Backstage

When the curtain falls, the real performance begins.

Backstage is an original immersive psychological thriller blending live magic, dark comedy, surreal theatre and audience interaction. Set aboard a luxury cruise ship, the story begins during a glamorous cabaret performance, when an audience volunteer is invited to take part on stage. What first feels like an unusual and exciting experience gradually unfolds into a strange system of rules, choices and consequences.

As the story develops, the boundaries between performer and audience, stage and backstage begin to dissolve. Through live magic, visual storytelling and intimate audience interaction, Backstage explores memory, identity, belonging and personal choice, while examining the quieter ways we can lose ourselves inside places that make us feel unexpectedly at home.

At its heart, the production asks an unsettling question: when rules are placed in front of us, are we truly choosing to follow them — or simply becoming accustomed to staying?

For anyone who has ever said, “I’ll leave tomorrow.”

Following performances in China, Camden Fringe and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Backstage continues its UK tour, inviting audiences not simply to watch the story unfold, but to become part of its world.

Performance time: 4:30pm

Running time: Approximately 60 minutes

Content / Trigger Warning:

The performance includes audience interaction and voluntary participation, live magic and theatrical illusion, moments of heightened tension, themes relating to manipulation and conformity, and sudden changes in lighting and sound.