We are delighted to be partnering with acclaimed theatre company Complicité to broadcast their show THE ENCOUNTER. The show, described as "a tour de force" by Financial Times and "one of the most fully-immersive theatre pieces ever created" by New York Times played sold out runs at London’s Barbican theatre in 2016 and 2017 but from Fri 15 May at 7pm, the show will be available to watch it right here for free. 

Audiences must wear headphones to watch THE ENCOUNTER or the effect of the binaural recording will be lost. Any headphones will work, but playing the film out of speakers will not give the same effect. 

THE ENCOUNTER WAS AVAILABLE TO STREAM IN MAY 2020 AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

The show is suitable for ages 12+ and contains strong language. The show is approximately 2hrs without an interval. The stream is captioned.

The show has received a raft of five star reviews since its premiere in 2015 and is the winner of numerous awards including the 2017 Special Tony Award for Sound Design.

THE ENCOUNTER the story of National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre who, in 1969, became lost in a remote part of the Brazilian rainforest while searching for the Mayoruna people. His encounter was to test his perception of the world, bringing the limits of human consciousness into startling focus.

Threading scenes of his own life with details of McIntyre’s journey, Simon McBurney incorporates objects and sound effects into this solo performance to evoke the depths of the Amazon rainforest. The show’s ground-breaking binaural sound design (3D audio) by Olivier Award winner, Gareth Fry, is transmitted to the audience through headphones and plugs into the power of the imagination, questioning our perceptions of time and our own consciousness.

"THE ENCOUNTER is at its heart a story about ‘listening’, not 'hearing' but listening; to other, older narratives which, at the deepest level, form who we are, and if we do, we can imagine how we can 'begin' again.”
Simon McBurney – Complicité Artistic Director

THE ENCOUNTER
Inspired by the novel Amazon Beaming by Petru Popescu
Directed and performed Simon McBurney
Co-Director Kirsty Housley
Associate Director Jemima James
Design Michael Levine
Sound Gareth Fry with Pete Malkin
Lighting Paul Anderson
Projection Will Duke

THE ENCOUNTER is a Complicité co-production with the Barbican, London, Edinburgh International Festival, Onassis Cultural Centre – Athens, Schaubühne, Berlin, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne and Warwick Arts Centre.

THE ENCOUNTER online is supported by The Space.