Have you ever wanted to own a cape? To walk dramatically through a hallway with a long, flowing piece of fabric flying behind you? But you’ve been left wondering: Is this really the best purchase? Would I even like my cape or wear it enough to justify buying it? The immersive audio performance Куда дальше (Where next) will answer all those questions for you and more.
When I first arrived at the meeting place near the Eastern Calendar, a golden fountain depicting the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac, I was handed a headset attached to an audio guide, and a worker tied a long black cape around my neck. The back of the cape had the name of the production as well as its website, and the fabric came down to my ankles, flapping in the wind.
The cape itself had no hidden meaning for the performance. It was simply a way to identify other people who had bought tickets, and it served as a smart advertising tool as there were many people in the street who were curious as to why a group of cape-wearers were traveling around the city following a man in a robot mask. I’m sure many of them started to google kudadalshe.com soon after we passed them by.
Unlike the capes, however, the caped robot we were following was significant to the performance, as he was our guide and the narrator of the show. This robot character illustrates the humor and creativity of the story, as he takes you into a new, futuristic world where you will be called an “organism” as your robot guide leads you around the city.
The story plays out in real time as you walk through the streets of Almaty, creating a truly immersive experience. While you listen to the voices of the robot and main characters, the guide (aka the person with the robot mask on the back of his head) takes you to the places where the scenes took place. This brings the audience outside of a stuffy theater with constantly changing sets and into the actual world of the story. Through your imagination, the whole city comes to life.
The story, written by Mikhail Zemskov and directed by Viktor Nemchenko, provides well-researched, historical information about Almaty while telling interconnected stories about life and the complicated relationships between people and the world. Overall, the performance will leave you with a better sense and new understanding of the city and prompt you to contemplate themes of love and what we mean to each other.
The performance was also an interactive one far beyond walking the path of the characters. While stopped in a park, we tapped into our childish sides and tossed around a ball while the child in the story was playing in the same park. The robot also invited us to dance a few times. There was a continuous soundtrack played behind the voices of the characters that changed with the mood of the story and also gave us some fun music to dance to. The first instance where we had to show off our dancing skills was a fast waltz that we had to sway to without a partner. I’m sure anyone on the street who saw us with our arms in a circle above our heads, moving to a song only we could hear would’ve been confused–I wasn’t surprised when I saw a few people surreptitiously taking pictures of us. But it was a fun part of the experience to let loose and waltz among the steam coming off of the fountain nearby.
Our second dance happened in a part of the city hiding near the Kazakhstan Hotel. Our robot guide led us into a yard surrounded by older, Soviet-style apartment buildings, and we danced to our hearts content to upbeat rock music in that quiet, private space in the middle of Almaty. It started to rain while we were in that yard, and I will always remember dancing in the rain with my cape on that patch of green hidden away from the main streets of the city.
While the plot lines were interesting, moments like that one are what made this immersive performance so special. After that second mini dance party the rain became more intense. Our guide provided the group with ponchos as needed and we continued on despite the weather. They were well prepared for the rain and still made the experience worthwhile despite my soaking wet shoes and drenched cape.
Overall, this performance was the best kind of strange. The creators brought together a city tour and a live theater experience to produce an unforgettable adventure through the streets of Almaty. The show is aptly named as I found myself at the end wanting to explore more of the city and ask myself: “Where next?”
