Tell us about your company, Portable Performances. What do you do and what makes you different?
Chris K: Well, we are Portable Performances – we make portable escape games.
The immersive industry has grown a lot in the last 10-20 years, and mobile escape rooms (games that are transportable to events) are on the rise! We noticed that there was a gap in the market, as there weren’t any portable escape rooms available that matched the production value of the games we’d been lucky enough to work on in London and LA.
Out of that, Portable Performances was born. We wanted to bring our knowledge of working on the escape rooms of the West End and Hollywood into much smaller, more unconventional spaces. Since then, we’ve designed bespoke games for the fields of Glastonbury, Virgin Cruise ships, and even private events and parties.
How did the company form?
Chris A: We came together, as two friends and professional peers, during the COVID lockdown. I’m sure that everyone who was there remembers how uncertain things were. I had just got back from Los Angeles, running escape rooms at the world-renowned “Escape Room LA” and Chris (K) had just come off running several immersive escape games across London – games like Tomb Raider and The Crystal Maze. We both said, “What if we could do this all in a suitcase, or a box, or a satchel?” – The rest is history. We put together our skillsets of providing up-to-date technology and world-class storytelling. At the time, Glastonbury was taking applications for a pretty coveted award to commission a new show, which they’d never done before. Two companies won the pitch, and we were one of them. It was through this that we created our first-ever game, “NeuroNexus”.
You’re lifelong friends as well as business partners! Where did you meet?
Chris A: We met at drama school, many moons ago – both of us from the north of England in the strange and unfamiliar south; we got on instantly. I believe the first time we met, you were walking down the corridor on stilts as I was grabbing people to come and read a play I’d written.
Chris K: Yep. I’ve still got those stilts by the way! But yes, we met on that fateful day, and we’ve remained friends ever since.
What’s the process like creating your games or events from start to finish?
Chris A: It is so much fun creating games – especially when they are bespoke to clients, as we get to be creative with our environment. A good couple of examples would be a Christmas party that we provided for a big company in London last year. It was our first official party, for more people than our original games were built for, so we had to be creative and create a completely new experience! They told us what they wanted, and we just went for it! It was such a brilliant and chaotic day, and we loved it so much that the experience has become part of our staple Christmas offerings this year.
Chris K: They wanted a fun way to kick off their Christmas party, but were keen to keep it in their offices. We both got to work and adapted one of our experiences, “The Coinmaster”, for their space. We came in with a curated selection of games that would match the excitement and vibe of the office, as well as kitting out their individual meeting rooms with “paid-for” experiences, including one of our escape games. What we ended up creating was a 90-minute experience that centred on the party-goers collecting “coins” to pay for bigger and better games. It was a tremendously fun night! And once the game ended, we were cleared up and gone in 30 minutes as if we were never there (though our guests were literally buzzing and raring to go out to continue their party!)
Chris A: We also recently delivered an in-house game for Virgin Voyages. We were asked to create a 60-minute bespoke escape game in a box for their brand new luxury cruise ship, The Brilliant Lady.
The Brilliant Lady has this wonderful folk story attached to it that guests learn about throughout their stay, so our game had to be worked into that. We built everything – literally everything – from scratch to provide three custom-made “treasure chests”, further building on that great story, with puzzles and challenges and as many technologically-astounding elements that we could fit inside! We installed the game in August 2025 and so far, we’ve had some fantastic feedback.
Who is the most exciting participant you’ve ever had on one of your games?
Chris A: You know what, we’ve had several! I hosted an escape room for Emma Stone’s birthday party in Los Angeles (she’s a big fan of a puzzle!), and Eva Longoria visited one of my games. She nearly hijacked the game when she accidentally found the control panel for the entire thing, which we had a laugh about… The fun thing about running games in LA is that there are a lot of celebs who come in. I’ve hosted Vince Vaughan, Seth MacFarlane, Darren Criss… the list goes on!
Chris K: Well, a big one that comes to mind was when I ran a game for a stag party. You never quite know what to expect on a stag do, but the last thing I expected was for Rupert Grint to be the best man! Another time, I ran a game for some younger teenagers – I got to meet the teenagers’ parents, who, it transpired, were fascinated with the whole concept of escape rooms. It was Damian Lewis and Helen McRory. We ended up having a lovely chat about it all! I also ran a game for Neil Patrick Harris, which, as a fellow magician, was something of a dream come true!
You’re both actors in your own right as well! Dare I ask, but have you been in anything I’ll have seen?
Chris A: That all depends on your taste, I suppose! I’ve been in TV shows like Lucifer, The Reckoning on the BBC with Steve Coogan, and I’ve also starred in feature films with Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hardy and Timothy Olyphant.
Chris K: I’ve been in lots of shows on the West End. I starred in The Madness of George III where I played George IV, Prince Regent. I was in a National Tour of “The History Boys.” I also worked on a TV show with Derek Jacobi and starred in “In The Heart of The Sea” with Chris Hemsworth.
It sounds like your lives are action-packed. What do you like to do on your down days? Have you got any favourite haunts in west London?
Chris A: I’ve recently bought an allotment (because I am incredibly cool) and am getting into growing veg. I’m also a cricket fanatic. If I’m in West London, I love a walk around Holland Park, a visit to see a show at The Bush or Riverside Studios (with a walk along the river with a coffee or stopping off at a nice pub). I’m also always up for seeing some comedy at Eventim Apollo or a gig at Bush Hall.
Chris K: We are both, unsurprisingly, puzzle fanatics as well. I’m also really into board games and love a good immersive event! Both of us have actually been playing a five-year-long Dungeons and Dragons campaign, which has taken up a lot of our spare time!
Chris A: Yes, we love playing DnD! (I hoped you wouldn’t mention that bit!)
What can we expect next from Portable Performances?
Chris A: We have two more of our own games in development at the moment, and we have just opened for bookings from Christmas 2025!
Chris K: We’re also excited about making more bespoke games. We love playing with narratives for events – weddings, parties, anything really – and creating games for companies; the more ambitious the idea, the better!
Chris A: I’d love for us to design an entire immersive experience for someone’s wedding, that would be one for the bucket list!
