Flight

It is rare to experience a deeply visceral fear when attending a live performance. Flight is here to change that. Even the calmest aeroplane passenger out there is likely to feel a frisson of fear during this 22-minute experience.

Tapping into modern audience’s yen for immersive theatre, Flight welcomes you aboard for the ride of your life...or death. The entire set is constructed inside a 40ft shipping container. Upon entry you see rows of aeroplane seating with headphones resting on each chair. You take your seat and place your headphones on and immediately you’re immersed in a 360-degree audio adventure.

After a short introduction segment on the TV monitors, which sets the tense mood leaving you on edge for what’s to come, you’re plunged into pitch darkness. That’s when your imagination starts to take hold. Once you can’t see, you extrapolate events based on what you’re hearing and feeling. The set is rigged to move and shake similarly to an aeroplane. After a little while, part of you forgets the turbulence isn’t real. It feels like you’re on a real aeroplane having a really weird trip.

The producers should be commended for the realistic set design and the clarity, depth, and nuance in sound production. This show would knock the socks off anyone who enjoys Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR). Even if you’re not susceptible to those tingles down the spine that come from hearing certain types of sound, it’s an intense show.

Of course you could just enjoy the surface level thrills, but for audiences who like to delve deeper, Flight offers more. Thematically speaking it plays with alternative timelines, and the paradox of quantum superposition. It also taps into fear of flying, loss of control, luck and fate.

While most enjoyable and exciting, there is a great sense of relief to be had when deplaning from Flight. It’s one of those shows that is hard to stop thinking about for hours after you’ve experienced it. Most beautifully of all, Flight reminds you to be grateful you’re alive.

Kitty Goodall

Photo credits: (top image: Mihaela Bodlovic and (lower image) Realscape Productions.