Going Dark

An innovative text combining astronomical insight with themes of sight and blindness.

How far can you see? A mile? A hundred miles? Or to the furthest shores of the universe to a far away galaxy? Going Dark explores contemporary society's lost connection with the night sky and its wonder at the cosmos, with a portrait of one astronomer slowly losing his sight and how one man's vision becomes illuminated by darkness. It's Max's job to ask the cosmic questions. Passionate about astronomy, he works as the narrator at the city's planetarium where he challenges his audiences with the mysteries of stars and science.When his own life takes an unexpected turn, Max discovers that understanding the universe requires a different kind of vision. Representing a unique collaboration between the innovative theatre company Sound&Fury and playwright Hattie Naylor, Going Dark will be produced using highly original theatre vocabulary of immersive surround sound design, total darkness and imaginative lighting and projections. Sound&Fury's innovative style of collaborative theatre combines the shared skills of theatrical storytelling, writing, performance, visual art and sound design to create both immersive performance pieces and a startling new theatrical language. This has been described as 'Total theatre that doesn't just happen all around you, but that swallows you up completely ... you feel as if you are experiencing the whole thing through your skin" (Guardian). This play is an example of innovative, immersive theatre-making at its best and explores contemporary society's lost connection with the night sky and its wonder at the cosmos.