Adrift — Counterpilot

Overview

Gone are the days when seeing a theatre show always meant sitting in a seat, directing your eyes at the stage ahead and passively engaging with whatever erupts in front of you. That's still a mainstay of the industry, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it — a stunning production will always draw you in — but theatremakers are also embracing new formats, new ways to immerse audiences and interactivity.

Take Adrift, for instance. Running at Metro Arts from Wednesday, November 9–Saturday, November 19, it delivers instructions to attendees via headset, plunging them into a mystery and a game as well. And, it's also a musing on nature and isolation, all in one creative package that also involves dolphins, whales, lighthouses, special effects including light design, and far from your usual time at the theatre.

Jason Blight

Metro Arts Company in Residence Counterpilot is behind Adrift, as devised by director/co-writer Nathan Sibthorpe, lighting effects and technical designer Christine Felmingham, and sound designer and composer Mike Willmett — as well as co-production designer and technical designer John Felmingham, co-production designer Sarah Winter and co-writer Toby Martin.

Running two sessions daily, at 6.30pm and 8.30pm, Tuesday–Saturday within its season dates, Adrift wants its audience to be part of the story — and to be deeply steeped in its sound design. It also weaves its tale in the face of a potential mass extinction event. Yes, you don't experience theatre like this every day.