Jul 22, 2020

The Labyrinth Project- A new age immersive theatre programme that offers you a journey of self disco

In the current global crisis where many have felt more isolated than ever, an independent theatre company have pioneered Daedalus; an immersive theatre show designed to reach out and connect people in a unique and emotive way. After two previous sell out shows, this next iteration of ‘The Labyrinth Project’ offers an ‘ interactive 7 day experience’ where you are contacted through email, text post and over zoom. During this time you navigate through ‘The Labyrinth’ with a reimagined maze of narratives and challenges, tailored to your own needs and wishes.

The Labyrinth Project was created by a group of Theatre and Performance students at the University of Leeds who wanted to make a quarantine friendly lockdown experience. They had previously planned to do a live performance which included The Minotaur myth combined with audience interaction, however the onset of Coronavirus made this impossible. Rather than deterring them, they saw this as a challenging opportunity to re-

work their content into something suited to the Covid climate with use of digital theatre.

Similarly, they were driven by the totalising events of this year to help aside from their actual performance, by donating 100% of their profits to ArtsMind and Eclipse Theatre. Arathi Suresh, one of the creators says ‘ Being artists ourselves, we chose to donate to ArtsMind as mental health support is incredibly important in the arts industry at this time due to the financial pressures and low job security perpetuated by Covid. Similarly, due to the recent events of BLM, we wanted to give our full support to Black led theatre groups such as ‘Eclipse Theatre’.

So, what happens? Over the course of seven days, you receive letters, messages and audio clips and are assigned mentors that will guide you through your journey through ‘The Labyrinth’. The company stress you don’t need to clear events for these seven days, rather they will fit around you. In fact, there are only two times in the seven days you need to be available at a specific time. Each day you are given audio clips, meta narratives and tasks to fulfil, competing against other audience members to get out of the maze. Discussions include general wellbeing, connecting with nature, with the people you love and care about and importantly, with yourself. The nature of all these interactions are loosely inspired by the Minotaur myth. The zoom calls take on different forms such as discussions, an interview and one as an initiation to their premium membership. In the latter stages, you get to meet with fellow audience members and they discuss their journey and experiences throughout the show. Suresh says ‘the experience is fully customised, because of how interactive it is. You are the main character of your own show. It’s like a give and take situation; you get what you put in. The more you engage, the more customised it will be.’