The Sanctuary

After being closed to new patients for almost 50 years, The Sanctuary, The Ministry of Joy’s earliest establishment, once more opened its doors to subject potential ‘Advocates’ to marmalisation, under the careful watch of the chief founding member, Dr Kelman. The aim of The Sanctuary was to find ‘potential’ advocates who would be eligible for correction on the Ministry’s brand new project, which was eventually revealed to be The Smiler, itself opening on 31st May 2013.

The entrance to The Sanctuary was via the Towers’ Conservatory, where boards displayed a number of posters promoting the facility and the positive impact of marmalisation. Televisions in this area displayed video messages from the Director of The Ministry of Joy, as well as Dr Kelman. Eventually guests would be batched into small groups, and permitted to enter The Sanctuary via a gate, upon a green light displaying.

Once within the secure perimeter, guests were greeted by Dr Kelman himself who provided a further insight into the practices of the facility and acknowledging some controversies that had previously seen The Sanctuary shut down.

Guests were then invited to enter the facility itself, with the first room featuring a fireball effect. Continuing on, the next room was the facility’s kitchen. It was after this that it became apparent that guests would themselves be subject to the process of marmalisation, entering a corridor which featured effects providing a multi-sensory overload.

Despite previous warnings not to go downstairs, that was where guests would find themselves heading next, discovering it to be the location of The Sanctuary’s operating theatre and morgue. Finally guests found themselves trapped in a disorientating cage maze along with a number of other patients, with the room illuminated only by strobes.