Seizing the Little House Arena at Latitude, Christopher Brett-Bailey’s latest show gets off to a rocky start. Running almost half an hour late (in what has otherwise been a very tightly orchestrated festival), the audience wait confusedly outside. Eventually, we are admitted inside and Christopher explains the problem. His show is designed to be played at 120 decibels; at that volume, you would be able to hear it at all other stages on the Festival site: the organisers are having second thoughts. Before there is any time to really contemplate this, a steward marches through the crowd hurling neon ear plugs and Christopher proudly declares that they are going to do it anyway until “the Narcs shut us down”.

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Séance is an immersive theatre project conceived by Glen Neath and David Rosenberg. Housed in an intimate shipping container, attendees are seated around a table before being plunged into total darkness, beginning an experience that will make even die-hard sceptics squirm.

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Mindfulness and meditation, two constructs that have erupted within contemporary culture, but have you ever considered the roots of both practices and the place of origin? Shangri-La, is a play that explores the place rather than the myth, empathetic considering impact and circumstance of mass tourism. Situated in the Himalayan foothills of China’s Yunnan Province, officially renamed ‘Shangri-La’ in a successful bid for the tourist dollar, this play provokes disequilibrium highlighting conflict and anger.

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That was a sick show! And I don’t mean in the new contemporary good way. And I don’t mean it made me wanted to puke. I mean sick, weird and twisted. We are introduced to 13 Belgian girls dressed as Airhostess and they give us a polite warning to not be offended at what is about to take place on stage. It is quite clear we are about to embark on some touchy subjects, especially as the one body builder starts to strip down to his underwear.

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They say home is where the heart is, but where is home? Is it where you were born? Is it a place you build up an affinity with? Is home a state of mind? Being plucked out of your comfort zone, and having to assimilate to a completely different way of life has to be one of the most challenging experiences we as humans can go through, however many do it. Letters to CentreStage‘s Olu places this phenomena under the microscope, and starts up a very intruiging conversation on a multitude of themes.

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Unique in its design and musical structure Meeting takes audiences through the mechanics of contemporary dance at the nationally renowned Battersea Arts Centre. A collection of static movements combined with intricate gadgets (striking pencils on the floor) add a touch of suspense to the space, highlighting Anthony Hamilton’s (head choreographer) artistic vision. A vision he has travelled halfway across the world to share and showcase with British audiences.

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This Malthouse Theatre production transports Shakespeare‘s tragedy King Lear to an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territories of Australia. Lear, played by the energetic Tom E. Lewis, who also co-wrote the story together with director Michael Kantor and the cast, is the leader of an indigenous community who decides to divide up his land between his three daughters – land that he has no right to give as Cordelia advises him in the opening scene: “You can’t give what you don’t own.” Written in a mixture of English, Kriol and other indigenous languages, the text is still easy to follow. “A tragedy this milli, our tragedy” explains the Fool (a charismatic Kamahi Djordan King) at the beginning of the performance.

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Barbu is a thrilling take on circus, applying folk ensemble and soundtrack, this show provides joyful entertainment. Cirque Alfonse are fresh, young and innovative, amalgamating a culturally centred premise to an obscure set of skills. Skilfully presented for London Wonderground, Barbu makes you applaud, giggle and even blush, in a colourful production of prowess. A show that is breathtaking, visually dynamic and thoroughly up-lifting.

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A rain poncho. Earplugs. Hand in your belongings. Are you ready to experience what can only be described as Takeshi’s Castle on ecstasy, absurd, frenetic, intense but such a laugh. Presented in collaboration with LIFT Festival, the Barbican Pit hosts Extreme Voices’ Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker. This show is something ‘I have never seen before’, an immersive production that you will either love or hate.

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David Mercatali’s star seems to forever shine even brighter with every production he works on. 5 years ago, Mecatali was nominated for an Evening Standard Award for Outstanding Newcomer and has gone on to fulfil the Award’s championing of his work to stage pieces that get audiences talking. In 2013, he went on to win a Fringe First Award for his staging of Dark Vanilla Jungle and subsequently went on to be nominated for Off West End Awards in 2011 and 2014. Having also worked with theatre’s most exciting talents, Mercatali shows no signs of slowing down. Ahead of his staging of Tess Berry-Hart’s Cargo soon to show at the Arcola Theatre, Theatrefullstop were luck enough to speak with the award winning director about the show!

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