Fifty minutes of pure immersion. During The Submarine Show, the audience is fully submerged in a world beyond the ocean. The fairly simple plot revolves around two sailors in a submarine that breaks down. They then lose the key out of the porthole and go on an adventure to find it. Couple this with a beautifully crafted soundscape and sequence of clever tableaus and movement pieces and you have The Submarine Show.
Slater Penney and Jaron Hollander here have created a singularly excellent fifty-minute production that encapsulates you and, despite the entire absence of props, causes you to lose yourself in a fully formed world that they have developed before your very eyes. The pair also interacted with and clambered over the audience in such a way that had everyone rocking in their seats.
There was also a wonderful moment where some small improvisation occurred due to one of the pair’s glasses breaking and this was blamed on a member of the audience, after which contact lenses were quickly mimed into his eyes. Another standout moment came when the two explorers first left their submarine and contextualised all of the noises they had been producing in the water by duplicating and delaying them. It is truly incredible to experience such a well put-together soundscape, with tight physicality and hilarious physical comedy.
I can imagine people not liking this show, but I am not entirely sure whether they should be at the Fringe or at any other event that is even vaguely happy. They should instead go and secure themselves in a purgatorial classroom and never leave. If you are not one of these people, do not miss the opportunity to see the world through Slater and Jaron’s eyes.
