Raiders of the Local Adventure is a loving homage to go-getting adventure movies, such as the Indiana Jones series, the Tomb Raider films, and pulp adventures generally.
Taking an immersive, promenade approach, the small team of actors leads the audience around the lower slopes of Holyrood Park. We strongly advise good, strong shoes or boots, and this is probably not an experience for anyone who has mobility issues.
The story is that the Adventuring Secret Society, led by Dr Grones and his assistant Milo, are on the search for a precious artefact: the Ominous Legendary Container Restraining Ancient Power – or OL’ CRAP for short.
Via a series of clues, the archaeologists lead the audience through the story, culminating in an exciting finale. To say too much more about what happens would be to give extensive spoilers, which we will therefore avoid.
The story is very well put together. The audience is asked to read out and work through the clues, and there’s a great deal of fun to be had here. There is also one point at which the party is split – always dangerous – but a moment which allows those who want to avoid the steepest of the hills used in the adventure.
You will get the most out of this if you enter into the spirit of the thing. We enjoyed the adventure with a fairly small group, which allowed everyone to get fully involved. Content-wise, there’s nothing unsuitable for children, but the physical nature of the adventure means that this isn’t suitable for younger children. The production company advises that the adventure is suitable for ages 12+, and we think this is about right.
We’d also advise that the listed one-hour running time is how long the adventure takes, at which point you will find yourselves a solid twenty-minute walk from the starting point, which is outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. Leave yourself enough of a gap in your schedule to be able to get back to the heart of the Fringe action.
A lovely production, with groan-worthy wordplay, tongue-in-cheek character names, and a full awareness of the genre it’s parodying, Raiders of the Local Adventure is a whole treasure-holding satchel’s worth of fun.
Raiders of the Local Adventure continues at various times until August 18. Meet at the Information Centre at Holyrood Park to begin the adventure.
