IMAGINARIUM

Around the world, we are going through a strange period of isolation and stasis. Over the past year, people all over the globe have spent more time alone in their bedrooms than perhaps at any other point in their lives thus far.

How are we supposed to deal with such a crisis? How can we feel free in our hearts and minds when we are imprisoned within our own homes? How can art remedy our suffering when it is under the same constraints?

To begin to answer such questions, we must start within the four walls of our minds. Out of the Blue Theatre invites you to discover a whole new imaginative universe within your bedroom in this audio-immersive theatrical experience. It is time to step out of your comfort zone; to break out of the ordinary. Escape the confines of your space and follow us into the impossible. Welcome to the IMAGINARIUM!

Introduction to the show

With a 'beautifully complex' sound design from Offie Award nominated Sound Designer Tingying Dong, a seductive voice of the narrator, the audiences' imaginations are fuelled to journey into the extraordinary and unknown.

As a direct response to the ongoing global pandemic, quarantines and theatre close-downs, IMAGINARIUM is an experimental immersive experience conceived and designed for audiences to experience in their own bedrooms. It is an audio guided interactive event that celebrates the freedom of human imagination in the face of physical confinements.

Throughout this performance, the audience will follow audio invitations to examine their everyday surroundings through new creative lenses. They will play games with their imagination, and dance with the thought that others around the world are participating with them simultaneously. It’s a playful, mindful and thoughtful journey that transforms our mundane environment into a space full of reflection, warmth and wonder.

IMAGINARIUM is Out of the Blue Theatre Company’s debut production. It was created and rehearsed over 6 months between creatives in London and Wuhan, and premiered in London in October 2020. It was selected and supported by the French-German Fund for Wuhan, and translated into Mandarin Chinese, French and German versions. As an international project, it continues to tour to different countries and connect audiences around the globe.

About Out of the Blue Theatre Company

Out of the Blue theatre is an international theatre company formed from the collaboration of Haylin Cai, Harry Dean and Tingying Dong. We are three young artists from different social and training backgrounds, united by our collective curiosities of the world and passion for fostering a sense of awareness, openness, connection and play through theatre.

Our curiosities usually lead us through extended periods of research and development, we love to draw inspiration from different cultures and societies and involve people from diverse fields during the creation process. We question how theatre can engage with the human condition.

We constantly experiment with what theatre can be in the age of globalization and information. Our debut piece IMAGINARIUM acknowledges the limitations lockdowns have imposed on the theatre industry and people’s lives. It seeks to give our audience an entertaining, cathartic experience through the medium of audio immersion.

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Review Quotes

“A celebration of synchronicity”

— Londongrip.co.uk

“An incredibly pleasant retreat.”

— ArtsCulture

“Revolutionary creative form”

— RAZZ

“Ground breaking...a highly surreal experience from start to finish”

— North West End UK

“I was swept away.”

— LondonTheatre1

“poeticise[s] this mundanity in a way that brings me to real tears”

— A Younger Theatre

“Open up the sense outside of the obvious”

— The Reviews Hub