EIGHT

You are in a dark space; you only see the walls next to you. You imagine you are alone, until you hear footsteps. An elderly woman appears right in front of you, she walks towards you. Her hand reaches out to the wall next to you and seems to disappear. But the wall moves, it is distorted by her hand, and rebounds when she withdraws it. There is music; the wall pulsates to the frequency of the bass tones. The woman starts to sing.

Eight is a mixed reality project by the composer and director Michel van der Aa in collaboration with singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke; it is a unique, groundbreaking fusion of musical theatre, Virtual Reality (VR) and visual art. It tells a woman’ life story in reverse chronology: visitors meet a woman of about 70-years-old, then the 35-year-old version of her and finally an eight-year-old girl. Visitor literally and figuratively follow the woman in a mixed reality world, interacting with the woman and the installation itself.