Blast Theory

AVOID! I went to their "Black Antler", which was a great idea, but executed TERRIBLY. It's borderline false advertising, as they failed to live up to the promises in their marketing. It's meant to be about infiltrating a protest group and testing the limits of what can be justified in state surveillance - NONE of this was delivered on. The actors actively brief you at the start not to get too involved, and then at the end they force you to make a decision about "what to do next" - which I refused to do as the performance gave me literally NO information about what was going on in the group (again, I reiterate that the actors briefed us at the start not to get too involved). Another member of the group didn't take part in the decision at the end either; she told me afterwards that it's because she's French and she didn't understand what the performer was saying as she was talking too quickly. That's understandable in a massive performance, but this was in a piece of audience participation, where there were only 8 of us, including the actor! Not a good way to treat your audience or run immersive theatre. They claimed to me afterwards that absolutely everyone has loved their performances, although I know that several people in my group did not. Their dealing with my complaints and suggestions was abysmal as well, I would definitely urge you to avoid this overpriced piece of tosh!
Jun 19th, 2018

Blast theory one with a strong brand identity awards and a history that spans decades.
Oct 25th, 2018

Jan 30th, 2017

I attended Operation Black Antler during Brighton Festival immersive theatre at its best as a way of exploring a diffcult subject. Thank you Brighton Festival.
Jun 12th, 2016