This Alcatraz-inspired pop-up bar is pure theatre

• Alcotraz is an immersive prison-themed cocktail experience coming to Chippendale in October.
• The fun concept mixes some elements of escape rooms with immersive theatre and themed drinks.
• Tickets are $65 and the waitlist is now open via Fever.

Following success in the UK, immersive events experts Inventive Productions and Fever are set to bring a unique prison-themed cinematic cocktail experience to Chippendale with sessions starting from early October.

Alcotraz [get it?] is a new interactive cocktail bar that draws inspiration from popular Hollywood properties to shape a new kind of speakeasy-style cocktail bar, where guests are thrust into a world of storytelling as they encounter a cast of crooked guards, shady characters, and the prison’s notorious bootlegging gang who will tempt ticket-holders with around four tipples throughout the night.

The creative cocktail experience was a smash hit down in Melbourne so Sydney sessions should be filling up fast in the lead-up to the limited season. Fever will be propping this up at 12-16 Chippen Street, Chippendale, taking over the series of empty spaces that was once teeming with life thanks to LP’s Quality Meats.

As part of the experience, guests will throw on orange jumpsuits before being led to their own cell, where they will each be given a unique inmate number: their identity for the night. With elements of an Escape Room experience thrown in, inmates who manage the win the favour of crooked guards will be able to explore secret areas in order to hatch an escape plan with their fellow criminals. Or, they’ll need to head to the Warden’s Office to negotiate their release.

Themed cocktails on the include:

• Crime of Passion: passionfruit liqueur, strawberry puree, lime, cranberry and orange.
• Conspiracy: premium mezcal, burnt coconut tequila, chocolate butter, pineapple, cinnamon.

Guests might even get a chance to betray their mates during a session. Slink into the role of The Mole or The Janitor if you want to add a bit of petty drama to the night. Stanford Prison Experiment? It might not get that dark, but there are ways to make the experience a bit more complicated if you want.

How to get tickets to Alcotraz

You can either pre-book a ticket or just walk in to one of sessions, which are rolling out from Friday, October 3. Ticket prices start at $65 for both the performance and a pre-set menu of four cocktails (or mocktails, beer, or wine).

Right now, you’ll need to head to Fever to sign up to the waitlist. Note that the experience is (obviously) 18+ and it doesn’t seem like much of a solo activity, so make sure you fire up the group chat before you make a booking.

For information and bookings head to Fever.