The Map and the Echo

The Map and the Echo is part-performance, part-game…
commissioned by the British Library in conjunction with its new major exhibition Secret Maps.

• Tues 28 Oct 2025, 8pm

• Tues 11 Nov 2025, 7pm and 8pm

• Tues 2 Dec 2025, 7pm and 8pm

Tickets to The Map and the Echo included entry to the Secret Maps exhibition.

An interactive journey through the British Library, The Map and the Echo explored how people make maps and how maps make places.

After viewing the Secret Maps exhibition, the audience was guided through the Library, imagining the unseen areas of the landmark building and its ever-growing collections. This tour led to a performance, where a man stood on a bare stage and described another place: a version of the British Library that may or may not exist.

Inspired by choose-your-own-adventure stories and early text-adventure computer games, each performance was unique, shaped by the audience’s choices. Using simple instructions like ‘Go North’ or ‘Pick up the lamp’, the audience worked together to navigate this other place, overcoming obstacles and exploring the Library… without leaving their seat.

The Map and the Echo is a new edition in Kriebel’s acclaimed series of Exploration Games, created specially for the British Library and Secret Maps.

The Map and the Echo

• Tour duration: 15 minutes

• Performance duration: approx. 40 minutes. Some variance ( +/- 10 min) due to audience interaction.

• Age guidance: 12+

• Content warnings: Audience interaction raises the possibility of objectionable language from other audience members.

Creative Team

Tour performed by Zoe Bouras. Written and devised by Seth Kriebel, Zoe Bouras and Elsa Kriebel.

Performance directed by Zoe Bouras. Written and performed by Seth Kriebel.