Theatre

In The Dark, Immersive Sound Experience at St Bartholomew The Great, London Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Chelsea

In the dark was an incredible experience that I would highly recommend everyone go and take part in. You are given an eye mask to allow you to experience only the power of music and sound; l will admit, it was definitely tempting to remove the mask to try and see the musicians performing such beautiful pieces. However I am happy that I refrained from doing so, as it would have altered the experience completely.

The session begins with a small explanation as to what to expect, and then everyone is asked to put their sleep masks on. Putting an eye mask on for a performance definitely felt strange, especially surrounded by people you do not know, but it also added some excitement and wonder of what you are about to experience. It’s a gentle build into sound, nothing too loud to catch you off-guard.

The musicians are constantly moving around the audience, but their footsteps are silent. With no sight to indicate where they are, the seamless movement of sound transports your mind elsewhere. A saxophone here, a cello there, trumpet, clarinet, guitar, flute, percussion, vocals; all beautifully blending with one another to create an extraordinary listening experience. Taking away the visual elements of the performance allowed me to truly be immersed in the music, to feel the sound in a different way. It was also incredibly relaxing, as you can imagine sitting in a dark room, with an eye mask on, listening to extraordinary music would be. The thought that I loved leaving this was that everyone’s experience would be completely unique, with no visual stimulation, each attendee would have filled in that blank with their own scenarios and thoughts.

At the end of the experience, you are asked to remove your masks, and then lights are gently brought up; it is now that you finally see the musicians responsible for the beautiful pieces you have just been immersed in. They are incredibly talented and clearly extremely passionate about their craft, earning a huge applause of celebration.

I attended In The Dark at St Bartholomew The Great, the oldest surviving Church building in London. What a spectacular venue for this event, hidden in amongst the buildings of Farringdon. The acoustics were fantastic, which is to be expected from such a building. It was dimly lit on entry to bring you straight in to the anticipation of a physically dark experience. You could still see the grandeur of the venue, but you couldn’t take in the full beauty of it until the lights were brought up at the end.

Rating: 5/5
(I wouldn’t recommend if you cannot stay seated or remain silent for the hour that the performance is on, although I am sure that the event stewards would be incredibly helpful if you needed to move around at all during the event).
Tickets cost from £35 (plus 99p service fee).
In The Dark is on at Great St Bart’s and Trinity Riverside in London on various dates from January 16th to March 28th, with more to be announced, for more information or to book tickets visit www.in-the-dark.com.

Show More
Back to top button