Review: FLIGHT by DARKFIELD

Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic

Set within a cross-section of a commercial aeroplane cabin, complete with a laminated safety card, working seatbelts, tray tables and overhead luggage compartments, FLIGHT invites audiences to experience two parallel realities at once. Taking inspiration from the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and the Schrödinger's Cat thought experiment (in which an animal inside a closed box is both dead and alive until observed), it places the audience into the role of the metaphorical cat, as both their death and survival play out in parallel, unobserved by everyone outside of the plane.

Depending on your resolve, the above description is either going to be appealing or a terrifying proposition – and out of all the shows DARKFIELD has on offer during this London residency, FLIGHT is easily the most intense, helped in large part by having the most impactful motion effects. There's a persistent rumble of engines during take-off; moments of turbulence cause the cabin to jolt around, and of course, as the reality in which audiences don't survive plays out, the intensity of these effects ramps up considerably. While the show takes place in complete darkness, fleeting flashes of light through the aeroplane's windows help sell the illusion of flight even further, illuminating both the cabin and its seated passengers.

Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic

FLIGHT's use of binaural audio is perhaps the strongest of this residency's four shows, as the moments in which the chaos and carnage of the plane's destruction envelop its captive audience are rendered in terrifyingly realistic detail, with the sound of the fuselage ripping apart and the cabin being pummelled by the outside air becoming almost deafening.

Even during FLIGHT's calmer moments, there's still plenty to raise the heart rate, including a chorus of crying babies (arguably worse than death), problematic passengers, and some pretty terse flight attendants whispering in your ear - all delivered through the show's excellent binaural soundscape.

While the odds of being in a real-life plane crash are incredibly low, FLIGHT is a vivid reminder that every time we fly, we're placing our trust in people and things beyond our control. There's very little we can do to ensure our safety, besides making sure our tray tables are in their upright position and obeying the fasten seatbelt sign.

★★★★

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This review of FLIGHT is from DARKFIELD's London residency at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in October 2025. For more information on DARKFIELD and their upcoming shows, visit darkfield.org