The Dreams of You: A Volunteer Sleep Study is one of the weirdest shows we’ve ever seen. When you walk into a show about dreams you, of course, consider that it might get a bit strange, but never did we think we would see some of the things we did on stage!

This absurdist sketch show sees one lucky audience member’s ‘dreams’ analysed onstage, thanks to the technology of the October Brian Laboratory. Four scientists guide you through a full sleep cycle uncovering personal truths and fears. In the show we saw, our volunteer/lead character was called Babs and once her mind had been connected to the dream cube, chaos ensued.

The surrealist humour of the piece meant we followed Babs as she changed from an accountant then a jazz singer with a daughter and a wife, to appearing in alternate realities with Velcro genitalia and game shows in gobbledygook where elimination meant death. There were puppets and multiple costume changes and even though the show is completely bonkers, the actors are brilliant and totally invested in bringing you on this journey through sleep cycles.

The Dreams of You is clearly meant to make you think but ultimately, its true meaning was a little lost on us. It was, overall, a story about the dangers of experimental science but beyond that it could be interpreted in a multitude of ways. Watching the show was an enjoyable and completed bizarre experience as we alternated between laughing because it was funny and out of nervousness and confusion.

Dreams are inherently illogical, and you should hold this in your mind if you watch The Dreams of You: A Volunteer Sleep Study because it is absolutely absurd!

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Sophie Luck

The Dreams of You: A Volunteer Sleep Study plays at Greenside @ Infirmary Street at 4.10pm until 12 August.