Adrift

Adrift is a great introduction to interactive theatre. Developed by Company in Residence, Counterpilot, the award-winning creators in the immersive space, the aim is to put the audience at the centre of the performance experience. And Adrift certainly succeeds at that, but in a non-threatening and enjoyable way. For a start, you are immersed in the dark with a fabulous lighting design to tune you in to your imaginative powers. Then you are seated at a specially built desk that has props for you and your fellow immersees to use to create a story that is fed to you through your headset.

It would be spoiling the fun to explain in detail what the two scenarios are that you participate in... but one involves a remote lighthouse and the other a frisky dolphin, with ecology and extinction themes at their peripheries. Both were intriguing and ask your brain to work in a more creative and cooperative way. Of course, there is the added benefit of lighting magic, narration, sound effects and immersive surround sound by the talented creative team: Nathan Sibthorpe (co-devisor, co-writer and director), Christine Felmingham (Co-devisor, electronics and technical design), Mike Willmett (Co-devisor, sound design and composition), John Felmingham (co-producer and technical design), Sarah Winter ( co-devisor and co-production design), Toby Martin (co-devisor and co-writer), Aimée Pouzet (associate production design), Damian Tatum (assistant director) and Milly Walker (stage manager). The team are always on hand to help if you get confused or fall behind and, at the end of the experience, the friendly team members show you out of the theatre and back to real life. It’s amazing that such a brief time is all it takes for you to become completely immersed in a created situation, and it is gently jarring getting back to reality. This is also an easy way to interact with fellow audience members, and has such potential for a whole range of theatrical experiences, and I’m sure we’ll see more technology magic and delightful surprises in future too. There are some elements of the event that I’m still trying to figure out the practicalities of they were so clever. There is also a cooperative spirit that the theatrical experience creates – if we could harness that, then maybe even more creative things could eventuate. Adrift is fun and entertaining for a wide group, but I’d recommend from teenagers to older theatre fans.

Beth Keehn

Photographer: Kate O’Sullivan

Find out more: https://metroarts.com.au/event/adrift/