Rockaby in the Dark

The project that led to four half-hour performances of Samuel Beckett’s Rockaby, investigated the application of access aesthetics within the performance rather than in addition to it. Performance space was reconsidered in terms of the inclusion of audience members irrespectively of their visual abilities through the blacking-out of the Studio Theatre. As a result the possibility of visual elements of performance was annihilated and embodied experience became a navigating force during the creative process. Beckett’s text became part of an installation that provoked the exploration of the blacked-out space, as the audience members were navigated around the space through a path made out of sand. Elements that addressed the senses of touch, taste and smell and were related to our interpretation of the text were strategically placed around the space; the sensory interaction with not only these elements, but also the performer led to the active participation of the audience members. Consequently, each performance resulted in a different environment depending on the participatory decisions made by each audience member.