Facility 111: A Government Experiment is described as a surreal audio play that asks audiences to imagine two cities, one of glass and another of sand. Basically, it asks an audience to sit in a dark shipping container for 40-odd minutes while someone live narrates an audio story to them.

We’ve reviewed experiences like this before;  the excellent Ghost River Theatre’s Tomorrow’s Child took a well-regarded Ray Bradbury story and then blindfolded and led audiences into darkness, before revealing something rather strange towards the end. Facility 1111 takes a much simpler approach, and because the story is not very coherent, it ends up being rather boring. What little narrative their is, seems to be rather flat and derivative.

Immersive theatre is extremely difficult to do well because it requires a level of commitment from the audience in order to work. The more tools you provide to enable an audience to slide into another world, the better. This is one of the elements that makes commercial immersive theatre so expensive, and that’s one of the reasons why it’s so hard to do well at a budget-conscious Fringe Festival.

Part of the problem is the choice of performance. The story is narrated almost as if it is a meditation; a steady sing-song voice guides the audience through the story, but because there isn’t much to grab onto in the narrative, it becomes difficult to pay attention. Some will find this relaxing, others will not.

If you really like listening to flat-toned podcasts in the dark, then you should consider this show.  Or if you really need a mid-morning nap and you don’t snore.  This is a disappointing show, but we are enthusiastic for the concept (if not the execution) and would love to see what it develops into.

You can book tickets for the Edinburgh Fringe show here and learn more about the artist here.