Feral Theatre at Ledbury

This is the description of the show (you can see why I was really looking forward to it!)

A sensory adventure inspired by the original ‘Sandman’ story. This is a world where dreams are turned on their heads and sleep is slipping out of reach … drift off in a warm bath of rich language and imagery. 

There was a really nice buzz before the performance. Once you entered the dark theatre you were led to a seat and given a blindfold. I am sometimes claustrophobic, but I felt totally comfortable; the people were so calm and friendly. Once seated and the sense of sight removed, what was left was touch, taste, hearing and sound. The voices of a male and female spoke soothingly and led you into an incredible journey through forests, gardens and seas. The words were like lines of poetry. Music played and water trickled. Each part of the journey had an accompanying sound effect so I could hear the sea or birds singing. To make this even more wonderful when the story talked of rain, gentle water was sprayed on me or during a party scene I was carefully handed a drink! At one part a warm, soft blanket was placed around shoulders.

It was rather magical. And these are only a couple of examples; there were interactive elements every few minutes. Strong scents were released so that I felt like I was really in the forest or by the sea. It was so vivid; I cannot fully describe how WONDERFUL it was. The closest comparison is the feeling of complete, relaxed harmony during savasana at the end of a really good yoga session. It is great that Ledbury Poetry festival books events like these because it makes poetry exciting.

Here is some more info about Feral Productions: