Darkfield’s Séance and Flight – Aotea Square: May 13, 2025
Two unassuming shipping containers sit end to end in Aotea Square. Painted white there are some rust stains here and there and a few dings at the corners. A single word is painted on each: Flight and Séance. Welcome to Darkfield, two immersive audio experiences that unfold almost entirely in the dark.
Deprived of sight we’re at the mercy of the binaural audio and sensory effects placing us centre stage inside the containers.
Before entering the sets the audience undergo a briefing warning to those of a nervous disposition or pregnant to talk to the host before entering. But once that’s all cleared up it’s time to enter the container and prepare for the unexpected.
Séance takes place in a Victorian-themed room, the guests seated either side of a long table with noise-cancelling headphones the only source of stimulation once the lights are extinguished.
A voice speaks and seems to move around the room speaking to others in the group and asking everyone to believe.
As the story unfolds the audience are challenged to accept what may, or may not, be present in the room and to not run for the nearest exit.
Flight is a slightly less serious affair taking place inside an aircraft cabin.’
Once sitting and strapped in, tray tables stowed in the upright position for take-off, the hostess prepares us for a flight not easily forgotten. This journey confounds perceptions of time and space, entertaining the possibilities that we might be experiencing this all in a multiverse of other dimensions.
At just 20 minutes long, each experience is just long enough to feel real enough, but mercifully, too short to do irreparable harm.
Relying heavily on hearing alone it’s easy to be taken along for a ride that will, at times, feel genuinely terrifying.
In this space, no one can hear you scream!
Alex Robertson
DARKFIELD’S SÉANCE and FLIGHT
Location: Aotea Square, Auckland
Dates: Wed 7 May – Sun 8 Jun
Tickets and further information: https://www.aucklandlive.co.
