Behind Redruth’s ‘Dangery Zone’ door, a new world waits

There’s a metal door on Clinton Road with the word “DANGERY” welded across it in warning-sign yellow, and for the whole of October, twenty people at a time are going to walk straight through it.

The Ladder, working with acclaimed Cornish playwright Carl Grose, opens The Collector in Redruth this month, a brand-new, highly intimate immersive theatre experience running from 5 to 31 October 2026.

A world built from Bill Mitchell’s own collection

The show is inspired by the extraordinary imagination and legendary collection of found objects belonging to the late Bill Mitchell, founder of Wildworks and one of Cornwall’s most influential creative visionaries. The Collector invites audiences into a strange and beautiful future shaped by the objects we choose to keep, the stories we pass on, and the memories we refuse to let disappear.

Part cabinet of curiosities and part underground bunker, the thirty-minute production transforms the historical confines of The Ladder into an interactive repository of random ruins, pulsing with mystery, humour and wonder.

Through the decontamination tunnel

Audiences navigate a dark, narrow decontamination tunnel before meeting their guide, Genni, and stepping into the grotto of The Collector himself. The production is directed by Joshua Nawras and Felix Mortimer of The Ladder, with production design by Jess Sharville, and blends live storytelling, sound design and local history to ask timeless questions about legacy, loss and what it means to collect a life.

“It’s an honour to bring this spirit of curiosity to the community,” says co-director Felix Mortimer. “Carl Grose has crafted a beautifully heightened, muscular piece of theatre that draws you in with inner mystery and edge. We are building something entirely new out of a broken and blasted world, and we want the audience right there in the space making connections with us.”

Dates, times and tickets

The Collector runs from 5 to 31 October 2026 at The Ladder, 2-4 Clinton Road, Redruth, TR15 2QE. Tuesday to Saturday performances (6 to 24 October) are at 6pm and 7pm. Over half-term week (27 to 31 October) there are four showings a day, at 11am, 2pm, 6pm and 7pm.

Each performance runs thirty minutes and is suitable for ages 8 and up, with mild to moderate peril. Full tickets are £10 (13+) and children’s tickets are £6 (under 12), with free Access Companion tickets available for registered bookers with disabilities.

Capacity is strictly limited to 20 people per performance, so with a small-group experience like this one, advance booking is essential. Tickets are bookable now through the Hall for Cornwall box office.

Getting in, and getting a group in

The Ladder is fully wheelchair accessible via lift, and anyone with mobility needs is encouraged to let the box office know in advance so an alternative performance route can be arranged.

School groups, educational workshops and private block bookings can also be arranged at a subsidised rate of £5 per student, or £2.50 for multi-class bookings, by contacting the venue’s team directly.