Séance

A sensory search for the spirits of the Fringe

★★★
theatre review (adelaide) | Read in About 1 minute
Published 18 Feb 2018

Dampen one of your senses and the rest are heightened, or so they say. Plunged into cramped darkness with about 20 strangers and instructed to fit noise-cancelling headphones, the full immersion into a tense auditory and tactile séance begins.

“Do you believe?” each of us is asked, and believe it, the whole experience is much better if you do. This is important to remember as the narration leading through the practice drones for the most part of the 20 minute experience and arms start to ache after being unnaturally outstretched to remain touching the table in front.

It's a shame, because otherwise Séance employs the sort of ghost story antics, like suspense and jump-scares, that are familiar and fun. In this respect it is a clever sensory trip that has been carefully curated to provoke feelings of unease and dread. Whether or not these feelings are experienced to a great level isn't always clear, but the technical side of the installation the artists employ does create a darker side to the Fringe.

Séance, The Garden of Unearthly Delights, until 19 Mar (not 19 Feb), times vary, $20