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'Remote London' is not your average theatre production. There are no actors, for a start. And you’re told nothing about the plot, or even where the show will take place.
Swiss/German company Rimini Protokoll originally launched this show in Berlin in 2013 and has taken it to Moscow, New York and Milan before bringing it to London. It’s described as an audio tour, which ‘explores the city from the perspective of artificial intelligence’ using GPS technology. Which is why I find myself in a park near Russell Square, walking over to a group of random people wearing heavy-duty headphones. Once we’ve been kitted out with our GPS-enabled audio equipment, the show kicks off and we’re introduced to ‘Rachel’, a faceless voice who will essentially be ordering us around for the next two hours through our headphones.
There’s 15 of us in the group, and we spend the duration of the show walking around London, even getting on a National Rail train at one point with absolutely no idea where we’re getting off. We’re instructed to walk backwards down the street, to applaud the commuters at King’s Cross station (for no apparent reason) and to dance in a circle by the Thames. People keep stopping to point at us or take our picture, so if you don’t like being the centre of attention, be prepared to feel a little awkward.
That said, the way the production uses technology is pretty clever. We’re told when to turn left or right, to cross the road just as the traffic lights turn red, and ‘Rachel’ manages to direct us around the city with only a few technical glitches. And hey, if you can't leave your house without turning to Google Maps, then you'll already be used to following the whims of a faceless robot.