Darkfield are renowned for their immersive theatre experiences and are skilled at thinking outside the box. Their use of binaural sound during these immersive experiences is one of their strengths. Flight as a show does what it says on the tin – when you enter the space, an erstwhile shipping container, you absolutely feel like you are entering an aircraft (although they give you more leg room, very appreciated). There are lots of messages about putting bags in overhead lockers, taking off/shutting down light-making items such as phones, watches, etc, and making sure your headphones are on correctly – important for the binaural sections. The warnings about the experience being in complete darkness and how to escape seem excessive… until the lights actually go out.
This is an experience and if you have a fear of flying it may not be for you. There is an interesting throughline that equates us – the audience and the experience itself – to Schrodinger’s Cat, exploring the Many Worlds theory of quantum mechanics. Is reality ever what we think it is? Every individual experiences life through their own lens and, until the door is re-opened, where we are in the darkness and how that is impacting us, no matter what the voice in your ear is saying, will be different. However, in this experience we are both audience members and on a flight: the duality is important.
What might have made this a stronger experience is to have a clearer start or progression to the journey once the headphones are on. We load onto the plane, but the conversations in our ears seem to be starting halfway through a plane journey. The flight itself seems realistic, but the storyline itself is not strong enough, particularly in such a short time span, to engender the full experience that this could be. It is challenging being in the dark but with a clearer storyline, even with the idea of us being the Cat is the whole point, then it may have had more of an impact when the flight lands.
Show Time: 18-26 Aug @ every half hour from 12:00 noon, last show 21:00 (18-20 Aug); and every half hour from 12:00 noon, last show 22:00 (21-26 Aug)
Pleasance Dome (Potterrow Plaza)
Ticket Prices: £12 (£10)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/flight
Accessible entry: Information not supplied. Wheelchair access type: Not fully wheelchair accessible. Stairs: Information not supplied. Show contains absolute darkness and is not suitable for those with claustrophobia. Also contains themes of plane crashes/deaths. Ticketholders must arrive 5-10 minutes prior to start time for a pre-show briefing. Latecomers will not be admitted. Age: 14+ (Guideline); Babes in arms policy: Babies are not allowed in the venue. Policy applies to: Children under 2 years