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Wandering along the seafront in search of the mock-up terrace that is Something Street it’s reasonable to wonder whether the advertised immersive experience has already started. Even on a sunny evening the desolate Madeira Terraces look like a stage set for curious goings on.

Central to any piece of immersive theatre is the relinquishing of control for the narrative. It’s become a bit of a thing in recent years, with companies like Punchdrunk inviting masked audiences to roam free around converted warehouses, and the brilliant Hydrocracker/Blast Theory, whose hit show Operation Black Antler had punters at this year’s Brighton Festival actively engaged in the murky ethics of espionage.

An audience preparing for immersion now expects to do more than sit in the dark and watch.

Set on New Year’s Eve over successive decades, Something Street is a series of connecting tableaux spanning four generations of one family all living on the same terraced street, with occasional interventions from those guiding stars of our times, estate agents and Alcoholics Anonymous.

But immersive theatre it is not. It’s an enterprising pop-up promenade with an element of audience participation. The individual vignettes, one behind each front door, are sometimes funny, sometimes touching, but they tend to seem two-dimensional.

Although there are one or two "any questions?" moments, these feel like stagy add-ons, not fundamental to the performance itself, especially when we are repeatedly told that "time is running out" – in case we hadn’t got the message.

Whizzbang have big aspirations for this piece; their slick marketing has ensured a degree of coverage and they have had the good sense, in these funding-hungry times, to team up with Origami – the food and drinks people who have created an astro-turfed oasis halfway to the marina.

What’s missing in this ambitious through-the-keyhole experience is a sense of curiosity.

Performances run Wednesday to Sunday at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm, plus Friday 6pm, Saturday and Sunday 2pm and 3pm. The shows run throughout summer until September 4. Tickets are £18 in advance and £22 on the door. To book or for more information, visit www.somethingstreet.co.uk.