A deliciously uneasy atmosphere lies under the mask of a welcoming smile in the intensely unsettling Saint Jude. We’re here to volunteer for a good cause, but as we’re shuffled through eerie, clinical corridors, it quickly becomes clear that nothing is as it seems.
Taking part in this immersive, tech-centred show is like walking into a choose-your-own-adventure video game: inventive and enjoyable, if a little restrictive. We’re on a trial shift to be a “Guide Star” for Saint Jude, a private company that purports to connect volunteers like us to “Sleepers”, people in the depths of a coma. Our job, we’re told by beaming clinician Stefan (Bryan Moriarty), is to talk to our Sleeper and dig up details that will help them wake up.
Created by Swamp Motel, the team behind the brilliant Isklander trilogy of online escape rooms, the set-up is delightfully disturbing. We’re led to individual booths with retro-futurist AI technology, and with headphones on, we talk one-on-one to our Sleeper via keyboard and microphone. David Cumming’s feverish sound design pummels our ears with chants, clangs and hisses underneath a computerised voice asking for help.
The story sweeps us along and the tech is surprisingly responsive, but the boundaries of what we’re allowed to explore within the story’s structure quickly become clear. Space to roam is limited as the AI firmly guides the way, and I long both for more agency in the sinister quest I’m quickly embroiled in, and more heat from the real-life interactions, which drop off once they let the tech take the lead.
Nevertheless, tension ratchets up as layers begin to peel away, revealing why we’re really being asked to mine strangers’ secrets, and what personal details we, without realising, have given away. With a smart blend of slow-reveal storytelling and creative technology, Swamp Motel have created a dynamic and menacing experience. Saint Jude will make you want to read the small print next time you consider signing up as a volunteer.
Saint Jude from Swamp Motel runs until 12 March.
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