Burtcher Way

About Us

We offer bespoke creative services for individual, charity and corporate clients who are looking to engage with the world in a different way. We like challenges, and we don’t think challenges have to mean stress. We like to solve problems, be helpful, and find joy wherever we can.

Out in the real world, we can design unique live experiences and events, involving adventure, games, technology and performances (or just good times, if you like). We work with a broad range of exciting, talented people from writers and puzzle designers to immersive actors and best in class production personnel to deliver something unforgettable. We like everything from big festival escapades to one-to-one encounters.

A bit more behind the keyboard, we offer software solutions design (things like web apps and databases), helping others fill the gaps in their projects and make the most of the resources they have.

We especially love projects which combine the two.

Recently?

In 2023, Mat was back and forth to London: he served as Writer & Director for Disney’s highly anticipated international interactive event, Disney’s Wonder of Friendship: The Experience, which began life at Strand 180 before going on to Berlin and Paris. After that, he helped put together a live event for Channel 4 at the lovely Trinity Buoy Wharf.

Our creative collaboration with Nigel Munson of forward-looking theatre company 6FootStories – with which we aim to combine online mass-engagement, site-wide gaming with lovingly wrought theatre and live interactions – began in 2022 at Standon Calling Festival with Who Let The Toys Out?, and continued in summer 2023 with Welcome to Strange Valley.

In the Spring, we collaborated with cutting-edge & like-minded outfit Unfeasible on a unique project designed to re-connect communities within large companies with their own beliefs and practices. It involved time travel, puzzles and a horse. They are worth checking out.

And throughout all that, we continued to work closely with DSys Plus Ltd, a people-focused tech consultancy who provide innovative solutions to a diverse range of clients from ship fleet owners to livery companies.

It’s 2025

Yes, it is. Mat & his wife had a baby in March 2024, so he’s taking some time out from BurtcherWay to enjoy that.

Director Mat Burtcher

Mat is a closet technologist who’s predominantly worked in the world of ambitious theatre, festivals and live events for more than a decade. In recent years he’s shifted focus to exploring the impact technology can have on those experiences, both from a creative standpoint and in terms of making them easier to deliver for over-stretched teams.

As Creative Director of the Heritage Arts Company, he’s worked with organisations like Secret Cinema (Prometheus, The Shawshank Redemption), award-winning creative agency Haygarth and international partners like Giant Spoon (Blade Runner 2049 Experiential IMAX Launch), as well as co-founding VAULT Festival. VAULT Festival was London’s largest celebration of the arts, of which Mat was a hands-on Director (alongside Tim Wilson and Andy George) from its inception in until its successful transition to full charity status as Vault Creative Arts in 2022.

He’s spent a lot of time in fields making things like escape rooms, treasure hunts and immersive shows for festivals (including Standon Calling, Camp Bestival, Latitude and Wilderness).

In theatre, he’s Produced critically acclaimed performances for the stage such as The Cement Garden, starring George McKay and Ruby Bentall, adapted from Ian McEwan by David Aula & Jimmy Osborne (“As sharp as can be… rancid, beguiling and playful.” ★★★★ The Sunday Times), Great Expectations, adapted from Dickens by Tom Crowley (“Funny, gripping… full of clever detail, this is thoughtful, witty theatre.” ★★★★ The Stage) and The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes by Rashid Razaq (“A powerful mix of sex games and sectarianism… Expertly directed and rawly topical.” ★★★★ The Independent).

Both alongside and separately to creating events, Mat enjoys coding and coming up with inventive software solutions to problems. He’s a cloud computing advocate who’s built web applications, designed databases and engineered custom codebases for various projects. He’s a certified Microsoft Azure Administrator Associate, which he alone thinks is cool.

He’s designed and delivered activations and experiences for brands like Disney, Heineken, Vodafone, Ferrero Rocher, Schweppes, Pimm’s, Jura, Chambord and more, taking a new product or promotion and, with clients and collaborators, building a world around it.

Mat loves books and videogames, as well as being outside. He lives with his wife in West Sussex, where they enjoy being near the sea and running about with their dog Billie Joel.