One Moment is a piece of headphone theatre premiered in the Roundhouse as part of We Are Now Festival in June 2016. Described as ‘witty,’ ‘poignant,’ ‘ear-opening’ and ‘one of the closest things to a truly immersive theatre.’ Utilising binaural sound technologies as well as music and movement it is an intimate exploration into time.
What does it mean to be living in the moment?
How do we handle our memories, regrets, hopes and fears?
Where does ‘the present’ come into all of this?
Inspired by ASMR videos (an aural YouTube cult garnering millions of followers), the story of Momo by Michael Ende and our personal experiences at the hands of London’s uniquely frantic modes of timekeeping, One Moment takes the audience on an intimate journey through a single moment where the everyday objects which litter our lives take on aural and physical significance, transforming into powerful relics that mold our bodies in space just as much as we mold them.
One Moment portrays the experience of one character embodied by three performers who channel her past, present and future through how they speak to her in a single moment. The present self is caught in a moment of stasis, straining towards something as she sits at a desk poised to pour a glass of water. Tormented by the past in one ear and the future in the other, the audience are given a seat in her subjectivity through the use of binaural microphones that transmit her experience directly into the audience’s ears. These intimate sounds and kinesthetic textures in turn vie for space amongst other forms of sound design, playing with the dimensions of our aural world and contesting where – and when – our consciousness sits.
One Moment
Devised and performed by Anna Clock, Georgina Thomas, Veronika Szabo
Lighting design Hector Murray
Audio extract: listen on headphones
“Totally engaging. The closest thing to an immersive theatre.”
— Andreas Skourtis, Scenographer and lecturer at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
“Poignant work that changed my sensation of time.You created a very intimate space.”
— Silvia Mercuriali, performance artist, founder of Rotozaza
“The moments looking into the future were like listening to my own mind, vocalising my internal battle between what path to take”