Below you will find all recorded changes, made across the run, to all non-loop specific content (pre-show, finales, post-show):

Queuing: There were three potential tickets available for purchase for each show (Standard, Premium, and VIP), with VIP and Premium being granted priority entry into the building ahead of Standard, and automatically being handed Aces for museum entry. As a result two separate queues initially formed outside the venue to allow for this, however with the introduction of enforced time-slotted tickets, the standard tickets were soon tiered into 5 smaller queues, sectioned off with barriers – the time slots for evening shows were 19:00, 19:10, 19:20, 19:30, 19:40, and with Sat matinees ranging from 14:00, 14:10, 14:20, 14:30, 14:40, and Sun matinees starting half hour later.

Playing Cards: Originally there was no time slot allocation enforced for your museum entry, instead opting for a first-come first-served approach – i.e. the earlier you arrived at the venue and the further to the front of the queue you were, the lower the card number you received, and hence the quicker you were let through into the show. The time slotted queues with according card numbers were only introduced in March 2023.

Cast Board: There was neither a physical nor online cast list available for many of the early shows, with the first appearance of a physical name-labelled board in the foyer being in early June 2022, and an regularly-updated online resource only being introduced two months later. As a result, many of the cast list records for the first two months of the run are very sparse, and so performer totals can only be approximated. Additionally it should be noted that several performers who joined late into the run, or only performed for a small number of shows did not receive personalised face etchings, and instead a plaque bearing an image of a labyrinth would be used in their place – this was also typically used in the case of a character being entirely missing from a show.

Museum Entrance: Over the course of the first months of its run, The Burnt City explored a variety of different methods of transitioning audience members from One Cartridge Place, and into the world of the show, constantly experimenting with balancing the ‘unassuming museum come to life’ concept, with that of the whimsical ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ aesthetic of the PEEP bar, and thus the entrance to the museum had many iterations.

During early April previews, after having their phone bags locked, audience members began by queuing in a small black hallway of spotlighted display cases, as the atmospheric ambience heard throughout Troy, spilled out into the room, and they were soon greeted by a plain-clothed steward: “Hello, and welcome to The Burnt City exhibition. Please feel free to have a read and take a look at all our antiquities, before we go in shortly, where the audio portion of our tour will begin.”.

In the entrance to the hallway stood a tall black display-board, reading: The Burnt City – Visions of Troy, with the sub-title of TREASURES AND ANTIQUITIES FROM THE CHAPMAN COLLECTION, and a simple illustration of a downwards pointing arrow. The opposite side of the board bore a black-and-white image of ‘The Fall of the Damned’ by Dieric Bouts (the same painting seen in Hades’ Office), below a quote: “In the sunless halls of the deepest palace with swarming shades at her feet the Dread Queen takes her throne” – Tablet 9, Hisarlik, 1400-1200 BC. Within the display cases were a variety of artifacts supposedly dug up from Heinrich Schliemann’s excavation of Troy, including various clay pots, libation bowls, maps of Hisarlik, a hefty tattered book, and finally, Hecuba’s golden headdress.

Groups of 20 to 25 would be ushered through into the first entrance room, where they were prompted to select a mask from the wall, as Hades would then enter to welcome them all in: “Hello, everyone. Welcome to One Cartridge Place, and our exhibition. There is no need for you to put your masks on immediately, you’ll be prompted to put them on inside. Just a few ground rules before you enter – inside there is absolutely no talking, and photography of any kind is strictly forbidden. Keeping a respectable distance between yourselves and our museum staff is also appreciated. If it ever becomes too much, please find our bar where you can remove your mask and relax. Inside the space, you will find people wearing black face coverings and white lanyards. Now these people are here to assist, they are, however, not here to guide you. For that you must find your own way. Besides… who knows what you’ll find under the cover of darkness…”.

The group would then be let through into the next room, holding the stone white mask in it’s display case, only originally this room also contained the remains of Schliemann’s excavation itself, with a section of the floor having been cordoned off with metal barriers and striped construction tape. Audiences could see that the floorboards had been ripped up, and from beneath the depths, glowed a bright blue light. Once all were gathered around the case, the following audio tour introduction played through overhead speakers (voiced by Sam Booth):

“The Trojan War has captivated audiences for 3000 years. The story of how an invading Greek fleet laid waste to the city of Troy was first told in the epic poems of Homer. Later they provided the basis for many of the great tragedies of ancient Greek drama, which shifted the focus from battlefield heroics to the terrible human cost of war. Not only the warriors, but for their families, for women and children on both sides of the conflict. Just as funeral masks were sometimes laid over the faces of the departed, to preserve their identity when on their journey to the underworld, performers in the theatre wore masks to bring figures from a bygone age back to life in order to confront the audience with the eternal moral questions that still concern us all. What is the right cause of action when the consequences are unknowable? The answer is always for each of us as individuals to decide. Please put on your own mask and follow the light through to the next gallery. Watch your step.”

A steward would then filter the group through either the Troy or Mycenae entrance together, and they would continue on through the exhibitions rooms, having to stop and observe each artifact as the same audio tour, as heard in later iterations, explained the context of each piece. For those entering through Troy, ‘Evey Reborn’ by Dario Marianelli, would begin to fade in upon reaching the third exhibit, as the WMs would then be guided into the upstairs of the Palladium balcony. Here the curtains covering the balcony windows would automatically open, gradually unveiling The Square, in time with the final line of the audio tour.

The group tour guide structure was soon scrapped, in favour of allowing audience members to pass through the exhibition rooms at their own pace, after complaints that returning visitors did not want to have to be forced to repeatedly listen to the same audio tour in its entirety. With this though, sadly the ‘curtain reveal’ also had to be retired. The excavation would be scrapped by September too, as interest in the significance of Schliemann to the rest of the in-show plot waned, and the audio tour would soon be replaced with Hades, himself, welcoming audiences to “his collection”, thus blurring the lines as to whether Hades and Schliemann were the same person.

Finally the specification of “no pushing and shoving” within the steward ‘rules’ speech was also a fairly late addition, first appearing in August 2023, as a direct result of increased unruly behaviour from patrons.

PEEP Layout: September 2022 brought with it the introduction of audiences entering the show through PEEP. Previously the initial exhibition hall would remain as so until the start of Loop Two, in which staff would convert the space into PEEP, thus why it wasn’t open for audiences during the first loop. The actual layout of PEEP itself, though, also went through several changes across the run, including the removal of a glittery purple string curtain that ran across the back of the room, that had to be waded through to gain access to the seating (no prizes as to why that was scrapped), and the signs for PEEP and COCKTAILS originally being above opposing bars. Most notably though it was in July 2023 that the VIP area was moved, and with that so was the ‘PEEPhole’ that the Hosts would appear from at the start of ‘Nautilus’ (relocated to the far right wall, adjacent to the main exit leading directly to PEEP Courtyard).

PEEP Music: Originally the music that played throughout the pre-show set in PEEP, was comprised entirely of predominantly English-language 1920s-40s Jazz and Cabaret classics, including: Every Day I Have The Blues (Joe Williams), Potato Head Blues (Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven), Anything Goes (Jeanne Aubert), Whispering (Paul Whiteman), Blue River (Jack Teagarden), Honeydripper (Roosevelt Sykes), My Pretty Girl (Fletcher Henderson), The Yellow Dog Blues (Bessie Smith). It was only around December that this track listing was swapped out in favour of specifically Greek music from the same era.

Card-Caller: From September 2022 until January 2023, Fernus (the keytarist of PEEP, at the time played exclusively by Samuel Parker) also served as the PEEP Card-Caller (a responsibility later shifted onto one of the PEEP Hosts). The content of his speech was essentially identical, however it was typically delivered in a more austere and deliberately distant tone than that of the Hosts. Additionally on several random occasions throughout the early months of 2023 during her maternity leave, Miranda Mac Letten appeared as a surprise guest Card-Caller, taking on the same persona she played through the influencer-exclusive tours, addressing PEEP with a much warmer, cheekier attitude, than Samuel. When the PEEP Hosts took over as card-callers, specific Hosts were assigned as defaults for this position, regardless of who else they were paired with that night (i.e. Ali, Carl, Isaac, Jordan, Mallory, Maya and Steven were always preferred for this position, whereas Georges, Kat, Lily and Nick seemingly never appeared as the Card-Caller).

Sally Museum Host: Prior to the January 2023 cast change, there was an inclusion of a named Museum Entry Host, known solely as Sally (played by Sally Horowitz). She served to welcome audiences into the mask entry speech room, and conduct the ‘rules’ speech – with the exception of introducing herself to everyone as “Sally”, her speech was otherwise identical in content, however she conducted it in a notably more mysterious and seductive manner than any other steward. She also made a small in-show appearance towards the end of the show. As audiences were filing into Troy after returning from the Mycenae Finale, she could be spotted leaning against the open door in the Troy backstreets, leading to the VIP area of PEEP, waving at passers-by with a sneaky, wry smirk and stopping VIP patrons to pull them inside, allowing them to skip the crowds. Sally would end up leaving the show in the New Year, and the concept of using a named character as a steward was scrapped entirely.

Hades Speech: One notable change made to the Hades’ introductory speech, is that of the inclusion of the line “not to learn a history lesson”, which first appeared in early May 2023. It was often accompanied by some minor acknowledgement of the mask in the display case, but it is otherwise unclear exactly why this specific script change was made. Additionally Hades did not originally accept a volunteer when asking “Who’s next?” and would instead choose a random, unsuspecting WM to stay behind.

PEEP Host Entry: Past the third show entry slot (25mins into Loop One), Hades would stop conducting the entry speeches in the first exhibition room, as he would be required to enter Troy to officially begin his loop, however all speeches going forward would be delivered instead by one of the PEEP Hosts (the one not already calling cards). Other than referring to the collection as “our” instead of “mine”, the content was identical. Notably, the PEEP Hosts were far kinder than Hades, and generally more accepting of both volunteers and couples wishing not to be seperated.

No Museum PEEP Host Entry: Approaching the final show entry slot (55mins into Loop One), the card-calling PEEP Host would make an announcement for the last call for all ticket-holders, encouraging any patrons remaining in the bar (regardless of their card number or colour), to join them at the entry to the museum and prepare to go inside. Should an audience member continue to stay put, they would then instead be distributed a white mask by a steward, as the curtain to the entry point was officially closed and a sandwich-board was placed ahead of it, bearing the words ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow!’. The PEEP Host would soon join the remaining few to deliver a more intimate version of the entry speech, sometimes choosing to sit amongst the patrons (although still speaking into their microphone throughout):

“Now, I’m afraid the exhibition has come to a close, but don’t worry as there will be a separate entry for you. Before you enter the world out there, I have some information for you that will help you in your experience. You will see you have been handed a mask – you must wear this mask at all times once you enter the City. It is quite dark out there, so we ask you not to run. We also ask you not to talk. We ask you to please keep a respectful distance between our Greek enemies, and our Trojan friends – there’s a lot of them, and you’ll find them, so feel free to follow and see where the world takes you. Should you get overwhelmed, or tired, or you just fancy another drink, you can always make your way back here by finding a steward in black who can help show you the way. Now… the world out there is dark and full of snakes. There are a lot of snakes and a lot of traitors, but there are some friends too, so if you see them say “Hi!” to them for me. The magic is for you to make, so let the world…whisk you away…”.

The Host promptly retires backstage, when after a few minutes the reset music would begin to play, signalling the official opening of PEEP for those having already entered the show, looking to re-enter the bar – it is at this point that audiences are finally permitted entry into Troy, when they are ready, via the double doors leading directly into PEEP Courtyard.

Late Show Entry: In the event of an audience member arriving later than the final entry slots, a separate entry speech would need to be conducted as by this point PEEP would be preparing to open for the start of Loop Two. Latecomers would be handed a mask and granted access to an alternative holding-room, wherein the ‘rules’ speech would be recounted to them by a steward, before having the same audio tour introduction (as used in previews) played to them. From there, audiences would be allowed to enter the show, directly into Mycenae.

Two Loop Show Entry: Due to extreme highs in the temperature, many shows were shortened to just two loops, during the summer months. This lead to Loop One being shortened (with first entry ticket holders entering the space during the Sacrifice of Polyxena), however performers would not enter until the start of Loop Two – all lighting and sound cues, however, would play as normal. This also meant that neither Hades nor the PEEP Hosts could conduct the speeches, and so in their place a PEEP welcome speech (voiced by Lily Jo Ockwell) would play through overhead speakers in the bar, to replace the card-calling. The pre-recording began with “Good evening, friends. Welcome to The Burnt City – our collection of antiquities.” but otherwise contained identical content as the typical card-calling speech.

Once filtered into the first holding-room, a steward would deliver the ‘rules’ speech as normal, before ushering audiences through to the mask display room, where the following audio tour introduction would play through overhead speakers:

“Hello. Come in, and gather around the light. Good evening, and welcome to my collection of antiquities. Treasures salvaged from the wrath of time. Tonight’s selection relates to The Trojan War – an episode in history that has captured the imagination of audiences, myself included, time out of mind. Our first piece is a mask. It’s original purpose is unknown. The Ancient Greeks used masks for theatrical performances, but it is believed they were also used by religious cults, worn by those taking part in initiation ceremonies. The mask enabled the wearer to transcend their individual mortal identity and enable them to come face-to-face with ancestral spirits, and commune with higher powers. According to some sources, the experience of initiates was thought to be similar to that of the human soul at the point of death – an adventure across the River Styx, and into the Land of Shades. Now, with your own mask in place, follow the light and embrace your own fate.”

The LED lights above the two doors to Troy and Mycenae would still both go off as cued, but audiences would all be granted access to the show through one entrance together (whichever was the last to light on that particular night).

Troy Finale: The Troy Finale went through a number of minor changes throughout the show’s run. For instance, the ‘hand-circle’ formed by Laocoön was a new addition, introduced specifically by Robert McNeill around January 2023, but was soon adopted by all performers and became a set part of the character’s third loop. Prior to this, Hades would simply inspect the crack alone, but still splash the water over it.

For a very brief window of time (lasting only the first week of July 2023), the Trojans would actively bring WMs into the rave, drawing them to the middle of the circle, and encouraging them to freely dance along with them to the music. This was very quickly scrapped though, as many audience members would fail to take the hint to stop dancing and leave the circle once the official blinding choreography began, leading to the scene becoming messy and people getting in performers’ way.

The inclusion of the slow-dancing was also a very late addition, first appearing in late August 2023, and initially employed to bolster the emotional impact of said Finale, as during the summer months when audiences were regularly withheld from witnessing both Finales, many were left feeling dissatisfied that they had been stopped from seeing the “proper” ending. The slow-dancing waned in appearance, but was still eventually included even when audiences were permitted to cross to Mycenae again. On the topic of changes made to suit the heat, it also became commonplace throughout the spate of two loop shows, for audiences to be immediately swept into PEEP after the conclusion of the Troy Finale, and those receiving a walk-through to also be given a walk-out by the same performer, being unmasked back at the bar – this was done in an attempt to limit capacity into No Man’s Land, and avoid crushing and/or overheating of audience members.

It was also relatively rare for Kampe to perform a walk-through or walk-out, often leaving The Square and stationing themselves by the DDR machine in the Palladium Arcade, to silently and slyly wave WMs onwards, either in the direction of Mycenae or PEEP (depending on the plan of action that night). However, Andrea had on the odd occasion been spotted picking a WM already on their way into PEEP, to take their hand, and unmask them. Equally, Carl had on at least one occasion both walked someone through into Mycenae, and out into PEEP.

Polymestor Office Scene: It should be noted that not every Polymestor would ask for help after being blinded, with some instead washing their face themselves, stumbling to their feet and just offering a hand to a WM for a walk-through. Equally, a walk-through and out was not always guaranteed at the end of the scene, with Sam never offering one both times he played the role, and Nick choosing to provide a walk-through into Mycenae, but not an official walk-out.

During previews, Polymestor would heal his own eyesight, before being joined by both Hades and Persephone, who would lead him towards the office chair and force him to sit down and stare up at the ‘Fall of the Damned’ painting – from here he would then make his way towards Greece.

Mycenae Finale: The Mycenae Finale also went through a number of minor changes throughout the show’s run. For example, towards the end of the run the light circle began to appear much earlier (before the souls had gotten to their feet, after reaching the foot of the stairs), as a method of combating difficult audience behaviour. It became common for people to squabble over being at the front of the light circle, as it was believed you had a greater chance of gaining a walk-out. Furthermore, in the final weeks of the run, many performers stopped giving walk-outs, and many seemed to have been encouraged to deliberately walk past the first line of WMs when arising from the floor, and to instead select a random, unsuspecting individual already walking away from the scene – this was also done to discourage patrons from believing they could ‘guarantee’ interactions.

Interestingly there is some inconsistency with regards to which character turns on the staircase to follow Persephone on her ascent. Although typically it was always Iphigenia, on numerous occasions it was Cassandra (namely when played by Ingrid Kapteyn) who followed her back up. It is unclear what the purpose of this inconsistency was though, and how many other variations there were to this moment.

It was not uncommon for some characters to be absent for the Mycenae Finale, either due to injury, missing their cue to get changed and thus having no time, or personal preference – Neoptolemus and Agamemnon appear to be the most commonly missing Finale characters across the show’s run. In the case of Neoptolemus being absent from the Finale, Apollo would be the next port of call to lift Cassandra from the staircase. Notably as well, the direction in which the performers would run around the circle was changed from clockwise to anti-clockwise every few weeks, under the recommendation of the cast’s physiotherapist to avoid specific physical strain and injury.

It should be noted as well that typically female performers playing Oracle, Iphigenia and Cassandra would wear a nude slip-dress during the ‘Table Roll’ and staircase descent, whilst all others typically chose to either go topless or don a bralette, however there were exceptions based on performer comfortability.

During previews, Hades would don Agamemnon’s skull mask as he stood on The Stone Table, however this was later scrapped for unspecified reasons. In April 2023, on at least one occasion Ali (as Hades) was spotted pouring the contents of Persephone’s tear vial into Lily (as Persephone)’s mouth while up on the mezzanine, during the descent, however this was sadly a short-lived experiment. Often Trojans would make a point to turn their WM, selected for walking-out, to face Hades and Persephone just before they cracked open the pomegranate, although depending on both the performer’s preference and their positioning in the circle, this did not always happen. Finally, several performers (notably Seirian Griffiths when playing Apollo, and Theo Arran when playing Watchman) took to sprinkling sand over the shoulder of the first WM they brushed past in the circle, concealing it in their hand and covertly dropping it over them as they passed by – it is unclear if this was entirely a stylistic choice that took off, or if there was some intended meaning behind this.

PEEP Finale: As the Host who remained in PEEP was always the same one who had sung ‘Sweet Love’ previously, and not every Host learnt both Host tracks, different performer combinations led to different preferences for who would take on which role each night. For example, Ali, Cameron, Isaac, Lily, Mallory and Steven could be used for either role, depending on who they were paired with, whereas Carl, Jordan and Maya were always the Host present for Troy Finale, and Fionn, Georges, Kat and Nick were always the Host to stay behind.

Due to the often improvisational nature of the dialogue used in PEEP, all Host quotes should be considered a generalisation and were not necessarily repeated verbatim everytime, across every performer; for more performer-specific examples of variations, please refer to my various PEEP loop accounts from following different cast members.

Post-Show: Originally there was one more additional song included in Orpheus’ post-show setlist, between ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)’ and ‘Labor of Love’; ‘Little Man’ by Little Dragon. Like many changes made throughout the run, this was also scrapped with the January 2023 cast change. On random, rare occasions Orpheus may also choose to perform a sombre rendition of ‘Life on Mars’ by David Bowie as an encore, however this was exclusive to Naomi, Lily and Ally.