EDITOR’S NOTE: Since publication of this article, several allegations of sexual assault and abuse have come to light against one of the creators of Nocturnal Fandango. We at HorrorBuzz believe that horror and immersive experiences should be a safe space for everyone, and can longer recommend their shows in good faith. We will leave the review as originally published below, but urge you to think twice before attending any of their shows.
This weekend, while the Hollywood Fringe Festival was in full swing just blocks away, Nocturnal Fandango had their own festival of sorts. While they are known for their long-form, incredibly emotionally in-depth shows, this time around, they decided to try something a little different.
Taking a cue from NOSH, their “anthology” show from last month, 13 DAYS REMAINING consisted of eight half-hour experiences that you could pick and choose from. All were stand-alone, and could be experienced on their own for a completely, self-contained story. Some of the experiences were expanded segments from NOSH, while others were brand new. Of course, Nocturnal Fandango brought their typical flair of taking immersive to the next level for these.
While I originally was only scheduled to see two of the eight, my fiancée unfortunately caught the flu, which allowed me to step in and see three on Saturday evening. I started my journey by heading to Echo Park to see an expanded version of LA CROIX. While immersive theater often comes with a connotation of being “intense” or scary, this was not the case here! In fact, LA CROIX, and its meeting of the Wildflower Naturalist Society, had me laughing harder than I expected.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was walking into, but it was not at all what I expected…in a good way. This lovely meeting of the minds was no more than a few friends gathering for good conversation…they just happened to all be in their “freest” form. Which, is a nice way of saying that pretty much all of them were butt-naked.
It was actually quite refreshing, honestly. While I did not indulge in shedding any laters myself, it was great to see these folks so at ease with themselves. I laughed along with them, I listened to the stories they shared, and was able to help one of the members through a tough time. I felt welcomed, and loved my time spent with them. LA CROIX was a lovely, light-hearted way to kick off the evening.
After that, I made my way to Koreatown to see NYX. It was here that I was participating in a sleep study, to help monitor my sleep patterns. It was also here that the surrealist nature Nocturnal Fandango is known for was on display in full force. After being greeted and prepped for my study, I laid back on a bed, sleeping mask intact, to begin my journey into the dream world.
It wasn’t long before my mind began to wander, and I was treated to a series of sequences that all played out within my dreams. I was accused of selling the “drug” of social media to kids (which is funny, since it IS what I do in my full-time job), I got to watch a wonderful silent film with a mime, I even had two rent-a-friends (who reminded me of The Shining twins) spend some time with me. While I was in this ‘dream,’ I loved the little touches that Nocturnal Fandango employed to remind me that I was indeed dreaming. For example, every few moments, I would hear a voice tell me what stage of sleep I was in, which the action continued to happen around me. Subtle, but a nice touch. This absurdist and surreal dream sequence was definitely an incredibly enjoyable segment, and again, the type of thing we’d come to expect from Nocturnal Fandango shows.
My final show for the evening was SUMMANUS, and while it was also a dream-based experience, this one was framed around a fight I had with my significant other. After walking into a darkened room, with my significant other angrily lying in bed, trying to read, a brief fight ensued. After we made up, we laid in bed together, listening to the sounds of rain and thunder off in the distance. Soon, we drifted off to sleep…and my dreams were much more intense than earlier.
SUMMANUS took a much darker turn, with some of the work being portrayed here in a semi-political light. I was whisked into a bathroom, and written on the walls all around me were the names of the victims of school shootings, as two people tried to scrub away the pain. In lesser hands, this segment would have come off as hacky, but in the Nocturnal Fandango performers’ hands, it was tasteful and powerful. It damn near brought me to tears.
The mood lightened shortly after that with a sequence with a narwhal (yes, you read that right) just before taking yet another dark turn before it ended. While it may have been the darkest of the three I saw, SUMMANUS was definitely my favorite. It was able to showcase the serious side of Nocturnal Fandango’s work, while also not making it feel heavy-handed. Seriously, that bathroom sequence will stick with me for a long, long time.
With 13 DAYS REMAINING, Nocturnal Fandango continues to prove that they are putting on the best immersive work in Los Angeles, and makes me even more excited for this upcoming “season” of shows.
There is no better time than now to jump on the Nocturnal Fandango train. They put on incredibly well-produced and immensely different shows from your typical immersive theater group, and ones that are well-worth your time. While 13 DAYS REMAINING did contain some small, narrative threads I am sure will continue into their 3rd season, we haven’t really jumped into DO YOU KNOW JASPER? in full force yet.
If you’re interested, the next show they are staging is called AMMUNITION, and it is sure to be incredible. It will be a solo experience, and will be staged in Shaver Lake, CA during the weekend of July 14 and 15th. Precious few tickets remain, so if you are interested in what they do, purchase your ticket today at: https://squareup.com/store/nocturnal-fandango
