Showing @ Summerhall, Edinburgh until Sun 25 Aug @ times vary
Experiencing Tales of Magical Realism is like taking a step out of time. It is a curiously immersive experience where each viewer is cradled in an individual sensory bubble. We are led to small laboratory and momentarily abandoned. It is clear no one knows quite what to expect, and the mystery is heightened when a black-clad couple arrive and politely subdivide us into individual rooms. This introduction sets the stage perfectly for what is to come – an experience which is unsettling but never threatening.
Each person is issued with a headset which ensures the sonic stimulation is maintained throughout with storytelling, sound effects, and of course the lush, evocative soundtrack by Graeme Miller that forms the backbone of the piece. Via this anachronistic technology, we are guided through a series of vignettes that cast each viewer as the central character in Sven Werner‘s enigmatic tale. Nor is visual stimulation ignored – the fixtures and fittings are almost pitch-perfect in their steampunk aesthetic. Were it not occasional pang of physical discomfort from the rickety seating, there would be little interference from modern reality in this haunting sensory adventure.
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