And The Birds Fell From The Sky

Mystery and intrigue are the key to enjoying this immersive video goggle experience from Il Pixel Rosso

★★★★★
theatre review (edinburgh) | Read in About 2 minutes
Published 21 Aug 2011
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It's difficult to review And The Birds Fell From The Sky without giving too much away. A 15-minute long interactive "video goggle experience" by Il Pixel Rosso (the combined efforts of theatre director Silvia Mercuriali and film director Simon Wilkinson) in which you are thrown into a car journey with a gang of drunk clowns is all that can be said – any more would spoil this uniquely bizarre experience.

Guided through different scenes, the audience plays the central character in a series of dream-like events strung together by symbols that are constantly shifting. The narrative is nigh-on incomprehensible, but this is not about plot or logic. This is about immersing yourself in a single moment, and how overwhelming such moments can be. The video goggles and headphones handed out at the starting point block out any sense of those around you, making the experiences utterly solitary. Despite the reality of your fellow audience members, there is nobody other than you in that car and the result is both disarmingly personal and disorientating.

This may sound irritatingly vague, but such mystery is just as much a part of its success as the piece itself. There is something powerful about sitting in a holding room with a few other people, all with absolutely no idea what is about to happen. Weird, beautiful and wonderfully executed, see And The Birds Fell From The Sky with no preconceptions and you will not be disappointed.

Until 29 Aug, times vary, £9.50 (£8.50)