Guildford Shakespeare Company has built a reputation for creating theatre in some of the most unexpected locations imaginable. From staging a murder mystery aboard a real Boeing 747 to transforming the manor house used in BBC’s Ghosts into the setting for an immersive theatrical experience, the company continues to push the boundaries of where theatre can happen.
Now, as part of its twentieth anniversary celebrations, GSC is taking audiences inside Hogs Back Brewery for A Brew To A Kill, a brand-new interactive murder mystery that sees audiences become detectives in a case packed with family rivalries, hidden secrets and plenty of twists.
We spoke to co-founder and director Matt Pinches about the company’s love of unusual venues, the challenge of creating immersive theatre in a working brewery, and what audiences can expect when A Brew To A Kill runs from 24 October to 15 November 2026. Tickets are available here.
What can you tell us about the show?
This is the third mystery in our interactive murder mystery series, where the audience doesn’t just watch the investigation, they become part of it.
Between scenes, they split into smaller groups to interrogate suspects, explore the venue and even examine hands-on evidence in our dedicated evidence room. They then reunite to watch the story unfold, with each scene revealing new clues.
It’s an immersive, interactive way to experience theatre, putting the audience right at the heart of the investigation.
What is it that excites you about a non-traditional space?
Back in 2006, we wanted to challenge people’s perceptions of theatre-going by taking theatre out of traditional venues and into places people already know and love. It creates a shared sense of ownership, allowing audiences to experience a familiar part of their community in a completely new way, while giving the venues the chance to reach new audiences.
For the theatre itself, it completely transforms the world of the play. Our current story is set around a brewing family in the 1950s, and rather than recreating a brewery on stage, we’re surrounded by the real thing. The machinery, brewing vats and working environment are all part of the experience.
We produce three or four major shows a year, and there’s always a real sense of occasion. It turns a night at the theatre into something much more immersive and memorable.
What has the brewery site done and how has it influenced you?
The brewery has been great friends of ours for the last 20 years and to work with them is really special. They’ve been incredibly generous in what they’re allowing us to do across their site.
We already had a firm idea of how, for example, we thought the murder was going to take place and how it might end, but on our visits the brewery showed us something brand new, so we thought, “Oh my goodness, we’ve got to use that!”
And you’ve got that smell of brewing as well when you arrive. So I love how the venue really informs the production.
What are the opportunities and what are the challenges?
There are opportunities for the venue to inform the scriptwriting. Here we’ve been able to weave some of the history of the local area into the script because these are real places.
There are people in the audience who will have known about the brewery, as it has been in existence since 1992, but also Manor Farm, where it’s sited, has been known for hundreds of years. We try to weave some of the history into it as well to make it as complete as possible.
I think the challenges with all site-responsive work are that we’re very much aware that we are going into their world. We’re very aware that this is a working brewery and we have to work around that.
Of course, the brewery, like our other venues, was not built as a theatre, so it lacks equipment such as lighting rigs and sound infrastructure.
We work really hard to ensure that the venues and shows continue to be accessible, whether that’s through audio description on a promenade show or ensuring step-free movement across all of the venues on this murder mystery.
How does this reflect your commitment to making ambitious and accessible theatre?
It’s a wonderful way to close our 20th anniversary by working with one of the very first supporters of the company back in 2006. The brewery came on board as one of our partners at the very beginning, so it’s lovely to acknowledge that.
It is ambitious as it is probably our biggest murder mystery, and it’s an unusual venue. No one has ever done anything like this in the brewery before and we’ve never performed in a brewery before.
Although it’s not a Shakespearean text, it is inspired by Shakespeare’s Wars of the Roses stories and has lovely nods to Shakespeare within it. It also gets the audience even closer to the action. As an immersive theatre experience, where audiences move and interact with the characters, it is a wonderfully engaging and interactive piece in which barriers are completely broken down and audiences get to explore a site they may know and love, or may never have visited before.
That’s the other thing: the murder mysteries are a really great example of how theatre brings people together. You will talk and chat with people you have never met before in your detective groups, either with the group of friends you came with or if you’re coming on your own.
In your group, you will work out who did it and hopefully stay for a pint afterwards in the brewery’s taproom, and that’s a lovely way to share the evening.
What would you say to anybody thinking of booking a ticket?
Book now! Book quickly! Book soon!
We are about 70% almost sold out, so there aren’t many tickets left. Our last murder mysteries all sold out, so don’t hang about, grab a ticket!
