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‘Look at this person. Would you fuck this person? How would you rate them out of ten?’ These are among the various statements – sent via earphones – I hear as I stare into the eyes of a person I met fifteen minutes earlier. To say that ‘Binaural Dinner Date’ is an occasionally discomfiting experience is an understatement.
It’s the latest project by east London theatre company ZU-UK, who have carved out a reputation for producing bold, playful, participatory projects. They have taken over a section of Gerry’s, a low-lit restaurant-bar in Stratford. The idea is you state your preferences in advance, go along, get matched with a date, sat at a table and sent through a series of activities which involve earphones and various props. The waiter who serves you is dressed in topcoat and tails, and the tables have red tablecloths, like a corny Italian restaurant, which gives the whole thing a tongue-in-cheek vibe to offset any feeling – god forbid – this might turn out to be an earnest social experiment into attraction, making connections and what we expect of relationships in these high-stakes, swipe-addicted times.
Giving away too much would spoil the fun, but the experience ranges between excruciating and hilarious. There’s lots of eye contact. To begin with, you’re given a menu from which you choose from one of five distinctly un-small-talkish questions to ask your date. (I chose: ‘What do people most misunderstand about you?’; my date chose: ‘In what ways are you still the child you use to be?’) Another section, in which you each recite one half of a faltering exchange about revealing some unpleasant secrets, will put some to the test.
Ultimately, it’s all about dismantling the peculiar social ritual that is dating, inspecting its working parts, and putting them back together in hyper-aware Frankenstein form. Sometimes it’s rather sadistic. Sometimes it’s rather sweet. Of course, as with most participatory theatre, its success hinges on what you bring to the table – quite literally in this case. But if you’ve got a date who’s not too shy, you’ll probably have lots of fun. (A quick note to Marianna, if you’re reading this: thanks. You're a great sport.)
'Binaural Dinner Date' has extended its run until December 9th. Performances on December 8th-9th will take place outside Sports Direct in Stratford Centre. Tickets are £15, including a £5 donation to local food banks.