University of Nottingham: Experience a hotel check-in like no other at Lakeside Arts’ latest immersive show
Nottingham will play host to an exclusive preview of a brand-new immersive performance next week before its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
Lakeside Arts at the University of Nottingham is hosting EULOGY, a unique experience that takes place in a darkened shipping container and uses binaural sound – a technique that simulates the hearing cues created by acoustic interaction between our bodies and the environment around us – to create an immersive narrative that is imagined, not seen.
A must-see for all thrill-seekers, captivating minds and bringing a unique and unexpected twist on the concept of virtual reality experience to the people of Nottingham.
Described as ‘virtual reality for the ears’, this innovative production is at the forefront of technology and theatre. Created and produced by DARKFIELD, they say its latest show employs speech recognition technology to give the audience a voice, increase their feeling of agency, and allow them to feel a greater moral responsibility for what happens in the story.
EULOGY is set in a hotel and at check-in, visitors are issued a key card and allocated a chaperone to guide them through various rooms and down corridors, into a car park, a canteen and a lift which transports them between floors, taking them deeper into “the dream”.
DARKFIELD is renowned for creating exhilarating experiences that deceive the senses and encourages audiences to explore the theory of embodied cognition – the idea that the mind is not only connected to the body but that the body influences the mind. Audience members are left reflecting on the conscious experience versus one that only exists in the imagination.
Following the sell-out performances of FLIGHT at Lakeside in February 2020, DARKFIELD, who have containers touring the UK, Australia and Mexico, is returning to Nottingham with their latest innovative work.
This exciting event extends the partnership between Lakeside and DARKFIELD that began in February 2020.
Undoubtedly one of the UK’s most innovative companies, DARKFIELD’s commitment to experimenting with different kinds of encounters at the forefront of creative technologies matches Lakeside’s ambition to introduce audiences to new and different experiences. We’re proud to be their partner.
Shona Powell, Director of Lakeside Arts
EULOGY’s preview run at Lakeside begins with an exclusive Press Preview launch on Tuesday 21 September, then opens to the public from Wednesday 22 September – Sunday 3 October. It will return to Lakeside for a second run between Tuesday 19 October – Sunday 31 October, following its world premiere at the London BFI Film Festival.
Exeunt Magazine says DARKFIELD’s installations “harness the very uncertainty of pretending, and in doing so create an experience that’s properly exhilarating. It’s a perfectly programmed high-art theme park ride that spits you out into the sunlight feeling palpably, certainly, alive.”