Judith E. Wilson Drama Studio, English Faculty
Sunday 23 – Wednesday 26 November
Dir. Josh Seymour; Telltale Productions

Five Stars

You receive a director's note after leaving one of the English Faculty's labyrinthine corridors used in Telltale Productions' piece of experimental theatre Submerge. This note asserts that "you, the audience member, are the most important element," neatly summarising the experience you have just had. The play is described as a "theatrical journey for one," a twenty-minute experience for the individual.

The production is a scintillating and vivid event from the off. You begin in a room reminiscent of a compression chamber, filled with a dim red glow and the distant dissonance of the atmospheric music, before being led by the hand into the studio to begin the production, the most play-like part, a series of narrative strands concerning ideas of death, guilt and mental instability. The actual plot is difficult to discern, though this does not seem to matter. To quote from director Josh Seymour's note again, "whatever you make of it, that's what the show is," and the discernible plot-lines seem to be more important for their feel, not their meaning. So, we get a scene of mourning and grief set side by side with a 50's-style dance number.

The single audience member is always in the middle of the unfolding events, whether standing or actually being moved around by the actors. The production moves beyond conventional theatre, and into a personal sensory experience: there are points where you almost feel you should involve yourself in the play, and the actors would no doubt ably accommodate some amateur dramatics from the spectator. The whole cast should be applauded for making it the unique encounter it is; particularly the final member we meet, whose one-on-one performance, effectively ‘submerging' us into their consciousness and its mental breakdown, would be a test for any actor, and is handled superbly.

If there is a drawback, it is perhaps that it may not appeal to the more faint of heart, in that the completeness of the audience member's involvement may leave some feeling uncomfortable. The slightly unsettling feel I was left with, though, is presumably intentional; in the end, you pay your money, you make the choice. It's not very often you get the chance to have such a brilliant individual experience that leaves you so shellshocked afterwards, and it will certainly be exciting to see what Telltale Productions come up with next.

Laurie Tuffrey