Edinburgh Fringe 2026
COMA
Darkfield
Genre: Audio Play, Digital, Experimental, Immersive
Venue: Assembly George Square
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Are you afraid of the dark? If so, DARKFIELD productions might not be the ones for you. But if you can cope with a few night terrors, then their immersive experiences are always a treat.
Review
Are you afraid of the dark? If so, DARKFIELD productions might not be the ones for you. But if you can cope with a few night terrors, then their immersive experiences are always a treat. Another binaural sound experience set in complete darkness with sensory effects galore, COMA is right at the heart of the Fringe action in one of the shipping containers in George Square. A returning treat to Edinburgh, having premiered here in 2019, COMA’s concept is more of a dreamscape than a tangible plotline – you, as the audience, are invited to take part in a collective experiment. As you enter, a disembodied voice invites you to choose a bed and lie down – in other words, to surrender completely – and use the headphones provided to guide you through the experience. Your choice is simple. Take the pill, or not take the pill. It remains up to you. And to say any more would spoil the surprise.
COMA leans into the horror with surprising force – a little scarier than other DARKFIELD offerings, to be sure, as this one explores themes of medical horror, comas, and death. By the time the lights blink back on after half an hour, you can’t be exactly sure that you’re still the same person as the one who entered. It’s less of a story, per se, and rather an experience – their main draw is that the show is an immersive 360 degree audio experience, combining technology and theatre with specifically built sets to centre you in an intensive, rapidly evolving narrative. It rather has to be felt to be believed. Their concept for their Fringe offerings this year is strange worlds – ones that unfold and steal you away from reality – and COMA certainly fits the bill.
If you’re after something different this year, something removed from the bustling crowds and buzz of street performers up and down the Royal Mile this Fringe, then COMA is certainly worth a shout. And who knows? You might not be the same person when you leave the shipping container and come back into the light.
