Review: ANDSOFORTH’s The Imaginarium of Disco David, A Theatre Dining Experience That Surpasses All Imagination
PUBLISHED August 31st, 2017 07:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 02:58 pm
When I first step into David’s disco, I’m not entirely sure what is going on. As I leave, two hours later, I’m not much the wiser. Having been to several events hosted by the same people, I can’t help but see the trend here. Such is the collective takeaway for diners at ANDSOFORTH, the Singapore-based nomadic restaurant that creates theatrical dining experiences immersed around stories, and drama, and just a bit of secrecy – I received a text the night before with clues to the venue.
See our tips and tricks for scoring theatre and concert tickets on the cheap in Singapore here.
Their latest series is The Imaginarium of Disco David, a reference, we assume, to the 2009 Terry Gilliam fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – an excellent movie, incidentally. In the same way Heath Ledger and troupe are transported from dimension to dimension, magical mirror through magical mirror, the entire dinner (four courses) takes place across five different rooms, and dang if they weren’t disorientating.
If there is ever a time to describe something as psychedelic, this is it. The experience starts off relatively tame, if not funky, as we hang with Disco David at Club Disco Limbo over an espresso-spiked cocktail. Totally normal, right? Then, his wacky consortium shows up. First is B-Boy Goliath, as afro-wearing breakdancer in a basketball uniform. Down the line, you meet even stranger characters. There’s the Shaolin lifeguard with a deep obsession with his balls (did we mention that only those 18 and above can register), a pair of swan ballerinas that look like they waltz out of The Capitol in the Hunger Games, and a group of bickering cabaret dancers.
Who are these strange people? At the beginning, I am told by a woman in a doctor’s outfit not to feed any of the patients. Are they patients in a facility? Possibly – though it doesn’t really matter. The experience is absolutely bizarre but that is the fun of it – so there aren’t going to be any more spoilers here.
There will be wines, beers, and decent cocktails to keep you going throughout the night, and a flavourful meal served in the most unimaginable way possible. If I had to offer a tip, it’d be this: prepare your most powerful disco moves, because it’s going to be the most funkadelic audition you’ve had. Time to get delirious, disco younglings.
The Imaginarium of Disco David is running from 25 August to 30 September 2017 (Fridays and Saturdays only) at an undisclosed location. Tickets are priced at $98 (Fri) and $108 (Sat), available here.
