Darkfield at Barangaroo — Séance, Flight, Coma & Eulogy

Overview

The spooky season may have ended, but a spine-tingling series of experiences still lingers on in Sydney from November through to January 2024. This is, of course, Darkfield, and you've probably heard of its spooky setpieces before — either here on Concrete Playground or on social media.

Truly masters of immersion, Darkfield is bringing all four of its experiences together to Sydney, specifically Barangaroo's Harbour Park, with two returning favourites and two experiences making their Sydney debuts. Each experience takes place in a single shipping container, but don't let the unassuming exterior fool you — eerie thrills await within.

The two returning stars are Séance and Flight: the former sees you take a seat alongside your participants before you're thrust into a world of sensory deprivation to make contact with the spirit world. The latter is the manifestation of a very common fear, placing you in a mock aeroplane cabin to experience the dual outcomes of a doomed passenger flight.

The two experiences premiering in this visit are Coma and Eulogy. The former will lay you down in a bed and let you slowly fall into a dreamlike state, all while the multisensory effects of the show play out around you. The latter will see you explore a dark labyrinth with a chaperone; keep your wits about you for the audio and speech recognition technology, and whatever you do, do not wander off of the path.

So, what do these spooky experiences have in common? They all use a blend of 360-degree sound design and play on the psychology of their participants, but only for a runtime of 20–30 minutes, and each ticket is priced between $22–30. Shipping containers have limited capacity, so booking in advance is a must, and if you book one show, you'll score discounts on return visits.

Darkfield will be available at Barangaroo from Thursday, November 23 to Sunday, January 21, 2024. For more information and to book tickets, visit the website.

Images: Mihaela Bodlovic