THE INVISIBLE CITY by Daniele Bartolini (DopoLavoro Teatrale/SummerWorks). At your home and various locations. Aug 8-12 at 9:30 and 11 pm. See listing. Rating: NNNN
If youre tired of sitting passively in the audience and would rather play the protagonist, The Invisible City is for you.
Known for immersive and experimental shows Off Limits Zone and The Stranger, DopoLavoro Teatrale (DTL) offers this expansive, mysterious and multi-sited adventure that prompts participants to deeply contemplate themselves, the built environment of the city and the hopes and dreams of three other people.
The experience which requires a lot of work, but returns the effort if you take it seriously unfolds in three parts over 24 hours. The first part doesnt happen in a theatre, but rather over the telephone. Four audience members at a time are connected to a hotline operator who spends an hour asking basic personality test questions How would your friends describe you? Who do you love the most? What is your favourite place? with participants sharing their answers with everyone on the call.
The next afternoon, participants are invited to separately visit an address on a residential street where they are blindfolded, led inside and guided through a series of movements while two actors deliver overlapping monologues about dreams. The deprivation of sight for this portion heightens the experience of sound and touch.
For the third segment, things are finally visible. The participants from the phone call meet on Queen West at night where inside a building kind of like a haunted house they are led through a series of mini performances and thought-provoking group activities that draw on themes of empathy, introspection, creation and the future.
If youre able to deal with the unexpected and unusual aspects (especially being handled while blindfolded) this powerful and inspiring experience is a fun, exciting and enchanted quest that critically tweaks the way you perceive the city and the strangers you encounter in everyday life.
