A twenty-minute performance that removes the thing that you think you need most in the theatre- sight! The performance, which has a loosely referenced narrative to a refugee, actually focuses on the audience by encouraging them to get in touch with their other senses.
Firstly, the performers (facilitators) were blindfolded and tasked to build a sense of trust with a spectator. The audience members were informed to put on a pair of headsets while they sat beside next to a blindfolded performer. As placed in the position to listen to the recording (sounds of the sea, and a narrator's voice about finding and losing), they are instructed on how to guide the performer outside of the room space (Uni of Bristol's Brandt Cinema) to another (corridor). Once accomplished, an exchange takes place between performer and spectator.
As a performer I needed to be attentive to the responses of my spectator in my care. I began to think more about the boundaries of another person and adapt to it. From navigating someone in narrow to large spaces to a standstill, dancing or engaging the body of someone else through touch and sound, I was physically challenged and critically (as well as reflectively) engaged.
This sensation-based performance was a highlight of yet another end to a year in university, which built my aspiration to encourage sensory-based performances and shed light on the advantages we take for granted.
