refused to be part of the city and its seedy people. They opened my eyes to the dangers of the outside world once I decided to drink the tea of knowledge. It’s reminded me of Neo choosing the red pill in The Matrix and going deeper into the rabbit hole.

Nocturnal Fandango’s Take Me is a poignant experience that deals with the sins of humanity, whether it’s murder, assault or even sexual assault. It’s a dark tale with horror elements where the Fog Man is the least of your worry. It’s a riveting two-hour experience, and it really felt like another world thanks to the elaborate sets, engaging actors, and heightened but fictional danger. It’s the most intense interactive theater I’ve ever done that definitely has left a lasting impression, and I loved every minute of it.