JADAR

★★★★☆

DARKFIELD are creators of innovative, immersive, 360-degree audio experiences at the forefront of technology and theatre. DARKFIELD utilise striking sets, complete darkness, binaural sound, sensory effects and shipping containers to situate each participant at the centre of intense evolving narratives. I recently covered their city-wide Manchester run, where they invited me to review their London run at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. As I had already reviewed FLIGHT and ARCADE, I opted just to see EULOGY and COMA.

Whilst the Manchester run – which also included their debut show, SÉANCE – was spread across three different venues, the London run all took place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, complete with a box office that sold merchandise and drinks. It felt like a little village, where customers could socialise before, in between and after the shows. The only criticism is the lack of loos. The queue for the single loo was often long, and it could result in people being unable to wee in between shows – and these shows are a bit scary so you definitely do not want to risk wetting your pants!

EULOGY

Eulogy, DARKFIRLD’s fifth show, is a surreal, otherworldly journey through a dreamlike, labrynthine hotel that exists entirely in your mind. How you arrived is a mystery, and why you are there remains unclear. Just make sure you read the pamphlet.

Before entering the experience, you are given a card telling you the name of your suite (similar to FLIGHT, where we were given tickets with our seat numbers). Mine was Goswami. You then have to find the compartment with the same name. You are paired with a companion, a character who knows the world and the game far better than you do but does not appear to be completely loyal but rather has their own objectives and motivations. The show, or game, explores themes such as autonomy and consent.

It’s partially choose-your-own adventure, though less so than their latest show, ARCADE. But whilst the latter requires visitors to press a button for “yes” (or not press the button for “no”), this show requires visitors to actually say “yes” or “no” into a microphone, which makes you feel more involved. However, not all of the visitor’s decisions seem to impact the narrative that much. For instance, I said I wanted to go to the conference, but we were then too late for the conference, which made me feel a bit cheated – either way, the narrative did not want us to go to the conference.

In ARCADE, we were put in the mind of a character called Milk, which created a bit of a disconnect, but in EULOGY, we are very much ourselves, which gave us a feeling of autonomy, making us feel more invested in the narrative, as having us pretend to be somebody else (who even speaks) creates a disconnect.

In some of their other shows, darkness is used more effectively. There is a clear reason why we have been cloaked in darkness. But in the narrative of EULOGY, we are not in darkness and should actually be able to see (except when are sleeping) – and surroundings are briefly described to us, requiring us to use our imagination to bring them to life. I wonder if this experience could work better with virtual reality.

I found EULOGY a bit more difficult to follow than the other shows but it was still incredibly compelling. It’s a long show but the interactive elements keep you invested. The show becomes more exciting when the set moves (at times, it feels like you are genuinely in a lift), and binaural technology is used to its best (e.g. bringing a restaurant to life).

COMA

COMA, their third show, transforms the interior of a shipping container into a clinical facility and invites audiences to slip into a collective dream.

COMA has one of the most exciting sets of any DARKFIELD show (up there with FLIGHT‘s replica of an airplane). It is made up of triple bunk beds, which visitors lie down in. Having guests lie down enhances the feeling of falling asleep.

The show is philosophical from the very beginning, with visitors having to choose whether or not to swallow (or chew on) a tasteless pill with no real properties. The show is similar to SÉANCE, in that everyone sits (or lies) in silence and darkness, as a mysterious man walks around and talks to us. The storytelling was interesting but it could have more effectively made us feel like we were in a coma. I struggled to completely connect and found myself tossing and turning a little.

In comparison to their other shows, the narrative of COMA feels a bit lacking, with the point of it not being quite as clear – all their shows make you think but this show was harder to think about.

I appreciate that DARKFIELD try to do something different with all of their shows. The smell-o-vision aspect of COMA was cool; I wish it had been used more. The show is very much just somebody talking to us, though it begins with an interactive element, which is referenced again later. Light and set movement are not used.

The newer shows are more isolating than DARKFIELD’s first two shows, SÉANCE and FLIGHT, where being surrounded by other people is part of the narrative. In the newer experiences, we could very much just be there ourselves. SÉANCE was a very strong start for DARKFIELD, and they reached new heights with FLIGHT (pardon the pun), a super philosophical experience that effectively utilised lighting and movement. They have so far not been able to top that but they have, undoubtedly, created other brilliant experiences that explore various themes and ideas.

As individual shows, they are all great experiences, but one cannot help but compare them. At the Manchester press day, we experienced the shows in age order, but ending with ARCADE felt a bit anticlimactic, after two terrifying shows (and right after the incredibly immersive FLIGHT).

Whilst I have a few criticisms of their newer shows, the binaural audio technology is absolutely phenomenal. It genuinely sounds like there is somebody in your ear, or somebody in the corner of the room, or somebody walking around. The only time it falters is when you are at the edge of a container and you hear a voice to the side of you even though you know that there is nobody there. Then again, that arguably feels more chilling – because it sounds like there is somebody there!

DARKFIELD shows are simultaneously fun, scary and philosophical. It is abundantly clear that a lot of research goes into these shows – and a lot of love. I have now been to all of their shipping container experiences except INVISIBLE, which I am waiting patiently to return (sadly, I can’t justify flying over to Australia just for it!). DARKFIELD are one of very few companies who I am now completely loyal to – I want to see everything they do.