A shipping container filled with what resembles laundry trolleys sets the scene for a visitor to ‘Eulogy’ – one of several shows  being showcased this year by the immersive  theatre company Darkfield. As you take a seat in your own ‘hotel suite’, there are no giveaways as to what lies ahead and  a pervasive sense of acute anticipation as the lights extinguish and you enter another, darker world .

Using binaural sound – (yes I had to Google it too), the work is delivered through stereophonic headphones and in complete and total darkness. This is an environment which in this day and age is rare, but highly effective and with no visual stimulation each audience member has a completely unique, individual and slightly other worldly experience,  driven by the clever narrative and their very own imagination. Blocking one sense does indeed heighten the sensitivity of the others.

Binaural sound is totally different to surround sound – it is utterly immersive. There is depth and perspective to the sounds of voices and travel which transports the listener into a completely different reality. It’s a clever manipulation of one’s own perceptions, added to which the drama is edgy enough to keep the listener on the edge of their seat. The story is designed to  truly explore the boundaries of this technology and an element of personalisation, using speech recognition technology, makes it all the more special.

Answers to some initial, seemingly mundane questions, help to truly individualise the experience – (although in my case the machine made a mistake), but none of these give any clue as to the direction of the drama which weaves an initially confusing, labyrinthine and ever darker tale, touching on themes of deception, manipulation and control. As the story progresses, other sensory cues help to build the suspense. The culmination  is rather shocking and unexpected (no spoilers here), it’s a proverbial hand grenade thrown into a fascinating, but at times disquieting 35 minutes. Varying pace, loud noises and a whole box of sensory tricks  serve to make this a thrilling, totally immersive and at times slightly uncomfortable experience, but for the vast majority of theatre-goers this dissonance provides its edge. The effect is  incredibly thought-provoking, reminding one of the sheer power of the human brain and its imagination.

Anyone who has been recently bereaved or is of a claustrophobic tendency might want to swerve this one, but if not get your skates on. This sort of theatre is ground-breaking, thought provoking  and like nothing many Fringe goers will ever have experienced. That’s what any visit to Edinburgh in August is all about.

‘Eulogy‘ is at Summerhall – The Terrace until Mon 25 Aug 2025 at various times