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This is a review of the show's 2015 run, when it was named 'Monument'. The name has been changed and the show tweaked
The blurb for this thrillingly odd new open-air audio show from David Rosenberg and Ben and Max Ringham says the all-weather piece may be ‘amazing’ in a ‘ferocious and biblical storm’ as long as you come in suitable clothing. The weather is pretty much the only thing you can prepare for in ‘Monument’ – it’s as weird, funny and as unpredictable as anything you’ll find on the streets of London.
Which is why I’m not going to give too much away. Through an app called Wiretapper you download beforehand, the Ringham brothers’ exquisite, disorientating sound design is delivered straight to your phone. At a secret place in central London (you’re emailed the address) at a designated start time, you plug in your headphones and press play.
What follows is a surreal, 50-minute journey with very little narrative. Actors slide in and out of view, sometimes just on the horizon, sometimes blending in with the crowd – often you’re not entirely sure who’s an actor and who isn’t. ‘Can you spot who’s playing the terrorist?’ someone says in your ear. Passers-by stop to look up as the group does, and unintentionally become characters in the play. ‘Monument’ deconstructs a little corner of the city, highlighting the strangeness of the place and challenging our built-in reactions to it. Often the interactions we’re watching are just very silly, but it makes you look around with fresh perspective – London becomes a playground.
Not a huge amount actually happens, but it’s all driven by a beautifully crafted and often unnerving sound design from the Ringhams. The audio is so vivid that you’ll often turn around expecting something to be right behind you. The conversations and noises blend brilliantly with the London bustle. A station announcement about not smoking begins as it would normally – then says you can light up if you’re really desperate. There’s delight in the detail and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss it. Take some good headphones – they are vital.
It all ends abruptly and London slips, a little disappointingly, back into normality. But the memories of the oddball alternative you have just encountered will remain, ringing in your ears.