
Layered Reality
Your app for long-form reading. Read ebooks & webtexts in one place. Read with likeminded people. Download for free on iPad, iPhone or Browser..
Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
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- | investor investor | €0.0 | round |
N/A | €0.0 | round | |
investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | £1.8m | Media For Equity | |
Total Funding | 000k |
Layered Reality operates within the immersive entertainment sector, creating multi-sensory experiences for consumers seeking novel forms of leisure. The company was established in 2017 by Andrew McGuinness, a seasoned professional from the advertising and marketing industry who identified a market opportunity to merge technology with live entertainment. Before founding Layered Reality, McGuinness built and sold several businesses and held CEO positions at major advertising agencies, providing him with a strong background in both business management and creative communications.
The company's business model centers on selling tickets for its large-scale productions and generating secondary revenue from themed food, beverages, and merchandise offered at its venues. Layered Reality’s core product is a unique format that combines three distinct elements: live theatre, featuring actors and movie-scale sets; advanced digital technology, such as virtual reality (VR), projection mapping, and holograms; and physical sensations, including temperature changes, scents, and touch, to fully immerse the audience in the narrative. This approach targets experience-seekers and tourists in major cities, offering a tangible alternative to traditional theatre or cinema. The company has received funding from investors including Channel 4 Ventures and Maroon Capital Group.
Layered Reality’s first venture, SOMNAI, launched in 2018 as a proof-of-concept exploring lucid dreaming through VR and live performance. This was followed by two major London-based productions. "Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience" opened in 2019, plunging audiences into an interactive version of the classic story across 24 scenes, using VR, holograms, and live actors, all set to the iconic musical score. The other key production, "The Gunpowder Plot," created in partnership with Historic Royal Palaces, allowed participants to step back into 1605 London, interacting with the historical event at the Tower of London itself. Both productions run for approximately 1 hour and 40-50 minutes, including an interval. These shows have received thousands of five-star reviews and are ranked in the top 10% of attractions globally on TripAdvisor.
Keywords: immersive entertainment, virtual reality experience, live theatre, location-based entertainment, Andrew McGuinness, multi-sensory, Jeff Wayne's The War of The Worlds, The Gunpowder Plot, experience economy, projection mapping, immersive theatre, interactive narrative, London attractions, digital storytelling, theatrical production, entertainment technology, VR theatre, holograms, visitor attractions, themed entertainment