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Award-winning theatre company Thunder Road brings its cinematic sci-fi horror The Void to the Mercury Theatre in Colchester for two performances in October.
Set eight million miles from Earth, the story follows Flint, a haunted space ranger drawn towards the Odyssey by a mysterious distress call. The ageing research vessel is failing, its crew is missing, and a deadly force is running out of control.
The Void combines live performance with filmed sequences, projections and illusion to create what the company describes as the experience of being inside a horror film. Behind the scares is a story about artificial intelligence, surveillance and memory, and what happens when humans lose control of the technology they have created.
Writer and director Ryan Simons says the intention is to make the audience feel as though they too are trapped aboard the ship.
“From the moment they step aboard a haunted ship drifting through deep space, we want audiences to feel trapped inside a sci-fi horror film, with something hunting them in the dark.
“There are jump scares when they least expect them, but the real thrill comes from the relentless, edge-of-your-seat tension.”
The production comes from Yorkshire-based Thunder Road, which specialises in original horror theatre combining multimedia, storytelling and illusion. The company began by adapting cult novels in 2011 and now tours its work across the UK.
Alex Moran, whose theatre credits include War Horse at the National Theatre, plays Flint, alongside Ryan Simons as Blair. The cast also includes Olwen May, Riana Duce, Terence Rae, Emma Leah Golding and Nimisha Odedra, with several performers appearing on screen or providing voices as part of the production’s mixture of theatre and film.
Producer and actor Alex Moran describes The Void as sitting “somewhere between a film and a live theatrical experience”, with the audience placed at the centre of the production.
The Void: A Horror Story is at Mercury Theatre Colchester on Thursday 29th and Friday 30th October at 7.30pm.
