Enigmatic Theatre
Ethan Coppini and Rachael Bailey, both 22, started their company Enigmatic Theatre as a happy accident in 2022.
Having completed their A Levels at Bay House they were both doing bar work when they decided to utilise the theatre at Thorngate Hall to put on a performance of Mudlarks.
They were starting from nowhere with no website or social media. They worked incredibly hard, investing their own money, recruiting the cast, rehearsing, spreading the word, selling tickets and creating costumes and a renewable set.
The performance was well received and locals wanted to know what they were doing next. Enigmatic Theatre was born!
Their work focuses on creating productions and experiences around enigmas; ‘a person or thing that is mysterious and difficult to understand’. Their murder mystery events are a great example of this.
Ethan explains how he writes the characters for the murder mysteries based on people he knows, and those he comes across in everyday life. He exaggerates their traits, intertwines the character’s stories and the result is an exciting immersive experience.
As well as writing the murder mysteries, Ethan acts and directs. As well as acting, Rachael takes charge of all things design and marketing. She’s created the website, she manages the social media and she works on set design and costumes.
Their cast is 90% Gosport-based and consists of recent graduates from local colleges and universities. They love being able to offer drama students their first paid acting job from school.
They’re hugely passionate about inspiring young people from the area to get into the arts, whether that’s performing, designing, backstage or front of house.
They’ve hosted their popular murder mystery events at local venues such as The Fighting Cocks, The Alverbank Hotel and The Old Lodge.
In stark contrast to their usual format they’ve also hosted an Oktoberfest event at The Fighting Cocks, complete with steins of beer, lederhosen and some ferocious ‘bratwurst bobbing’.
In September they did their first immersive family event at Park Life in Stanley Park ‘Hunt for the Humanasaurus-rex’. The dinosaur detective event was so well received they’ve since been booked for kids birthday parties.
In November they exhibited at our first Anchored in Gosport market where they ran a fantastic mini escape room in the back of their gazebo. At our Easter market they were thrilling visitors with their imaginative and exciting hunt for the Easter bunny .
This Saturday, at our Springtime Spectacular Market, they are with us once again with a mini version of their Medieval escape room. We have sponsored this event so it’s free for visitors (but it sold out very quickly!)
So what does the future hold for this dynamic duo? Well, they have recently taken over the running of Houdinis After Dark cocktail bar in Southampton. They also have plans to meet with the arts council to bring more opportunities for youth theatre, specifically musicals, to Gosport.
Ethan and Rachael say “We believe art is the heartbeat of our culture, without it life would be utterly boring.”
We couldn’t agree more.