Client: Velvet Loop

Role: Director, Co-writer, Producer

About The Project

This immersive theatre experience gave audience members the chance to learn from a new religious movement, the Scholars of the Last Torch, who claimed altruistic intentions and offered solutions to people who felt something was missing from their lives. The event took place in the exceptionally bizarre Lumiere bar, which formed the perfect location for a commune to base themselves and perform their ‘cult’-like rituals. All the actors, clothed in loose white linens, moved with a superior calmness. Their smiles seemed genuine, and they were convincing and enthusiastic about the joy they had found in this commune – but troubles lay beneath the smiles, and it didn’t take long in the evening for the cracks to surface and for problems in the group dynamic to begin to rise.

“The Illumination is an incredibly well thought out performance…This is an immersive performance of colour, variety and a lot of spark where what lurks beneath the surface lurks no longer…All in all – this is a performance that needs to become your entire to do list. It is a mystical miasma for your brain as well as your senses that creates a highly enjoyable experience.”

Camilla Halford- Everything Immersive

About My Process

I led a diverse group of improvisers and performers through a devising process, creating a non-linear performance with multiple scenes and story threads playing out simultaneously across several spaces. Leveraging my immersive theatre directing experience, I implemented techniques to maintain consistency throughout the performance. This included designing a static soundtrack with subtle cues for performers, keeping the audience unaware. Additionally, I created supplementary content, such as YouTube videos from supposed dissenters, a website for the fictional religion, and a personality test which linked to audience members who could then be identified during the event. These elements expanded and enriched the world presented in the performance.