This is the second Unwrapped show. The first of which I didn’t get a chance to see but a show I’ve read good things about. Unwrapped is a little Christmas present from the Faceless Ventures team to the fans. Nothing is known before the event so we went in blind.
There were three performances on the night and Steven and I were in the second. Prior to going in we noticed the blood on half of the previous group plus a sticker saying intern. This just got us pumped up and even more curious about what was to follow.
We were instructed into the corridor where we were informed about the internship we were about to start. We were led downstairs. While on route we overhead a disagreement between the staff. We walked into Thai commotion once over we were batched into teams. Still not quite knowing what was going to happen half the group went into one room and the other half into the other. It’s here where the fun started and the innovative show started to materialise.
We were presented with a flip chart and two facilitators. We were encouraged to come up with our own short scary scene with a number of options to help get us thinking. We chose creepy children as the main theme and our team were encouraged to start thinking about what we could do including music, lighting and a rough structure.
Shortly after the initial brainstorming we were able to pick out props and actors. This was sprinkled with some quiz questions to add in a level of competition and challenge. We selected our props and actors and then went back to the room to finalise our creation.
It’s amazing how quickly time past as we quickly tried to put together a plot. The actors were great adding in additional suggestions to the mix.
We were soon told time was up and it was showtime. In walked the other group with absolutely no idea what we had in store for them. We let our production play out and left the other group tied up covered in a sheet as the lights faded to black.
It’s so interesting to see how the different groups tackled a show. We had gone for a pure immersive experience while the other show played out in front of us with a spectacularly funny use of the surprise prop we picked earlier in the event.
Shows complete, we head into one of the rooms to be judged. Each judge gave some critique and a score. Unfortunately tonight was not our night and the other team won.
Overall this was a fantastic piece of theatre brilliantly breaking the wall between actor and participant completely turning the concept of theatre on its head.
It’s also worth noting the show would work in so many scenarios and you could take part time and time again and experience something completely new each time.
The actors and facilitators were great helping the audience get involved and motivated, keeping momentum throughout. They helped spark ideas and worked with us to put on the best show we could.
While this was a one off keep your eyes open for future shows from Faceless Ventures including the return of Is There Anybody There in February and Cruelty in January.