Experimental theatre company, Out Of The Blue presented their radio / audio performance of 'Imaginarium' as part of Appletree Arts Festival 'Dazed New World' this evening.
Before the production started we were all asked to stay in our bedrooms, alone, and mute all devices, making sure we were not disturbed for the duration of the piece. We should also have with us a half-full glas of water, and connect our headphones to our mobiles and be prepared to walk around the space of our bedroom as we were guided to do so. I don't own a mobile phone nor a pair of headphones, and my bedroom is also my office and is very cramped, so I just had to make do with listening to the voice on my computer (the screen was blank for the duration, and it was simply an actor speaking for the whole time.) As it turned out my computer was perfectly capable and I didn't need either mobile or headphones for this experience.
'Imaginarium' is, as you might imagine, imagination-based. A place of imagination. And so, after a long and slightly comedic preamble to the show, we were directed through 6 different exercises over the course of just less than one hour.
Directed by Haylin Cai, with a sound design by Tingying Dong, and voiced by Harry Dean, we were invited to "hold our virtual hand and step into the imaginarium". "We are obsessed by technology and constant connectivity" we are told, and so, we are invited to "take a holiday from the internet just for a few moments..." (even if, quite ironically, we were relying on the internet to take us on that holiday!).
The first intsruction was a little nonsensical. Depending on the time of year, the time of day, and where you were in the world switching a light off (which might not yet be on) is not the best way to start.
However, game one was a variation of a game I have played with my primary-school-aged drama group several times. We were being treated like children, and being asked to speak in a gibberish language.. the language of our bedroom, and speak to the objects and furniture and listen to them talk back to us.
The second game was also aimed at prepubescants, as we were asked to lie down on our bed, touch and become aware of the parts of our body in isolation, and then, when we get to the feet, they have gone.. and we need to find our feet. To do this Dean narrates a few differing scenarios of more and more fantastical nature which we are supposed to imagine ourselves the protagonist of, before we magically find our feet again. Another fun activity for young ones.
Then we turned to the glass of water, and we are told that "more than half our body is made up of water". Dean then narrates the story of the water, as he traces it back from being in the glass all the way back to the primordial soup.
For the fourth activity we are asked to pretend to be 8 years old. [.. and there was me thinking that assumption had already taken place right at the start...!] And we play a game of virtual hide and seek and are asked to hide in our wardrobes. If we can't fit, then simply throw the clothes out to make room! Whilst in the wardrobe ward narates yet another adventure story about travelling to the bottom of the ocean and then ending with a spectacular space battle. Ideal for 8 year old boys I wouldn't wonder.
Game 5 starts by Dean asking us to imagine our room being the only place on the planet where you are safe. Here the story is futuristic and apocalyptic. Dean narrates a scenario where the world is burnt, dry, no water, few survivors, few crops. A place where sandstorms rage, and you would die if you stepped outside from the earth's humidity. Suddenly the Imaginarium is not a nice and cosy place to be anymore, and it isn't for young children either.
The final game however brings us back to the style of the previous few. Before Dean bids us goodbye we are to look out of our window and truly look at the view. A view we have seen many times before, but how well do we really know it and the other people / neighbours who inhabit it.
The whole event finished with Dean inviting us all to dance virtually together, and some upbeat music was played.
I am most uncertain of how to consider this piece. It certainly was not what I was expecting, nor do I think it passed the Ronseal test.... did it do exactly what it said in the advert? No. However it does certainly have some merit, but am unsure of the age range this piece is suitable for, and indeed it is only likely to appeal to a small percentage of the population.
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
on - 15/10/20
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