David Kwong at the Geffen Playhouse. Inside the Box & The Enigmatist

David Kwong is a US puzzle setter and Magician (known for setting the New York Times cross-word). During the Covid restrictions of 2020, he launched an interactive on-line show which mixed theatre with puzzles and game play. The ticketed on-line event ran from September 2020 to July 2021 and sold out. Platformed on Zoom, viewers could select to watch the show or take part in it – with a price difference between the two types of ticket (US $75 to participate and $25 for viewing only). Audience members who had selected an interactive level ticket (which were limited to 24 individuals per show) were asked to ‘arrive’ at the show 30 minuets ahead of other audience members, to share their video feed and to have printed out materials which had been emailed to them a week before the show. As in-person events returned later in 2021, David Kwong printed a new show at the Playhouse, called The enigmatist. An in-person experience – audience members were invited to solve the pre-show puzzle garden (a number of puzzles sited in and outside of the theatre building) which also used video as part of the show.