Stepping into ‘Arcade’ at Darkfield’s shipping container village feels like entering another realm entirely. You are walked into a brightly lit container, handed a headset, plugged into an arcade style game unit and then plunged into complete darkness. Suddenly you are surrounded by the hum of machines, the click of coins, and a disembodied voice that seems to know way too much about you. It is immersive theatre stripped to its essence, with no visuals and no visible actors, yet it feels completely cinematic and totally immersive. The sound design is remarkable, creating a 360-degree world of nostalgia, menace, fear and intrigue that makes your pulse quicken even though nothing traditional is taking place.
‘Arcade’ plays with ideas of memory and control, turning a simple arcade game into a psychologically thrilling puzzle. It is playful, unsettling, and unexpectedly emotional, the kind of experience that leaves you sitting in silence long after the final moment, wondering where fiction and reality begin to overlap, and if you go with friends will guarantee that you compare your experiences long after you head home.
Beyond ‘Arcade’, the other Darkfield experiences such as ‘Flight’, ‘Coma’, and ‘Eulogy’ continue this exploration of fear, faith, and consciousness through sound and suggestion. Together they form a captivating collection of sensory experiences.
Darkfield is not just theatre, it is a psychological experiment that lingers and ‘Arcade’ shows that the most powerful and disturbing images are often the ones you never see! Well worth the visit, Darkfield continues in its London location until 2nd November 2025. Tickets are available at https://www.darkfield.org/london2025
Reviewer: Alan Stuart Malin
Reviewed: 10th October 2025
North West End UK Rating:
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