Ah, “immersive”. That age-old buzzword. A word I’m usually cynical about – after all, it doesn’t really mean all that much. Surely all theatre is, or should be, immersive. Or so I thought, until RIFT’s new outing grabbed me by the hand and pulled me, quite literally, into its hellish world. A re-evaluation is in order: all plays are immersive, but some plays are more immersive than others.
Taking arguably the best aspect of promenade shows, one-on-ones, and expanding it so that the whole piece is an extended solo experience, RIFT have created a bite-sized journey to hell and back. Experiencing the story alone, each audience member is given a set of headphones through which we hear descriptions of a slightly surreal journey through London, through heaths and streets and the underground. Aurally, the text of the piece is fairly straightforward; but this is hardly the end of it. Because, without giving too much away, the ordinary settings of London that we hear described are transformed into grotesque, almost unreal places that we see, smell, feel, and travel through in a number of ways.
Director Felix Mortimer has certainly created an intriguing experience. The text by Thomas McMullan is great, and the conceit Mortimer sets up by aligning the almost-mundanity of McMullan’s script with the ultra-surreal physical world works wonders for the senses. Occasionally though, the aural experience and what we take in with other senses becomes too estranged, with the two occasionally becoming disjointed.
Moreover, the rich world of the piece that we are thrown into occasionally distracts from the text. I found myself, once or twice, too intrigued by the world around me that I stopped listening to the text. That being said, the script is the perfect length, and really packs a punch in its final moments, in which the rest of the piece makes sense in a moment of saddening clarity.
Although the running time of the piece is short, it is perfectly formed – any longer and the show wouldn’t have the impact it does. There’s something very intimate and moving about being directly performed to in this individual way. The show may happen several times an evening, to several different people, but Mortimer’s direction and the actors’ sympathetic commitment to their parts and to their audience means the experience feels as if it’s being performed for you, and only you.
Emerging from the River Styx, coin in hand, slightly bleary-eyed, RIFT’s short piece is over. But, whether on account of how personal the experience is, or how memorable the production, or how moving the text, RIFT’s show sticks with you, making it difficult for your mind to leave the dingy underworld the company creates a considerable time after you take the boat journey back to the real world.
RIFT is playing at a secret Tottenham Hale location until 1 August. For more information and tickets, see the RIFT website.