When Séance debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017, some sessions had to be aborted midway so audience members could get out.

The immersive theatre experience combines the concept of a traditional séance with 3D audio technology and sensory deprivation; it blurs the bounds of perception and reality and can therefore be overwhelming– and terrifying – for those who take part. It came to Melbourne in the form of a 40-foot shipping container in 2017, occupying Federation Square for a few weeks.

"First, you’ll put on headphones," wrote Broadsheet's arts editor, Will Cox, of the experience. "Then the room is plunged into pitch darkness. A voice requests you put your hands on the table.

Save 20% when you buy two or more Broadsheet books. Order now to make sure they arrive in time for Christmas.

SHOP NOW

"Once I was enveloped in perfect darkness... I was never quite sure what was in my headphones and what was in the room. But the one variable the company can’t control is where people’s imaginations take them."

The 40-foot shipping container popped-up at the Queen Victoria Market late last year, and is now returning to the market for another month-long season.

Participants will step inside the cramped, claustrophobic space, then settle into one of the old cinema seats with a pair of the aforementioned noise-cancelling headphones, before pitch black sets in.

UK production company Darkfield – which specialises in explorations of fear and anxiety – and its Australian counterparts, Realscape Productions are behind Séance. If you've already experienced Séance, the 2019 performance is exactly the same. The experience is not recommended for anyone under the age of 15, and is controlled but only up to a point.

Séance is happening at the Queen Victoria Market on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights from January 9 to February 6. Buy tickets here.

seancelive.com

This article was updated on January 10, 2019, at 11.55am.