Ontroerend Goed have a track record of making spectacular immersive theatre, no mean feat in the pressurised hothouse of a Fringe venue. This year, they’re back at Zoo Southside with a new show, Funeral. To say it does what it says on the tin would do the group a disservice. It certainly does, but it raises a whole bunch of questions along the way.
This is one of those unhelpful reviews that tells you nothing about the show to avoid spoiling your discovery. But know that there will be some walking (a tiny bit), some standing, and some sitting (you can request a chair). The audience management is handled in the gentlest way possible – you’ll barely notice it’s happening. And remember this is immersive – the smell of the space is almost as good as the show itself.
Superb lighting, captivating set and lights, suitably elegiac music and pitch-perfect performances transform this piece of theatre into something ritualistic, tantamount to a meditation on the moments in life that matter. The clever staging sucks the audience into the spectacle in a way that will feel perfectly comfortable for all but the most deep introvert. For a moment, we are seen by each other. We support each other. We help each other. And then we come together to mark the moment. To mark the dead.
Funeral explores the age-old, ‘Why are we here?’ question and concludes that even if we don’t really know, we can at least appreciate the moments we have in all their technicolour glory, and maybe try a little harder to appreciate each other along the way.
Funeral runs until Sun 27 Aug 2023 at ZOO Southside – Main House at 10:00 & 11:20