Review: UNCHAIN ME, Brighton Festival
Photo credit: Lucas August
Inspired by, but not directly based on, Dostoyevsky’s Possessed, Unchain Me follows Dostoyevsky’s sprawling work and presents it through the lens of our present-day world.
DreamThinkSpeak brings Unchain Me to the Brighton Festival, a very interesting and thought provoking journey through today’s political climate really making you question who to trust and who to believe. Ten different groups are each led through the adventure with their own guide, having initially met at five secret Brighton locations and being made to turn off their realities (their phones) and given a tablet which becomes your communication in this journey. Such reliance on technology always comes with risks and technical issues but everything is handled smoothly and measures are clearly put in place to prevent any major issues arising and ruining the illusion.
Bring your comfy shoes because you’ll definitely be seeing new areas of Brighton, local or not! You are led through historic museums, theatre rooms and empty retail space, all whilst interacting with planted actors in the streets really making you question your sense of reality and safety. The show does very well to immerse you in the cause whilst not feeling too cheesy or forced about the matter, you are free to make your own decisions. And rather, we think, intentionally, we left with more questions than answers, having left the show very open ended and treating the audience with the courtesy of not babying you, but letting the audience interpret the evening’s events in their own way, allowed to finally meet and mingle with the entire group.
It’s fair to say this show is not your typical theatrical production but does so much more to, not only immerse, but trust you to join the cause and the world created for us. Accessibility would be the next step to elevate the show even further as there is a lot of walking and the vast majority of your stops contain stairs. But overall, the show is intelligently crafted and will leave you pondering and emoting for time to come.
A truly moral journey around Brighton.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Natalie Pedro
With extreme demand, be quick to snatch up your space on this adventure running until 12 June at one of five secret Brighton locations!
For more information and to book, please click here.