In what appears to be only a one-off event, Jack White performed a secret gig in central London last week thanks to support from theatre mavericks Punchdrunk.

Punchdrunk had temporarily transformed the basement of a disused office block into the Vescovo & Co Clinic for contagious diseases, staffed with doctors, nurses and orderlies at the time of a disease outbreak and White sportingly joined in on the act, exiting the stage via stretcher after a fit of (staged) convulsions.

The medical theme was a perfect fit for White’s recent album Lazaretto as the title is a term used to describe a ‘quarantine island’. The secret gig also appears to be significantly more thorough than one might imagine with the experience for fans beginning with an elaborate online treasure hunt. With everything from a spoof medical infomercial from 1948, obtuse clues for super-fans and a website belonging to the fake medical organisation, Vescovo & Company, this was truly an expertly planned affair. With thousands of fans submitting their details as part of an ‘online screening for a contagious disease’, a lucky few progressed through the screening process and received a telephone call, inviting them to an out-of-hours appointment at the Vescovo Clinic – created by Punchdrunk across multiple floors of a building owned by The Vinyl Factory.

On arrival, fans were asked to change into blue medical gowns before being subjected to a variety of treatments and tests in a maze of medical rooms. Chaos descended as an outbreak alarm was raised and terrified fans were herded into a smoke filled quarantine chamber. Finally a screen was dropped to reveal Jack and band in full medical uniform who proceeded to belt out a thirty minute set before Jack himself succumbed to the mysterious disease.

This may truly have been one of the most elaborate, excellent ways to launch a secret gig that there has ever been.