Experience Review - The Shape of the Night (All of them Witches)
Experience Review - The Shape of the Night
Presented By: All of Them Witches @ Georgetown Steam Plant - Seattle, WA
Show Run: April 25 - May 11, 2025 (extended)
Date Reviewed: Thursday, May 01, 2025
Run Time: 2 Hours (interactive, walk-through, patrons experience at their own pace)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
After experiencing The Shape of the Night at the Georgetown Steam Plant this past Thursday, I’ve been trying to come up with the right words to describe it, I’ve honestly never experienced anything quite like what I did when I stepped foot through the creaking doors of the 119-year old edifice. The building itself is quite remarkable, and I think I owe it to myself, and you to yourself, to sign up for a tour of this classic structure, as there were times during my walkthrough of Thursday’s event that I was awed by the surroundings, much of it still intact from the days when it provided power both for what was then the independent city of Georgetown and for the Seattle Streetcar. But I wasn’t there to see the steam plant; no, I was there to take in the latest project from All of Them Witches, a consortium of artists who blend traditional production methods with innovative techniques that feature elements of suspense and horror to focus on stories that “wrestle with social change”. The Shape of the Night is a pop-up experience, here in Seattle for a limited time, originally scheduled to wrap up this past weekend but thankfully it has been extended through May 11, and is bring produced in partnership with Emergence Films, a female-centric film production company based on Bainbridge Island, and Helmstreet Productions. If you head to the Georgetown Steamplant site, they describe it as a “one-of-a-kind immersive evening that blurs the boundaries between art, theater, and reality. The Shape of the Night is a unique pop-up experience filled with nightmarish characters, theatrical performances, dreamy art installations, interactive adventures, and a truly explorable dreamworld.” That’s a pretty apt description of what this is, a little bit of everything, but what that description doesn’t give this partnership in production credit for is the amount of detail, and the amount of work that has gone into the development of it.
There are two “performances” on each show night, one at 6:30 and another at 8:30. I opted for the 6:30, probably for no other reason than I’m old, but I’ll also say it’s because of the commute and the fact that Friday was a work day. But, it’s probably more about me being old. Regardless, arriving early isn’t an issue, there’s a small courtyard outside the building in which folks can wait, with a small bar and seating, as well as a “porta-potty”, plus the location is situated adjacent to Boeing Field, so if you’re the kind that likes to watch airplanes, you won’t be bored waiting. Then, about 15 minutes before “showtime”, for us about 6:15, the first group of people are escorted to a pair of doors, at which a guide provides instructions, who you’re allowed to talk to, who you can’t talk to, how to tell the actors that you don’t want to be touched, and generally what to expect when the doors open. When the doors do creak open, a nice effect, though probably just a coincidence given the age of this all, you enter a large space, and while you’re not told to step into the “dead center of the room”, you do sort of migrate your way there, that is until you notice that this room, lit with blood red lighting, feeling like you’re in Dracula’s tomb, is in part an art gallery, with a collection of abstract and eclectic works placed along the perimeter of the space patrons are allowed to mingle in, and in part a performance space. Beyond the artwork are remnants of the old steam plant, but remember, don’t get distracted by those. This room, which is filled at first with the sounds of dream pop music, later replaced by other genres, including jazz, synth, and dance pop as the night progresses, is multi-function, and is something that changes as the night progresses. In fact the mood of this room changes a number of times throughout the night, so it’s good to revisit it every so often, if only because the inside bar is here as well. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
It’s important also to mention that doors close at 6:45 for the early show (8:45 for the later), so it’s important to be on time. At the appointed show time, what is about to transpire is explained, for the most part upon meeting who seems like the master of ceremonies, drag queen Lucie Dittie (Eric Hoff), who is another reason to stop back into this space throughout the night as she is part of what goes on in there from time to time. There is the mention of falling into a dream state, about meeting people who can’t awaken, who are stuck in their own nightmarish realities, those with glowing medallions around their necks that you can follow but not speak with. They’ll lead you to places around the steam plant, in the dream world that opens up through the doors at the far end of the room in which everyone has gathered. Once in the dream world, this is where the magic of this experience happens. The experience is as immersive as you want it to be. Solve some puzzles from the High Minister (Summer Herrick) in the gathering chamber and you’ll get challenges to attempt in the dream world (note, I couldn’t solve one of the puzzles, so I can’t speak to the dreamworld challenges, probably because I’m old). There are areas of skill, areas to help yourself achieve a meditative state or become grounded, and corners to explore, which I implore that you do, you might meet someone who may take you on an adventure to a part of the plant that you might not otherwise have gotten to see, just remember to go along with the story and make it fun, suspend your disbelief and you’ll get the most out of the evening. And all along in the dreamworld are more art installations, ranging from the obscure to the morbid to the frightening, and all of them just beautifully designed. What I love most about this entire experience is how it seems to fit with the steam plant itself, whether it’s the way the physical art is tucked into the crevices of the boilers and pipes, or how one of the actors cries out stories of mysterious incidents that occurred over the long history of the facility, it all fits, and that is just part of the level of detail put into this. As I took a step back and watched this group of actors move about the plant, interact with each other and the guests, it occurred to me that this is all choreographed, though it seems entirely random. It’s also uncanny how this is all purposeful and how the production group, the All of Them Witches team of Eva Anderson, Derek Bishé, Mali Elfman, Eric Hoff, Tommy Honton, Natalie Jones, Aaron Keeling, and Austin Keeling, still is able to make it all feel ethereal.
There is a playbill for The Shape of the Night, sort of. You can get a QR code, or head to their website (below) and get a list of the performers and the characters they play. The observant should be able to tell who is who, whether MJ Sieber as the foreman, the one relating the mysteries of the steam plant for all to hear, Nerea Duhart as The Caretaker, who I had the pleasure of going on an adventure with, or Rachel Noll James as The Lover whose voice it was a pleasure to hear sing in the gathering room until she was overcome and had to scamper off. It’s impressive how each of these actors are bought into their characters, and, well, they have to be, if they’re going to make this experience create the proper mood that it does. And while there’s nothing outright scary, it’s not a Halloween haunted house, the morbid atmosphere is all around and it fits with the Georgetown Steam Plant like a well used glove, like it’s been meant to be there all along.
The Shape of the Night, designed by All of them Witches in partnership locally with Emergence Films and Helmstreet Productions, is a unique immersive and interactive performing arts experience, static art exhibition, and so much more. Containing elements of horror and suspense, there’s nothing altogether scary about this presentation, but it provides the feelings of morbidity and uneasiness in a truly unique way. Designed specifically for the Georgetown Steam Plant, this experience has been designed with so much care and so much detail, with a cast of actors that give everything they can to their characters in a confluence of light, sound, art, and choreography that is entirely unique, it really is something to behold, and the fact that we have the opportunity to experience something like this should most definitely be taken advantage of while we can.
The Shape of the Night, an interactive and immersive multi-media static and performing art walkthrough experience has been extended through May 11 at the Georgetown Steam Plant in Seattle. Shows run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with two shows each day, at 6:30 and at 8:30. For information, including ticket purchase, visit https://www.theshapeofthenight.com/.
Photo credit: Andrzej Montaño
