Folklore: The Trials of Robin Hood

About

Folklore is an immersive experience at the National Justice Museum. Robin Hood is in the dock, and the question isn't whether he robbed anyone. It's whether he ever existed.

Each evening you'll share the building with more than fifty performers, with you choosing whether to play the jury, the legal team, the schemers, and the witnesses' worst enemies. By the end of the night, you will have decided whether Robin Hood is remembered as a man or a myth, and who will take control of his story.

From Chronic Insanity, the Nottingham-based company behind the five star sell-out show Apple of Discord.

THE CASE:

The Major Oak has died. Robin Hood's spirit has nowhere to rest, and seven factions from British history and folklore have turned up to fight over what happens to him.

Some of them need him to have been real: a man who lived, robbed and died in Sherwood. Others need him to be a story, because stories can't be arrested, and nobody can rewrite them once the ink is dry. His trial will be held in a Victorian courtroom, and the verdict can only be decided upon with your input.
Your part in it

Walk into the building, see what's going on, and find your place. Most people end up doing one of three things:

- Sitting on the jury. Hear the evidence and the witnesses, and you cast a vote on how Robin Hood is remembered.
- Joining a legal team. Support the argument for the Crown that he was a real man, or for the Defence that he was only ever a legend.
- Joining a faction. Each of the seven factions want the verdict to go their way, and they'll need your help to win.

Around that, there's plenty to get into: interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence and deciding whether to trust it, making promises you might not keep, blackmailing an enemy. You can change sides halfway through. Nobody will tell you the whole truth, including the people on your side, so most of the night is spent working out who to believe.

You don't need to know anything about Robin Hood, the law, or immersive theatre. If you can move around the museum and talk to people, you're qualified!

THE BUILDING:

This building has spent 700 years deciding what's true and what isn't, and for these nights we have all of it: five floors, the Victorian courtroom, the Georgian gaol, the cells, the caves underneath, and a few rooms the public don't normally get into. On top of that, there is no separation between the story and the audience, between the stage and the seats, and you and the characters exist in the same world with shared goals, common enemies, and deals to be made.

Push open a cell door and interrupt a confession. Follow a voice into the caves and hear a story you weren't supposed to. Work out what a stranger in the courtyard is really asking you to do. In the Small Claims Court, an entirely different set of stories is waiting, with vikings, witches, Shakespeare, and other colourful characters who have grievances of their own.

Or, if you want more of a traditional theatrical experience, you can spend your whole night sat in the heated courtroom and let the story come to you!

COME BACK AND DO IT DIFFERENTLY:

No two nights are the same. What the audience does changes where the story goes, and you can save your achievements and return on another night to push it somewhere completely different.
Tickets

FULL TRIAL: 3 hours - The whole night: the trials, the factions, and the full run of the building. (£30-£45)

REDUCED SITTING: 2 hours - A shorter route through the same world, for a lower price, but no lesser an experience. Perfect for returning guests! (£20-£30)

AGE RATING: 14+ and under 18s must be accompanied by an adult at all times.