The Encounter (Complicite)

22 January 2017 | 11:50 am | Maxim Boon

"This is complex, multilayered theatre that is at once virtuosic and meditative."

Posters advertising one of the most anticipated productions of 2017's festival circuit, Complicite's The Encounter, are proudly covered with a veritable constellation of stars - a snapshot of the near hysterical praise this show has received since it premiered at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival. Critical hype on this scale can sometimes be a poisoned chalice; audiences anticipating life altering experiences are often the hardest to please. However, The Encounter not only lives up to its reputation, it delivers something so astonishingly poetic and technically sophisticated that something as glib as a five-star rating or a pithy pull quote feels downright inadequate as a summary. This is complex, multilayered theatre that is at once virtuosic and meditative, cheerfully accessible but also steeped in philosophical intelligence, coursing with urgency and yet unshakably resonant long after its final cadence.

The story at its core is both extraordinary and true, drawn from the pages of Petru Popescu's non-fiction book, Amazon Beaming. Experienced and intrepid photographer Loren McIntyre boasted more than 25 years experience working in the field when he arrived on the banks of the Amazon River in 1969. A well planned four-day expedition into the rainforest lay ahead of him, during which he would attempt to capture a glimpse of the Mayoruna tribespeople, an accomplishment that would surely earn him the cover of National Geographic. Within hours, he had achieved his goal, but in the process had become dangerously lost, more than 400 miles in every direction from any semblance of modern civilisation. Hope of survival was now dependent on his subjects, the Mayoruna, but asking for help is no easy matter when you share neither language nor cultural compatibility.

A thrilling narrative to be sure, but delivered via conventional means, an audience would still be mere spectators to these events; passive voyeurs, invested in its consequences but still comfortably at arm's-length. This piece, however, is not by conventional theatremakers. Complicite has made boundary breaking its stock and trade since its collective of actors and creatives first rocketed onto the British theatre scene in 1983. The Encounter, co-created and directed by Simon McBurney, might just be the company's most audacious demolition of the fourth wall yet. Each seat comes equipped with a pair of headphones, tapping each audience member into a binaural, 360-degree sonic safari. This churning soundscape not only surrounds us, it envelops us. The voices in our heads are no longer our own - our minds are hijacked by this technology, carrying us deep into the Amazon basin without having to move an inch.

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If this sounds like a gimmick, don't be fooled. Apart from a binaural microphone (think of a crash-test dummy's head, on a stick, with unnervingly realistic plastic ears), a range of other sound-tech paraphernalia and a bunch of plastic water bottles, the stage is unadorned and stark. This Amazonian odyssey is purely aural, but the clarity with which each described scene is conjured borders on magical.

It's a jaw-dropping, but sometimes assaulting experience, as we navigate the topography of this sound world. From the faintest whisper or buzzing mosquito to thunderingly dense thickets of noise that give the sensation of being physically shaken, The Encounter offers a universe of extremes that toes a fine line between immersive intimacy and taking liberties with our personal space. But this is surely the point - the only way to escape this intensity is to disengage with it, but like McIntyre, the only way to find the truth of this narrative is to push past our comfort zone and allow ourselves to acclimatise.

Our guide through McIntyre's brief but life-changing time with the Mayoruna is British actor Richard Katz, who is not only responsible for inhabiting a range of characters - McIntyre, a narrator, various tribespeople, and himself - but also in charge of relocating microphones, activating various effects with pedals, and using Foley props to recreate the sounds of the wilderness. It's a dizzying display of multitasking, which Katz executes effortlessly as both puppet and puppet master; a feat that, by itself, is probably worth the ticket price.

But this show's slick execution and technical whizzbang is not the reason it has scooped so many star-laden critiques. Beneath this wizardry is a message of deeply touching potency. It challenges the foundation of our identity as members of an apparently civilised society, enslaved by our materialism and our obsession with time. It questions how deep our empathy can run in our self-centred modern world. It explores where the boundary between truth and fiction exists and whether our imperfect memories are anything other than a self-constructed fantasy. And perhaps most poignantly of all, it suggests that every intent, every action, every decision and desire we have is a political act, aligned with beliefs that fundamentally must conflict with others. This is no finger-wagging sermon, though. These currents of subconscious subtext flow strongly just below the surface tension of The Encounter, ready for an audience to dip a toe or jump in feet first to be swept away.

Complicite present The Encounter, to 28 Jan, Sydney Opera House, part of the Sydney Festival
 2 - 10 Feb, Malthouse Theatre
16 - 25 Feb, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, part of the Perth International Arts Festival
7 - 11 Mar, Adelaide Festival Centre, part of the Adelaide Festival