Fringe review: Séance
Adelaide Fringe
Don’t think you’re afraid of the dark? You might change your tune after you experience the imaginative terror of ‘Séance’, writes Trista Coulter. ★★★★★
Held in a shipping container in the Garden of Unearthly Delights, Séance is a creepy, immersive experience which takes place in complete darkness.
Designed for an intimate audience of up to 26 people, it plays on your most basic fears of the dark and the unknown by robbing you of your sight and bombarding your other senses with what can only be described as a series of otherworldly occurrences.
The strangely secretive show offers little information to prospective audiences, but my guest and I realised we were in for a wild ride when our host repeatedly warned those who suffer from claustrophobia or an extreme fear of the dark to turn back before it was too late. Undeterred, we ventured inside and took a seat on the old theatre chairs which lined opposite sides of a long table.
Once seated, we were told to put on our noise-cancelling headphones and the door was closed, plunging us into a suffocating darkness. Almost immediately the room was filled with sounds and a man’s voice rang out, asking us to place our trust in him as we began our journey.
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Séance plays out over the course of 15 minutes and during that time we were subjected to an eerie soundtrack of material recorded using special binaural technology which creates a haunting 3D listening experience. You are never sure whether the sounds are coming from behind you, above you or even right next to you, and at times it is terrifying.
In the darkness of the room, my other senses went into overdrive; my heart was pounding in my chest and there were times when I could have sworn someone was standing right in front of me. Is someone crying? Was that a whisper in my ear? Who is breathing so heavily? Did someone just touch me or are the hairs on my arms just prickling in fear?
With no awareness of your surroundings, your mind begins to play tricks on you and it is hard to know what is real and what is imagined.
Not for the faint-hearted, Séance is a spine-tingling experience that will leave you wondering just what is out there in the darkness.
Séance is playing in the Garden of Unearthly Delights until March 18. Read more InDaily Fringe reviews and stories here.
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