Mould Into Shape review: Journey through plastic soundscapes

Dublin Fringe Festival: A mystery tour on the Dart brings the audience to confront relationship with plastic

Mould Into Shape: those participating travel by Dart to an unknown location. Photograph: Shanna May Breen
Mould Into Shape: those participating travel by Dart to an unknown location. Photograph: Shanna May Breen

MOULD INTO SHAPE

Meeting point at the Science Gallery, Pearse Street
★★★☆☆
Coming on the heels of climate protests and very much of the moment, Luke Casserly and Shanna May Breen's production leaves the Science Gallery behind and brings the audience on the Dart to explore aspects of our relationship with plastic. There's a sense of communal secrecy to the trip, with those participating in the show sharing an audio experience via headphones. The atmospheric documentary soundscape describes abandoned plastic items from a beach, has comments from a range of (mostly unidentified) experts and ordinary people, and makes I Spy observations through the window. The magical mystery tour is intriguing, though there's more substance in the journey than at the end point. At the beach destination, there's an unexpected, almost ritualistic aspect to proceedings, still via headphones. A gift for everyone of a piece of found plastic, "seeking a better spot for the next 500 to 1,000 years", is a point well made.

Deirdre Falvey

Deirdre Falvey

Deirdre Falvey is a features and arts writer at The Irish Times