An uninhabited warehouse hums with restless energy, pulses race in the dark. Sound and light collide, performers suddenly disappear. Each flash revealed something in the dark. 

These words, attached to a wristband are given to us to wear as we enter the warehouse. 

Curiosity and anticipation prevail as we wait unsure as to how the show will begin. Moody light, small groups of people gather, talking and greeting each other. Then large black curtains are drawn away and we enter the space. 

Gently pulsing techno music draws us in, as does the set. Suspended from the ceiling are a number of different length, rectangular nylon-mesh drops that cleverly break up the space and in itself make a maze for us to navigate in this relatively small warehouse. The downlights are predominantly reds and oranges and the smoke moves gently as we meander, looking, wondering, anticipating. 

A clutch of performers fully covered in floaty, neutral coloured costumes, emerge in the space; we know they have appeared as the audience moves towards their entry direction. The movers materialise, bound together  by the same costumes and the physical chevron shape they’re grouped in, sometimes disbanding but often returning to the shape. The fully-covered nature of these mover’s costumes seem to restrict their movement possibilities. 

Bizarre, supernatural costumed characters appear randomly during the warehouse encounter.  The audience is curious as to where the focus will take us next. The light often dictates this, drawing our attention to the new arrival. 

The music pulses on, sometimes increasing in volume and intensity, but never silent. 

Silence may help focus and draw the audience’s attention more intensely. The constant techno pulse is grounding, however looking at the work as a whole I wanted more surprises,  more ‘wow’ moments or shocking encounters. 

Anne-Lisa Noordover’s costuming is to be applauded. The creatures we encounter are both threatening, striking and quirky. Some could  evolve more in personality and develop character appropriate interactions with both other characters and the audience. We are in such deliciously close proximity to them and there are so many ripe opportunities for more meetings and interactions. I did enjoy my one personal connection to a‘taloned’ creature, a sweet ‘taloned-heart’ shape between us! 

Rebekah de Roo’s set offers a space that is broken up with the hanging rectangles and four rostra or boxes that performers step up on, to present and elevate themselves so the audience can see well. The concept of rostra works, however I would like to see these used more abstractly, perhaps as obstacles or hazards, or part of the characters themselves and not just boxes in the space, and not always presentational areas. 

Jacob Bank’s lighting and de Roo’s projection designs create an environment of wonder and anticipation. The bull’s-eye spot on the floor is particularly cool! I would love some of the characters to dance with and explore the shapes and patterns that de Roo has created. Another highlight is a strobe section, fragmenting the light and turning the ‘multi-faced’ character into a macabre unknown entity.  Again, a moment of lighting excellence is when the suspended nylon-drops are lit with an almost metallic luminescence, giving a sense of supernatural organisms hanging, waiting to be explored by both audience and performers, a state lost somewhat in the mix of it all. 

The audio by Matt Asunder, grounded and manipulated the performance, the audience freely moving to the surround sound. 

Daniel Nodder’s choreography had potential but lacked detail and variety in parts. 

Some thoughts for opportunities to expand the experience for both performers and audience may be; using silence and stillness as a call and response toward the action/focus, dynamic music/sound changes and an increase in movement qualities, shapes, levels and energies. 

Although not a new type of performance experience for me, I enjoyed wandering amongst the performers and sometimes deliberately being an obstacle and noticing how the performers respond.  

Entry: Encounter collaborators should be applauded on their collective creative endeavours. The Fringe Festival offers fabulous opportunities for site specific work such as this to exist.

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