DARKFIELD’s latest immersive audio work, ARCADE, in Container 1 at Potterrow Plaza, starts with their familiar, terrifying binaural haunting audio and the voices of many consistent cast members, but quickly adds new layers of sensory experiences, except sight.
How does one review a gamified multiple-choice show with potentially too many endings to ever complete? I can only speak of the parts that I experienced, and wonder at potential other ‘solutions’ to the scenario.
A helpful attendant explains the situation before you enter the container, including a reminder that you can leave before the show begins. In the container, you are plunged into darkness for a moment before the lights come back up, and a voice reminds you that you have this opportunity to leave. No one in my group left, so we were again plunged into darkness.
You begin as a character named Milk in a scenario reminiscent of the Portal video game series: you don’t know who you are or where you are, but you are assigned a name by a distant voice. You can answer ‘yes’ by pressing the button on the arcade console in front of you, which you must do by touch because the container is fully dark. If you do not hit the button, you are assumed to answer ‘no’.
You can answer truthfully or not. You are given the option to get dressed or not. You are given the option to answer the door or not. You can choose a side in the war. You can choose to spend or deposit your coins. You can choose how many bullets to have. You are given many options after that, some of which (in speaking to my fellow audience members) lead to your death, repeatedly, and some which can lead you off the war-torn island to a new location.
You might be sprayed with water. You might see a quick flash of light. There might be rumbling under your feet. There might be blasts of air, from gentle to sudden. The only sense not triggered in ARCADE is scent, unless you count the background smell of the shipping container itself.
After the experience, I naturally fell into conversation with a few other audience members about how we’d ended up as our various Milks. One said ‘yes’ to everything, one died multiple times, one completed a mission and chose a side and still got stiffed by their compatriots. If you like DARKFIELD’s other works, horror or suspense, video games, or immersive and interactive performances, this show is for you, and will leave you craving another token to give it another whirl.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
