Practical Information

Treowen is a manor house in Wales.

It is 90 minutes by train from London to the closest station, and around 30 minutes from Newport. Cardiff and Bristol are both less than an hour also by train. You can find it here.

The address is:

Treowen, Wonastow, Monmouth, NP25 4DL, and you can also find it on What3Words using trapdoor.arrow.icebergs.

If you’re arriving by car, there is plenty of parking available at the house.

Details about our upcoming shows can be found on our events page.

Arrival is from 12pm with lunch at 1pm. The performance ends by 12pm the following day.

Your ticket covers:

• A full twenty four overnight mystery solving experience.

• High engagement time with a cast of fascinating characters.

• Four meals (lunch, afternoon tea and a banquet dinner and breakfast) are also included and are very much part of the experience.

• Opportunity to explore a beautiful historic 17th century manor house and gardens.

• You will also receive a bespoke journal ‘commonplace book’ packed with ephemera and clues in which to record your investigations, metal and enamel insignia to show your allegiance and additional story-relevant items.

• The option to stay overnight in the manor house house should you wish to.

Tickets are £450 for the full twenty four immersive experience.

This includes four meals including a six course banquet. You will receive a bespoke journal full of stories and clues and enamel badges to take away with you after the show.

Additionally, the opportunity to sleep overnight in a 17th century manor is available from £350 for a 2 person room.

‘Immersive’ is one of those words that is much misused. For The Key of Dreams, it means that the environment, the actors, the props, the sound and even the food, is designed to deliver an all-encompassing experience. From the moment you enter the house, you should feel like you’ve been transported to a place out of step with the real world.

You’ll have the opportunity to interact with the other guests and residents of the house while gathering clues. There is wide range of options available to you and you need only interact as much as you like. If you prefer to observe from the sidelines while sipping a delicious cocktail in front of the fire, nobody will mind.

Lemon Difficult is a small family company, with a team experienced in writing designing and producing unusual overnight immersive experiences, such as our critically acclaimed last show The Locksmith’s Dream which has been running for the last few years. The thing that excites and drives us is creating those moment of delight that a member of the audience gets, It isn’t always a big thing, but it happens when you make a connection talking to a character, looking out of the window at the beautiful landscape and see something special, or you figuring a puzzle, or simply sitting by a fire in an ancient house with the smells, bustle and atmosphere around you.

You can find out a little more about the team here.

Pearls of wisdom from the pen of Mr Armando Iannucci., learn more here.

We are huge fans of weird fiction and cosmic horror. We understand that Lovecraft was a problematic guy in terms of his views and attitudes. We do not share his views, nor can or will we defend him as an individual. The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society answer this question particularly eloquently here and we are in full agreement with them. However, the rich world of weird fiction, including his literature, is a wonderful playground to develop our experiences in.

Sensible shoes. The floors of Treowen are old and uneven and heels or elaborate shoes could trip you up as you move around the house. There are also extensive grounds (lakes, woods, orchards and gently sloping grassy hills) around the house you may choose to explore. If you do, we’ll provide umbrellas in inclement weather. As already suggested, you may want to wear 1920s appropriate clothing, though there is no requirement for this.

While dressing for the experience is not required, you are more than welcome to dress up ‘out-of-time 1920’s’ and it helps with the sense of immersion for everyone. There is time in the early evening if you would like to change for dinner and the later part of the day.

Absolutely. All meals and refreshments are prepared onsite by our chef. We have a great deal of experience in this area, and can accommodate any and all dietary requirements as long as we know about them in advance. Just let us know your needs when you book.

During the day, there will be freely available selection of teas, coffee and water. A selection of wines is also available, including from the award winning local vineyard Ancre Hill. The bar will be open after dinner for cocktails, wine, beer and soft drinks available.

Treowen is much as you would have found it when it was built in 1623. As such, there are no locks on internal doors and we cannot install any because of the house’s protected status. But guest and public areas will be clearly marked. Please be respectful of other guests and do not enter their rooms unless they accompany you in.

To fully experience the immersion of the event, we advise minimal use of modern technology. However, we understand that you may want to take some photos while you are with us. We provide bags to contain your phone (and other objects like your provided common place book) and if you use it, please try not to disturb other guests’ experience.

Treowen is a beautiful four-storey manor house that was built in 1623. The floors can be uneven and there are stairs to all of the guest bedrooms. The Key of Dreams is a site-specific event and because of the house’s 17th-century protected status, it is sadly not possible to facilitate all the access needs we would like to. Guests in wheelchairs or with other significant mobility issues will not be able to access the majority of the building, and will be limited in their ability to participate in the full event. We intend to run the The Key of Dreams in other more accessible locations in future.

The Key of Dreams also uses scent and sound as part of the experience. It may not be suitable for guests with medical conditions affecting the senses of smell, vision, or hearing, particularly asthma, multiple chemical sensitivity, or other respiratory conditions.

If you have any questions we would be very happy to discuss them with you. Please email enquiries@thekeyofdreams.co.uk to discuss your individual needs.

Sorry! The Key of Dreams is an over-18s event. HOWEVER we are looking at how we might run a season of shows for families. Please do contact us if this something that you would be interested in.