Review Rundown: Of Hangovers & Hanging Rocks

Some folks LOVE writing a negative review. We kinda hate it. But we love the immersive form too much to let stuff that falls short or tries to draft in the wake of others to just let things go.

Kinda our job really.

So as you flip through this week’s reviews know that where possible we’re looking to give the kinds of notes we wish someone had during the creative process. That, or just setting some proper expectations so you know what you’re actually in for. And, you know, it’s not all bad. Some of this is about things being works in process. Aren’t we all?

If you need me, I’ll be ordering a pitcher of margs at the bar.

Looking for a little hair of the dog? Last week’s Review Rundown “The One With Headsets & Cocktails” lines up another shot.

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Billy Bonker and the Cocktail Factory — Bonkers Bar
£35; London UK; through 29 April 2023

If you’re a fan of cocktails, cabaret, and crude humor, you’re going to enjoy Billy Bonker and the Cocktail Factory.

From an immersive theatre perspective: not so much.

The rest of this review will be constructive in nature, as this show feels like it was devised by a person (or collective) who included a tick-box list of “things we’ve seen in immersive shows” but didn’t know any of the purpose or structure behind immersive practice. After a promising opening (onboarding via an in-world antechamber with a hidden door into the event space), the earliest groups were then left for almost an hour while the rest of the audience was similarly introduced. There were some character interactions and a few prop pieces to peruse while we waited, but the introduction took so long to get going that I got up to ask an employee if there was going to be any more to the show than just a themed bar behind a “secret entrance”.

Eventually we were ushered into the main performance area: a cabaret space where the next two hours featured bawdy singing, dance, and skit, all quasi-centered around the candyman theme but in very tenuous narrative link to each other and none of which really went the distance they were hinting at: the contortionist didn’t bend or twist, the stripper didn’t strip, etc. Mostly it was just relying on crude humor, often with the cast being unable to hold their inebriated guests’ full attention. Audience interaction points were mainly confined to being used as props: being told to stand up, sit down, kneel or clap along, with a couple opportunities to write in suggestions or perform in exchange for free drinks.

Without a character for the audience to play (a place in-world for us to occupy and participate in order to have narrative agency) the only thing to do was sit and watch. The final disappointment was when the show closed with the performers openly announcing that anyone who showed a review for the event online would be awarded a free drink at the bar.

I won’t be recommending this one to my immersive fan family, but at three hours long (if you show up on time; my advice is don’t until maybe 45min in), you certainly get your money’s worth for some sedentary semi-interactive entertainment.

— Shelley Snyder, London Curator

Murder Ballads: The Calamity at Widows Rock — Ferryman Collective
$15: Remote (VR); Current Run Concluded

Performing in the XR Live Performance Exhibition, Murder Ballads: The Calamity at Widows Rock is a virtual reality dark ride experience created by Ferryman Collective.

After being onboarded, up to four audience members sit in a wagon bound for the town of Widow’s Rock. While traveling, the wagon’s driver regales the audience with tales of murder and violence that’s plagued Widow’s Rock. Accompanying the narration is two actors pantomiming, performing, or interacting with the audience during the vignettes. Murder Ballads culminates in meeting a creepy yet hilarious pair of entertainers selling memorabilia featured in each tale.

On the surface, Murder Ballads is a rocky, rough ride. It attempts to mimic a Disneyland ride that moves between set pieces but it’s painfully clunky. Each time the wagon stops, everything goes dark, with the audience automatically rotated to face the desired direction before everything reappears. While done to allow the performers to prepare, it’s unfortunately disorienting. I have no sense of direction, wishing I could simply turn my head, even if that means seeing behind the scenes elements, breaking the illusion. Furthermore, other than bats flying out of the darkness at one point, there’s nothing else fostering the sense of a dark ride.

Additionally, while the environments are stunning and lively, the actors perform incredibly far away quite regularly. It’s a struggle to make out movements, compounded by the muted color of the avatars’ outfits blending into the environments.

Yet, there are wonderful moments on the ride to Widow’s Rock. Brian Tull and Leah Sullivan’s performances are fantastic, with his improvisation being top-notch and her range being extraordinary. Even when struggling to see them, their voices, tones, and inflections draw me into the action.

And while not all equally compelling, each vignette is accessible and frightening storytelling, the jealousy, fear, and hatred humans inflict upon one another far more upsetting than any monster or otherworldly creature. Finally, when with the entertainers, I buy a violin crafted from a murder victim’s bones…that I’m able to play a haunting ballad on. This simple, tiny touchpoint was easy to use, instantly rooting me into thinking and believing every vignette to be a real event.

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Afterwards, I learned Murder Ballads is modularly designed, allowing tales to be removed or altered, and plans for future performances. So, while its current iteration falters, between what’s working and what’s to come, I look forward to another journey with these VR pioneer creators through Murder Ballads: The Calamity at Widows Rock.

– Patrick B. McLean, Chicago Curator

John Robertson: The Dark Room–Gag Reflex Ltd.
Tickets from 13 GBP; VAULT Festival, London; Run concluded

You awaken to find yourself in a dark room…. That’s the opening line, shouted many a time by both your one-man host and gamemaster, and the audience itself, in this standup routine-meets-zero-budget-game show, all themed around the click-and-point text-based adventure video games of the 1980s.

I entered this titular “Dark Room” with high hopes. Unlike many of the VAULT Festival’s productions, which are either being performed for the first time or even still in previews, Robertson has been performing this show for years, beginning with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Unfortunately, while practice did seem to have made the show more polished than many, with a zippy 45-minute run time and beats timed well, it also made me feel at times like I and the rest of the audience was being processed, rather than engaged with. For an improv-based show, this could be particularly jarring.

The “plot,” such as it is, is simple: you, the audience, are contestants on “The Dark Room,” a dubious game show with a text-based choose-your-own adventure format. If you win, you’ll be awarded 1,000 GBP (two people in the show’s history have done so, although the prize was only 50 pounds at the time). If you lose, the audience will shout “YOU DIE! YOU DIE! YOU DIE!” at you, and you’ll be awarded what the show itself calls “an appalling prize” (winnings included an empty pizza box, a single espresso pod, and the grand prize, a whole pineapple).

It might sound like I’m being a little harsh on this whole affair, and perhaps I am. I’ll admit I laughed throughout the show (although the biggest laugh of the night came from a joke made by a fellow audience member), and the retro-style, sci-fi inspired visuals were fun and engaging. If you’re looking for something that will give you an hour’s worth of smiles and a few real chuckles, you could do worse. But by the time I woke up the next morning, in a light room, I’d nearly forgotten I’d ever been there. And that’s an indictment in itself.

–Ellery Weil, London Correspondent

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart — The McKittrick Hotel
$123.50; New York, NY; Through April 30

Sitting in the Club Car space of the McKittrick Hotel, I am transported from New York City to a local pub, somewhere in the Scottish highlands. A folk group sing as the audience enter the space, with fiddle, guitar and pipe. We are invited to hear the tale of the strange undoing of one Prudencia Hart, a Scottish academic who has dedicated their life to the study of ballads. On a particularly snowy night, her trip to a conference takes a devilish turn, and her life is turned around completely.

David Greig’s ballad inspired script is a delightful mix of whimsy, folk tale and poetry, with the rhyming couplet being honored above all else. Despite being set in a snow covered Scottish town circa 2010, complete with all the period eccentricities (Kylie Minogue ringtone anyone?), the piece feels like a true ancient tale that has been passed down for centuries. Themes of love, longing, and desire all come into play, as is the case with many a folksong. A deep heart lies beneath the story of Prudencia Hart. It is a very clever piece of writing, which when combined with the phenomenal performances of the quintet of actor musicians, transports the audience into a fairy tale of modern day proportions. Understandably music has a key part to play in this production, and the fine singers and multi-instrumentalists delight with their melodic stories.

But take heed, all ye fans of immersive.
Those wanting immersion, will find this production subversive.

Although the actors will move around the space, and engage lightly with the occasional patron in the audience, who are sat in a nontraditional pub like seating arrangement, those looking for a Sleep No More type experience will be disappointed. There is some very gentle moments of audience participation, but this is a far cry from the full immersion that audiences tend to expect from the space. While the aesthetic and theming of Prudencia Hart certainly fit the McKittrick Hotel, I want to help set the expectations of immersive fans, that this piece is lightly interactive as opposed to the influential behemoth that is running concurrently in the Hotel.

This is not to say this isn’t a phenomenal piece of theatre, and one that I had a wonderful time at, particularly as a Brit myself. The audience all around me in the “pub” certainly seemed to be having a great time as well, with an extended ovation at the end, and much clapping along with the lively folk tunes of the evening. If a lively ballad driven exploration of mythology and folktales sounds like your type of evening, you could face a much worse fate than an evening with The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart.

— Edward Mylechreest, New York City Correspondent

White Rabbit Red Rabbit — Et Alia Theatre
New York, NY; Run Concluded

In 2011 Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour was denied access to a passport. Unable to travel the world, this writer instead decided to write a play that would travel the world in his stead. Thus White Rabbit Red Rabbit was born.

An actor (a delightful Melina Moghadassian in this production) stands on stage, and is handed a sealed envelope containing the script. This is the first time that they have held the script, and the very first reading of it will be to the audience gathered here. They are to obey all instructions, to follow the letter of the law exactly. With no prior preparation every performance will be different, and each actor will bring their own unique reading to the piece — a truly once in a lifetime performance.

Its a strong concept, and in practice what follows is a witty and poignant play on themes of obedience, authorship, and what theatre even is. While explicitly not political in nature, these themes have special meaning knowing the background of the author, which is divulged to us during the producing. Without going into spoilers too much, there is some light audience participation involved, with audience members being instructed by the actor (by the author) to join them on stage. The titular metaphor comes into play in a meaningful way, and I left the theatre feeling moved and inspired. Soleimanpour’s words have exquisite power, and the nature of the piece hits right in the theatre lovers heart.

While more experimental than experiential, and more intimate than immersive, White Rabbit Red Rabbit is still a fascinating piece of theatre which deserves to be witnessed. I am thankful to Et Alia Theatre for bringing this piece back to New York, as part of the Let There Be Theatre movement this year. The next time this impactful play comes to a theatre space near you, it is well worth your time.

— Edward Mylechreest, New York City Correspondent

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