Calling all former emo kids, lifelong goths, and fans of the spooky and whimsical imagination of producer-director, horror-fantasy-aficionado Tim Burton. It’s showtime! Grab your boo and your handbook for the recently deceased – because Sydney is getting its own Beetlejuice-inspired speakeasy.
Taking a big swig of inspiration from Burton’s 1988 hit movie starring Michael Keaton as the titular menacing poltergeist, this boozy 90-minute immersive experience promises to lure you into a distorted reality underworld with vintage-style décor, spooky flourishes, and themed cocktails. Set to open after Sydney’s lockdown lifts and just in time for Halloween on October 27, this pop-up experience at the Wonderland Bar in Kings Cross will hang around to haunt us until late November.
Appearing to take inspiration from the famous Beetle House in New York City, a year-round venue celebrating spookiness with a strong nod to Burton’s aesthetic, House of Burton comes from Viral Ventures, the team behind the Wizard’s Den, a witchy and loosely boy wizard-inspired, escape-room-esque cocktail mixing experience; Saloon 24, a wild west style cowboy bar experience; and Tinseltown, an over-the-top Christmas-themed bar.
Most of the details are buried at the time of writing – but if this event can replicate anything like the evocative tricks and treats of the Wizard’s Den experience, then anyone who considers themselves “strange and unusual” (à la Winona Ryder’s goth teen character from the aforementioned film) should get a real kick out of it. Tickets are $45, which includes a welcome drink and two cocktails which you’ll mix yourself “with the help of a deceased trickster”. Pretty cost-effective, when you think about how much a cocktail will often set you back in Sydney.
You can book here with multiple sessions running each night from Wednesday to Sunday.