TO Live and DLT Invite Audiences to Explore St. Lawrence like Never Before in The Spectators’ Odyssey – o dell’Inferno

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/By Mae Smith / Nov 6, 2021

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TO Live and DopoLavoro Teatrale (DLT) have teamed up to present a dual-ticket immersive theatre adventure adapted from Homer’s The Odyssey and Dante’s Inferno. 

The Spectators’ Odyssey – o dell’Inferno, running November 2–14, puts the audience at the helm of the narrative as they explore DLT’s interactive re-imagining of both iconic historical epics. The show offers two distinct paths for audiences to explore, each of which are inspired by one of the two source texts. Both experiences utilise techniques from alternative reality gaming and showcases the combined creative talents of numerous Italian and Canadian artists, including poet and writer Luke Reece and choreographer Esie Mensah. 

In groups of up to eight people, viewers will control the story together, selecting to explore either the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts or the St. Lawrence Market (or both)! No matter which path audeinces choose to travel, they are sure to encounter a rich, immersive world filled with interactive art, music, dance, and more.

DLT’s Artistic Director Daniele Bartolini says of the experience: “It is as if each audience, in each space, through a different art form, encounters a different side of themselves. It is an odyssey of art forms, an inferno of the expiration of the human condition.” 

This sort of audience-centred work is what DLT does. The company, originally founded in Italy but now Toronto-based, has achieved international acclaim for their immersive multidisciplinary work. Some theatre-goers may recall DLT’s The Stranger, which was presented at SummerWorks before it was rebooted in 2019; others may have seen Inferno – Experiment 1 at the St. Catharines In the Soil Festival that same year. DLT promises, however, that The Spectators’ Odyssey – o dell’Inferno is their most ambitious work to date.

Indeed, the show features twenty-five cast members and was developed over two extended artistic residencies with TO Live. According to VP of Programming Josephine Ridge, “residencies such as this and our support of artists are very important to [TO Live’s] vision going forward.”

Bartolini says the show’s form is not only well-suited against pandemic-based challenges for theatre but “also offers a tantalising and innovative way in which to experience theatre today.”

The World Premiere of The Spectators’ Odyssey – o dell’Inferno, presented by TO Live and DopoLavoro Teatrale, runs from November 2–14, 2021. To purchase tickets and find out more, click here.

WRITTEN BY

Mae Smith

Mae Smith is a former associate editor for Intermission Magazine. Outside of theatre, she is a crafter and a Pisces.

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