Blackout - Fear Loves An Audience Review

A lot of what I enjoy in October could be described as “an immersive theatrical experience”. In fact, in many cases, it has. Is Anybody There or Diary of a Deceased are two such examples. For that reason, I had a flicker of faint optimism when I saw ‘Blackout – Fear Loves an Audience’ described as such. Yes, the event was taking place in a theatre, but who knows? I yearn for experimental, challenging and boundary-pushing experiences; blurred lines that offer none of the comfort of a predictable format, but rather a true sense of stepping into the unknown.

This wasn’t that. It was a play.

Blackout’s immersive elements are rooted in the familiar ‘rehearsal’ format - fans of The Woman in Black or Stage Fright will have seen all of these elements utilised before, albeit to a higher standard, but that doesn’t mean Blackout had nothing to offer. The premise, when stripped of its clutter, is fun: three actors rehearsing a scene have unknowingly summoned a ghost in the process. Unfortunately this is robbed of its potential simplicity by a slew of additional details: the scene they’re rehearsing is from a play adapted from an older play based on a true story which took place in that location. A touch of the Chanel treatment wouldn’t have gone amiss here.

There’s further clutter in the dialogue; the script is littered with sceptic vs believer debates, which interfered with the pacing at times. However, the vignettes which are crafted to incite these discussions are a lot of fun – especially the car scene, which, although heavily reminiscent of the car scene in Ghost Stories, had great tension and sent a delightful shiver down my spine. This is largely down to the storytelling aspect, and I loved that the scene was given the space to unfold gradually.

As far as frights go, Blackout is heavily reliant on jump scares, sudden lighting changes (including a lot of strobing) and sound effects. This did very little for me, but certainly had a impact on others around me, which made for a fun atmosphere in the theatre. The tape recorder was wonderfully creepy too, and the physical effects were entertaining. Overall, Blackout was ideal for some October weeknight spooks, but it's unlikely to stay with you once the ghost light goes out.