Went to the opening night of
HIVE last night, a unique theatre experience that involves 11 different independent theatre companies.
There were instructions on the wall, such as "Take a number" and "Find the person with the Felix nametag" and you would be whisked away to an intimate 10-20 minute performance of sorts. We ended up getting to 9 out of the 11 shows. If you're going, you HAVE to make sure you get to the Boca Del Lupo show - it was by far the best one. The 21st Century Peep Show was hilarious, and apparently the Electric Company's performance was supposed to be good, but it was 1 person at a time and with the huge line-up, we never got around to it. Finding the person with the "Felix" badge will also prove rewarding.
Spoilers ahead: Some of the stuff we saw included Boca del Lupo's Dumpster play - you and someone else actually end up sitting inside a dumpster to watch the play unfold. There was also a one-person only funeral performance, complete with headphones and a talking corpse, egging you on to look into the coffin. Creepy! There was a hilarious retelling of the story of Troy using miniature toys, and the 21st Century Peep Show featured the Olsen twins singing to images of war. What's funny about it is that the person in front of you in line, is actually in a booth next door watching a TV Screen of you watching the Olsen twins. Total riot!
A lot of the performances had a lot to do with death. This is probably because everything took place in a giant funeral home, known simply as The Chapel. We ended up in the embalming area at one point. I wish the shows had gone on all night so we could catch all of them, but alas it was not to be. If you do get out to it tonight or tomorrow, let me know how it goes! For those unable to get tickets, the shows are already sold out, but I hear if you arrive early enough, you may be let in due to last minute cancellations.
