Ted’s Crazy Golf Set to Launch London Venue Following Oxford Success

Magician and experience designer Larissa Sophie Houghton is expanding her immersive entertainment brand, Ted’s Crazy Golf, from Oxford to London with the launch of a second venue in Shoreditch scheduled for 22nd October 2026. The expansion follows the successful opening of the original site at Westgate Oxford on 13th August 2026.

Backed by a six-figure self-funded investment, the two venues will offer a combined 15,000 sq ft of immersive entertainment space and create 42 jobs. Ted’s Crazy Golf aims to transform traditional crazy golf by integrating theatrical design, animatronics, original characters, and themed hospitality experiences.

The Oxford venue spans 10,000 sq ft and features two immersive 9-hole courses named Bad Bones and Fun House. It also includes a retro-inspired bar and diner, accommodating up to 250 guests. Since opening, it has hosted 5,000 games and 32 corporate and group bookings within its first month. Plans to enhance the Oxford site include the introduction of two state-of-the-art duck pin bowling lanes in mid-October, broadening the entertainment options available to visitors.

In London, Ted’s Crazy Golf will occupy a 5,000 sq ft space at 78 Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, formerly the Temper restaurant. The venue will employ 20 staff and have a capacity for 175 guests. It will feature two 9-hole courses: the returning Bad Bones and a new experience called Toy Bites, set inside a vampire toyshop with large-scale installations such as a six-foot vampire robot.

The Shoreditch site underwent a 12-week transformation involving a team of artists, illustrators, prop designers, fabricators, and scenic artists. Notable contributors include internationally recognised illustrator The Butcher Billy, known for work on Stranger Things and Marvel projects, and Callum Bell of Callum Bell Creations, who brings experience from major film productions including Frankenstein and Star Wars. Other creatives involved are fabricator Derek Bell, street artist Russell Meehan (qubek), and Chicago-based mask maker Pete Infelise, who has worked with musicians Kirk Hammett and Slash.

Larissa Sophie Houghton, co-founder of Anger MGMT Venues, has over a decade of experience in creating immersive entertainment. Her previous projects include Paradise Skate World in Manchester and Big in Japan, a Japanese-inspired live game show. Combining her background as a magician and experience designer, Larissa focuses on transforming imaginative concepts into physical environments.

Reflecting on her creative inspiration, Larissa said: “I was absolutely obsessed with R.L. Stine growing up. I was always reading Goosebumps, listening to Ozzy Osbourne and imagining these monsters and completely ridiculous worlds in my head. I think a huge part of my creative brain still comes from that place.” She added, “I’ve always loved the idea that something can exist purely in your imagination and then, somehow, you can make it real. That’s really what creating impossible experiences is about for me.”

Ted’s Crazy Golf draws on influences from late-1980s and early-1990s Americana, cult films, comedy horror, and nostalgic pop culture. Each venue offers themed courses with original stories, characters, artwork, and props. Oxford’s Bad Bones course features a gothic graveyard setting with trash-talking gargoyles, while Fun House presents a twisted carnival atmosphere. Shoreditch introduces Toy Bites, a vampire toyshop experience, alongside the Bad Bones course.

Larissa emphasised the growing demand for real-world social experiences: “There is a really strong appetite for analogue experiences where people can come together, be competitive, socialise, be present and engage with something away from their screens. The desire for fun activities like crazy golf is absolutely still there, but I think reinvention and evolution are key. People want more from hospitality experiences now. They want something they can escape into and something that feels different every time they visit.”

Beyond the London launch, Ted’s is continuing to develop the Oxford venue. The addition of duck pin bowling lanes in October will complement the existing golf courses, food, and drink offerings. Plans for immersive karaoke pods in 2027 are also under consideration, reflecting the brand’s commitment to evolving its entertainment options.

“Oxford gives us a brilliant opportunity to bring different experiences together under one roof,” Larissa said. “Crazy golf is at the heart of Ted’s, but we don’t want the venue to stand still. Adding bowling gives people another reason to visit and another way to spend time together, and we’re already looking at what else we can introduce in the future.” She added, “For us, that constant evolution is really important. We want the venues to keep changing, with new experiences, artwork and installations giving people something different to discover when they come back.”

The choice of Shoreditch as the site for the London venue reflects the area’s creative energy and diverse audience. Located in one of London’s premier creative and nightlife districts, the venue is surrounded by art, live music, independent culture, and content creators, as well as major businesses and hotels.

Larissa explained, “Shoreditch felt like a really natural home for Ted’s. There is so much creative energy here. It is London’s Art District after all; from the art and live music culture to the people creating content and new ideas. At the same time, we’re surrounded by major businesses and some brilliant hotels, so there is a really interesting mix of people coming into the area for work, nights out, events and weekends away. It feels like exactly the kind of place where Ted’s can work.”

Looking ahead, Ted’s Crazy Golf plans to maintain a dynamic environment at both venues by regularly introducing new artwork, installations, and creative elements every three to six months. Larissa described this approach as essential to keeping the experiences fresh and relevant.

“For us, this is the start of an ongoing creative project,” she said. “We don’t want to open a venue and then leave it exactly the same. We see new art installations, changes and creative interventions becoming a big part of Ted’s, with things moving in and out much more regularly than anything I’ve worked on before. In the environment we’re in now, I think you have to keep experiences alive to stay relevant. Reinvention and evolution are a huge driving force for us, and that is how we see Ted’s developing in the future.”

Ted’s Crazy Golf Oxford is located at Westgate Oxford, Castle Street, Oxford, OX1 1PB, and opened on 13th August 2026. The Shoreditch venue will open fully on 22nd October 2026 at 78 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3JL. Tickets are available at tedscrazygolf.co.uk/london/book/.