Invisible Space is an immersive headphone theatre experience assisted by silent disco technology. This performance rewrites the ancient Chinese tale The Legend of the White Snake in the context of modern society, produced by the Awful Shoes Collective.
Similar to the story of the White Snake, White Snake meets Xu Xian, a doctor, in the rain and falls in love at first sight after borrowing an umbrella from him. The two date several times, such as watching a movie together. Xu Xian has conservative thought, but love and White Snake’s charms lead the two to become intimate before marriage. After the wedding, the colourful bubble of sweet love bursts. The originally free-spirited White Snake is forced to endure the realities of life.
The headphone theatre experience is one of the most anticipated aspects of this show. A range of real and virtual sounds make the audience feel like they are wandering through West Lake in the rain, including the sound of rain, wagon wheels, shouting, and more. The actors’ voices are transmitted to the audience through headphones, as if you’re listening to your best friend whispering to you. It feels like we are not in the theatre, but secretly reading a little girl’s diary.
Invisible Space is not a work of strong resistance or reflection, although it sets an ancient Chinese mythological tale in a modern setting. White Snake has been silently enduring the heavy chores, arguments and restraints of their marriage, even though their love has long since faded. When Xu Xian passes away, a heartbroken and distressed White Snake simply packs her bags alone, talking about how this is the 1900th Xu Xian she has met. This ending implies that White Snake will re-experience such conflicting love and marriage countless times, because she can never die. Expressing such a common reality, choosing to rewrite the White Snake legend is not a necessary way to go about it.
Invisible Space provides an absolutely romantic immersive sound experience.
