Review: THE LEGEND OF THE TITANIC: THE IMMERSIVE EXHIBITION, Dock X Canada Water

Photo credit: Morris MacMatzen

The Legend of the Titanic promises an immersive experience to explore the famous story of the Belfast built ship that sailed from Southampton on its maiden voyage in April 1912, struck an iceberg on 15 April, sinking at 2:20am with the loss of 1517 lives (832 passengers & 685 crew).

This reviewer’s Great Grandfather Henrich Wittman was a first-class bedroom steward on board the ship, having sailed on many White Star maiden voyages and was one of those who lost their lives . His body was recovered by the CS Minia on 26 April (the 315th body recovered ) and is buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is extraordinary to imagine what he, his widow Amelia, and his children Ron, Hilda and Ernald would have made of the fact that 113 years later, the story still fascinates and justifies a new experience using the latest technology.

Located in Canada Water, next to a Minecraft exhibit, it sails a careful line between entertaining both adults and young children, telling the grim horror of the tragedy and respecting those who lost their lives or had their lives permanently affected by the event.

Having been launched in Spain, the exhibition arrives in London for a six-month stay and offers an informative and entertaining way of passing 90-120 minutes for those who know little of the tragedy other than it was a ship that hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage, or heard of the shocking implosion of the Titan Submersible taking passengers to see the wreck on the sea bed in 2023.

The experience starts with boarding the ship with some contextual background in a ship’s corridor before entering a room of display cabinets of “period” artefacts of costumes, china and documents . The collection, curated by Juan Cruz Ercoreca, is mainly from the 1997 film and from sister ship the Olympic, but they give a sense of the luxury enjoyed by the first-class passengers.

The first seven-minute VR experience is seated as we see the ship set sail and sink as members of the orchestra play. It feels too early in the journey to hit the iceberg and the lack of linear narrative flow through the experience is frustrating. The 30-minute visit to the 360° room follows the building and launch of the ship in Belfast (an excellent sequence), followed a look through the ship with Arthur Callahan and his daughter Elizabeth as they walk from their cabin through second- and first-class facilities, and to the Grand Staircase as the ship floods and tips up. The final sequence is the poignant view of passengers in lifeboats watching the ship’s final moments. We learn that the ship was travelling at 20 knots when 700 metres out the iceberg was seen and there were just 1 minute 7 seconds before it hit .

Some tabletop games and a colouring task will entertain the under 15’s and two photo opportunities (at £13 each) may be used to create some takeaway memories.

However, the best element is the final 7-minute VR experience in the Metaverse as you walking through the ship, listening into conversations and exploring rooms. This is an excellent immersive adventure. You wish it could be longer and see the gym, pool and Bridge!

You will learn more at the Belfast Titanic museum, the Southampton Sea City museum or the Cobh interactive experience, or by reading the Encyclopaedia Titanica but it is fascinating how AI and VR technology is now being used to tell stories and create immersive experiences. They will only get better as producers develop the skills and invest in productions. Just as the ship was a market leader of its time, this exhibition is pushing boundaries of what can be achieved.

As we gazed at Henry Wittman’s name on the list of those who lost their lives, we can’t help wondering what he, his wife and children would have made of it . Like so many survivors and family members, they never spoke of the sinking but they surely would have been pleased to learn that 113 years later, their loss is still commemorated and that the lessons learned from the tragedy have surely saved many lives at seas since .

Sail on Titanic.

Reviewed by: Nick Wayne