Little Lark of London

“He’s sitting under a tree, thinking of tasks and shit.” – Jamali Maddix, Taskmaster Season 11, Episode 6: “Absolute Casserole”

Have you ever wanted to be the star of your favourite game show? Well, if Taskmaster is your favourite gameshow, then now is your chance. Taskmaster: The Live Experience allows audience members to participate in tasks created by “Little” Alex Horne himself that are same levels of ridiculousness that one would expect to see on the telly – though with a much stricter time limit! If you’re not a fan of Taskmaster, there are quite a few inside jokes you’re going to miss out on, especially when it comes to the strange relationship between Davies and Horne. But, even without an encyclopedic level of knowledge of the series, I can imagine audience members enjoying the tasks, as they inspire some great competition. 

From the minute you step into Taskmaster: The Live Experience, you are immersed in the world of the iconic television series. Upon entering, you are greeted with two sections of preshow areas – one is the gift shop and a museum of artefacts from the series and another is meant to look like the garden from the series, including a caravan and even a garden pod with a golden pineapple inside! The museum is quite impressive with a range of items used throughout the ten years of the show, with some even hanging from the ceiling. The only quip I have with the museum is that the labels for the items didn’t really match up with the items themselves, which made it difficult to identify some things around the exhibition. 

There are two sets of challenges one has to choose from at Taskmaster: The Live Experience – “Absolute Casserole,” which requires contestants“to be more observant, accurate and sneaky than your competitors” and “Melon Buffet,” which promises to include “Thinking, throwing, ducks, wires, balls, boxes, cunning, luck, moustaches.” I went with “Melon Buffet” – who can resist ducks and moustaches? Without going into too many spoilers (I won’t be letting anyone go in with an advantage!), you are welcome into the Taskmaster House by “Little Little Alex Horne,” your host for the duration of the performance. But that’s not to say hosts Greg Davies and Alex Horne don’t make appearances in the show – I was quite impressed with the technology used to bring these two into the replica house!

Again, no spoilers, but the tasks in “Melon Buffet” are great for all ages and instilled a true sense of competition between not only those who had come to the show together but complete strangers, as we all fought for the top spot to win the game. In between the different tasks there are moments of waiting as I assume things are being reset after the last group of contestants, but Little Little Alex Horne does a fantastic job of keeping the group entertained with a deadpan sense of humour and some wise words of advice for the tasks ahead. Before the final task, anyone who isn’t in the top five is eliminated, but don’t worry – there’s still a chance to win a unique award – “The Best of the Worst.”

After our time inside the Taskmaster House had ended, my friend and I ended up having our drinks in the little replica caravan, with me sipping on “Milk” and her drinking “Bin Juice.” We spent ages discussing how we felt during the experience, both being surprised at how stressful yet fun each of the tasks was, especially when it was down to the final contestants! There are also mini-challenges around the preshow area, which is a great way for you to spend some time in the venue before or after taking part in the actual tasks in the house. 

The reason that Taskmaster: The Live Experience doesn’t receive a full five-star review from me? The ticket price. In the past two years of going to immersive theatre shows in London, I have found that the “sweet spot” for ticket prices tends to be between £25 and £50, with upgrades available for an additional cost. The tickets for Taskmaster: The Live Experience range between £50 and £100 and I don’t think I would recommend paying that price unless you are a big fan of the show and want to live out your Taskmaster dreams. I would love to go back and take part in “Absolute Casserole” to see what the other tasks are, but I can’t justify spending that amount of money on the experience when I can see a West End show that’s double the amount of time for half the price. 

Ultimately, Taskmaster: The Live Experience is a fun and interactive gaming style of theatre that allows you to step into the world of Taskmaster for a few hours, but the price may keep some from getting to experience it. 
Taskmaster: The Live Experience is currently running until 23 February at Dock X. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.