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 article as originally published below, but urge you to think twice before attending any of their shows.

I have wanted to write up some thoughts on Sudden Loneliness Gift, the latest narrative from Nocturnal Fandango, for some time, but for reason I couldn’t find the right words to express myself. That’s not to indicate that they are doing anything bad in any way. It’s just that the Nocturnal Fandango team have managed to strike an emotional cord in me in a very different way than other immersive experiences, and in a lot of ways, I am having a difficult time processing what exactly it means. I’m not speaking about the story, in terms of the hows and whys the actions I have experienced and how they affect the characters within. I’m speaking more on my own personal narrative within this journey, and how it helping me come to terms, and cope, with some of my own issues within my life.

Maybe that got too deep right off the bat, so let’s take a step back a moment. For those of you who don’t know the story behind it, Sudden Loneliness Gift is a meta narrative about the creators of last year’s Have You Seen Jake? Jason and Kevin, the couple who spearheaded that story, are actually part of the central story for Sudden Loneliness Gift. Or, rather, Jason’s sudden loss of Kevin is; Kevin has passed away, and Jason is having a difficult time coming to terms with it.

Jason’s closest friends, us (the players) included, are on this journey with him, but with a few bumps in the road. The physical embodiments of various emotions and traumas are still involved (the animal masks you may have seen on their Instagram), and while it is fuzzy on who can actually see them, they are all extensions of ourselves in some way (at least, in my interpretation). To make matters even more complicated, there is also the Luna Company, which is essentially a bank that, instead of storing money, you store memories you no longer wish to have in your head.

While some of the elements may seem a bit fantastical (the animal masks and Luna Company’s purpose), it is all presented in a very grounded way, so nothing ever feels over the top or out of place.

With that primer out of the way, let’s get into the meat of why I am writing this: their latest show, Water and Fire, really hit something deep within me, and I came out of it feeling something I’ve not felt in a lot time.

The basis for this show was that we, the players, we finally to meet the folks at the Luna Company, to see what it is they can do for us, and learn more about them. While the show itself was just under an hour and a half for me, the entire run was presented over the course of a weekend. Now that it is complete, and our individual experiences are coming out, while the overall themes of the show seemed to be the same for everyone, there were actual vastly different scenes and sequences for folks depending on their own person narrative within this overarching story. I can’t speak for anyone else, of course, but I will try to relay what happened to me the best I can.

To begin my evening, I met Jason at a hotel in LA, where he was happy to help explain a little more about his experiences with the Luna Company, and while he had his doubts as to if he was using them the correct way, he did say their intentions were good. However, from there he divulged a very personal story, one that struck pretty close to home for me, all while one of the previously mentioned physical embodiments of trauma (Rockclimber, as he is known here, wearing a giraffe mask), emerged from the closet and actually went through the motions of said story on me. However, it was done in a sort of aggressive slow-motion (which was probably because I opted for a less “aggressive” version of the show). That’s not to say it turned down the intensity of the scene. In fact, I dare say that it was even MORE intense for me in this way, as every action was calculated and exaggerated, giving it more meaning.

But at the end, Jason left me with some advice as to how he dealt with this experience of his, and seeing him actually take control of the situation to make peace with it…I’ll be damned if it wasn’t the most powerful scene I have ever encountered. I quite honestly did my best to hold back tears, because it hit me so hard.

I think it’s worth mentioning that, while this was my particular scene to begin the show, this was NOT the scene for everyone. The entire evening was filled with different scenes for all its participants, and while some did repeat for folks, it is staggering to think of how many different variations there were. The Nocturnal Fandango team does a great job of creating different scenarios for the same scenes, and they seem to have a knack at knowing which scenario will affect their patrons the most.

From there, I was sent off to actually visit the Luna Company, and for the next hour, I went through their intake process, learned more about them, and was actually given the opportunity to experience someone else’s memory, to see the full extent of what their business entails.

While I do not want to reveal the exact mechanics of what transpired, I do have to say it was an intensely emotional experience overall. The Luna Company was filled with interesting characters and situations that were highly suspect (story-wise, I don’t trust them), but beautifully crafted scenes that any immersive theater junkie would love.

At the end of the day, it asked me an incredibly complex moral question, one that was presented in a simple way to help disguise it. While the concept of a literal ‘memory bank’ is fascinating, the implications of what you can and should deposit within said bank are striking.

We have all experienced traumas and situations in our life that I am sure that we wish never happened. But, given the opportunity, would we take said memory and remove it from our heads? Is taking a bad memory out, only to be replaced by a blank space within our mind, the right choice? Or do we grow from whatever those bad situations are? Do they help us become stronger, and better, people because of it? Instead of a bad memory, would it make more sense to deposit a good one? One that brings you such joy, so you could go back and experience it again and again if you wished?

At the end of the day, there is no wrong answer; that is entirely up to the participant. But the way this question was framed over the course of the experience really made me think long and hard about what I would do when finally presented with this choice.

To say it was an intense, and emotional, evening would be an understatement. But after I left the Luna Company, I almost had a sense of calm wash over me. I had made a choice, even if it was not spoken out loud just yet, but I knew what I was going to do.

This show, along with the longer, on-going narrative, is a wonderfully crafted tale about our own experiences, deftly weaved into a tapestry of Jason and Kevin’s story. If you let it, it becomes deeply personal, and will affect you in ways you weren’t sure were possible by a piece of theater. I almost feel like calling it theater is doing it an injustice, but it’s a wonderful story that I recommend others get involved with. If you let yourself become engrossed by the narrative, it can become deeply personal, but also incredibly rewarding. While there is only one fully realized show left for this Sudden Loneliness Gift storyline, I highly recommend you try Nocturnal Fandango’s work when you can.

For more information, visit them online at: http://suddenlonelinessgift.com