Dig out your deerstalker cap, magnifying glass, and slip on your quietest shoes: Something mysterious is happening at the Free Library of Philadelphia and you must help unravel it.

As part of the We the Detectives initiative, in an unprecedented collaboration between the Free Library and New Paradise Laboratories, the Parkway Central Library will transform into an immersive theatrical space through GUMSHOE, a performance investigating the never-ending struggle between fact and fiction.

A twist on the notions of what a performance can be and what a library can do, GUMSHOE carries participants into an expedition through the underbelly of the building, blending disguise, half-truths, and bald-faced lies to get to the bottom of a crime that hasn’t happened yet.

GUMSHOE is conceived and developed by New Paradise Laboratories, an ensemble-based performance company that explores innovative means of expression to bend and reshape the art of theater. Founded by OBIE award-winner Whit MacLaughlin, it works both inside and outside of conventional theater spaces and practices a collaborative model of creation that incorporates designers and performers as devisers.

This free performance runs 90 minutes, from April 8 through May 7, 2017. Adults, families with children 10 and over, and school groups are all welcome to join the fun.

You can also experience an immersive adventure outside live performance times using your mobile phone:

• Got 45–60 minutes? Start in the Grand Lobby of Parkway Central with your mobile phone and text the keyword FULLSHOE to the number 215-GUMTHAT (215-486-8428).
   
• Got 20-30 minutes? Start in the Grand Lobby of Parkway Central with your mobile phone and text the keyword SHORTSHOE to the number 215-GUMTHAT (215-486-8428).
   
• Follow the secret prompts sent to your phone on a journey through the Parkway Central Library, the Rosenbach, and in between!

The truth of life is its mystery. Come help us get to the bottom of it.

To learn more about New Paradise Laboratories, visit newparadiselaboratories.org. For more information and to reserve a free ticket to GUMSHOE, visit freelibrary.org/detectives.

Our We the Detectives initiative continues with Clever Criminals and Daring Detectives at the Rosenbach and Becoming the Detective: The Making of a Genre in Parkway Central Library's Rare Book Department. Check out the exhibitions now through September 1!

And experience the GUMSHOE immersive adventure by New Paradise Laboratories using your mobile phone any time, now through September 1.