Calling all StageSiders, welcome back to another review here at StageSideUK! This time around we are talking about Visitors by Darkfield, which […] The post AD| Visitors by Darkfield first appeared on StagesideUK.
Calling all StageSiders, welcome back to another review here at StageSideUK! This time around we are talking about Visitors by Darkfield, which played at the Edinburgh Fringe this past weekend! So settle in and get ready to welcome the visitors! The review is about to begin!
Disclaimer: we were gifted two press tickets in exchange for an honest review of this show.
Darkfield are the “Creators of innovative immersive 360 degree audio experiences at the forefront of technology and theatre“. Using sound, special effects and interactive technologies, Darkfield do a great job at making theatre more than a sit down and relax experience. Having experienced Eulogy in 2023, I knew that when I returned to the Fringe, I needed to experience more Darkfield! This time around, I got to experience Visitors.
Visitors takes participants into a house. More specifically a front room. Sitting across from your partner (tickets must be booked in pairs) you engaged with 2 visiting spirits. The spirits ask you to perform small tasks like pointing, standing, walking to a door, checking locks etc.
The sound design, used in the headset, is honestly superb! The folley sound is great, the ambient sound is perfect and the use of certain ASMR-esque techniques is really amazing! The story, played through the headset, at first lures you into a sense of comfort. Quickly you realise that everything is not as it seems! This show had my heart pumping, my palms sweating and I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of it!
One of the most genius aspects is having 3 shows taking place in the same room at the same time. The room was layed out in a terrace of houses. Each quadrant containing a bedroom, dining room and living room. We, in visitors, were in the living room. We had someone experiencing their own show Eternal on a bed in the bedroom and someone experiencing Double in the dining room. This meant, that when we were getting up and checking the doors, there were people in the other rooms. But the other participants weren’t just there, they were brought into the story. We were told “don’t look at the bed” and “check the door is locked”. It made the studio space feel less like a studio and more like a house.
The story was really well thought out, although I think the fade out at the end of our story took a little too long to finish. I think I was stood at the door with the same words being repeated for about a minute, which in a 15 minute story, is quite a while. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and again feel like Darkfield are bringing something unique and exciting to the Fringe! Great to see!
Accesibility
The show contains some stressful situations, and mentions themes of death, murder, spirits, abandonment, isolation and the show takes place in the dark with a series of special effects including haze and show lighting. You have to wear a noise cancelling headset and so you feel fully immersed.
Value for money
Tickets start at £10 per person, and while we received free press tickets, I would absolutely pay £10 to experience this show. I loved every minute and it would be worth every penny!
Have your say!
Have you seen Visitors? Let me know in the comments and let’s get a discussion going.
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The post AD| Visitors by Darkfield first appeared on StagesideUK.
