Welcome to Wilhelm Street. Make yourself at home!

As you settle in with your new family, you won’t only pick out furniture - you’ll forge new traditions and memories that you hope will last a lifetime.

Somewhere nearby, though, there’s a meeting going on. A very important meeting. Run by very important people. Making very important decisions about your lives. But you and your family are not allowed inside…

Created by theatre-maker Rhianna Ilube and BAFTA-winning game-makers Coney, 1884 is a thrilling immersive game-theatre show inspired by the legacy of the 1884 Berlin Conference, an often-overlooked historical turning point for the African continent and the world.

1884 invites you on a fun, fast-paced, thought-provoking journey through the corridors of history you might not know. How is history recorded, and who is left outside of the room where history is written?

Audience Feedback

"Probably one of the smartest pieces of immersive theatre I have ever experienced. Anti-colonial in its true, radical essence."

"Fun. Fast. Begins to make you question how societies form around violence."

"Black Mirror meets theatre meets a history lesson."

How it Works

1884 is an immersive and interactive show where audiences are actively invited to participate and interact with other audience members

You’ll be placed in small groups and will be playing a number of different games and creative challenges

All performances are presented in a relaxed setting. This means audiences are allowed to move around, make noise and leave the room as required. Latecomers will be admitted.

For full information about the show's format, themes and access details, you can read the Playing Audience's Guide by clicking here.

Captioned Performance: Fri 26 April, 7.30pm
The performers’ dialogue will be captioned live on two TV screens and available for the whole room. The conversations happening at individual tables between players will not be captioned.

Coney is an acclaimed arts and social change charity on a mission to spark change through play. For over 15 years Coney have honed their expertise creating interactive experiences, ranging from immersive theatre shows to city-wide adventures for tens of thousands. Coney’s work takes place almost anywhere you can imagine: in schools, museums, theatres, workplaces, on the streets, online, and at heritage sites. Learn more about Coney at www.coneyhq.org.

Rhianna Ilube is a playwright, theatre-maker, facilitator and events curator. Her work often explores themes of activism, identity and history through interactive storytelling and co-creation methods. Alongside theatre, Rhianna is a film programmer for BFI Flare and has previously worked as an activist youth facilitator for The Advocacy Academy. In 2020, she co-founded A History of Everyone Else, an online web-series exploring untaught histories of the British Empire. Her award-winning debut play, Samuel Takes A Break, premiered at The Yard Theatre in February 2024.