Thrillseekers are in for a treat as Dublin’s newest tourist attraction has opened just in time for Halloween.
Set in Dublin’s Liberties, ‘Vaults Live’ is a theatrical visitor experience combining live performances, special effects and sets to bring several historical scenes to life.
The new, €5 million theatre attraction promises to engross customers in an immersive experience akin to the London Dungeons.
Visitors journey through the live scenes, ranging from a Cromwellian torture chamber to a church crypt, Viking settlement, Bandon courtroom, medieval apothecary and Monto, the red light district that was once among the biggest in Europe.
“Vaults Live is like nothing else in Ireland,” says Paul Blanchfield, CEO of Frontier Entertainment, who compares it to Merlin Entertainment’s London Dungeons experience.
“In a typical attraction or museum, the visitor experience is passive – you read your way through it. At Vaults Live it is all about immersion; it is an active experience where you will be entertained and you can even be involved.”
The visitor experience is located in the converted Augustinian St John’s National School, a redbrick building in the John’s lane area of Thomas Street.
With scripts by Peter Sheridan and the late Fergus Linehan, characters include Dracula author Bram Stoker, Viking Ikea and Molly Malone amongst others.
“The aim of the Vaults stories is to make every guest laugh and, maybe, scream and to send them away with an unforgettable insight into why we, the Irish, are the way we are,” Sheridan says.
Vaults Live was developed by Frontier Entertainment, driven by former broadcaster Blanchfield and producer Gerald Heffernan (whose TV credits include the travel series, No Frontiers).
It was backed to the tune of €3 million by the Belfast-based Lagan family, and claims to be the biggest employer of actors in Ireland.
Ticket prices start from €18pp, with family rates available from €49.50.
A new Parlour Café and gift shop are also on site, and the attraction hopes to cater for 130,000 visitors in its first year, accommodating 35 customers per ‘show’.
The attraction is the latest development in Dublin’s rapidly gentrifying Liberties district, which sees several new hotels open this year, and large-scale developments including an expanded Guinness Storehouse and new Roe & Co whiskey distillery set to open in 2019.
