Don't look back is a theatre performance presented by dreamthinkspeak and organised by British Council. I managed to catch the show, thanks to my colleague CT.
It was an experience worth going for because it was unlike any of the theatre performance that i've watched in the past.
A brief of the story: It is about the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Eurydice died on her wedding day and was brought to the Underworld. Orpheus went after her and tried to reclaim her by appeasing the gods with his music. the gods agreed on one condition - he can't look back at her until they reach the land of the living. Orpheus, however, couldn't help himself and looked back, and as he did, she slipped back to death and he was condemned to spend the rest of his life in utter desolation.
The performance was staged at the former Majestic Hotel and the audience was grouped in threes and led to different rooms to watch the images. the first room was where the guardian of the Underworld sat. he woke up when we entered. we were given numbers as a form of registration.
The second room was where the wedding party was supposedly held. a ghost bride led us into the room while another followed us from behind with a candle in her hands. there was a third corpse bride lying on the table. it was a mess, as if something tragic had happened. there was a projection on the wall showing Eurydice being carried on a boat to the Underworld.
Some rooms have only furnishing while others depicted the various activities that people in the Underworld do. there was one man sitting at a table cutting paper names. then there was two men in a room. one writes on a death form, while the other carries a box that contained the certificates.
The Majestic Hotel was a very conducive place because the old architecture gave a sense of realism to the Underworld. the staircase, the corridors, the balconies, the different sizes of rooms. The production team manipulated the lightings and shadows to produce different images of the Underworld.
At one part, we were walking up a short staircase when we saw our own images on the mirror in front of us. and before we know it, an image of a bride came from behind the mirror. it was very spooky indeed. the student that was in our group gripped my arm tightly. she was quite terrified. Then there was the imam (holy Muslim man) who prayed and closed the coffin door above us. The final room was where we saw how Eurydice slipped away from Orpheus when he looked back at her.
Very nice indeed.
