Dark Port is a unique, new immersive experience combining light art, technology and theatre on a grand scale; where a sprawling port made up of dozens of seemingly normal shipping containers hides dark secrets. Guests venture freely into the outdoor port to discover epic worlds of immersive art hidden behind doorways and along secret passageways – controlling their own adventure as music, light and performance lures them into the mysterious containers where Gods and myths come to life. Over a dozen themed containers can be discovered in between drinks at the bar and live performance elements that take place around the site in an array of theatrics and cabaret as the port slowly reveals itself as a portal to other worlds; where each container imprisons an ancient God desperate to escape.
A New Immersive Experience
Site Design
A sprawling, maze-like container port at night. Surrounded by high fences of scaffolding and watched over by a crane tower, stacks of shipping containers tower in the moonlight. Between them, alleyways branch out in every direction, lit by industrial lamps like larger versions of the stars that are only visible by looking up between the twisted metal walls. The Dark Port site encapsulates over 1,500 square metres and allows for guests to explore the layout freely.
Guests arrive in the port via an ominous elevator and traverse a series of descending ramps into the container park. As they begin to explore the chasms, laneways and spaces an incredible world slowly reveals itself – with every container becoming a gateway to a new immersive visual experience.
Containers are not what they seem – those stacked together create larger-than-expected interior spaces, and doorways to secret rooms and passages present themselves to only those who seek them. There are internal ladders to climb, doorways to open and stories to uncover – all creating an infinite number of experiences that ensure a different journey for every guest.
This dystopian world evolves during each session; morphing from container park to neon-lit wonderland that presents as part cyberpunk, part industrial wasteland, part alien landscape as lighting and other visual elements come to life during key story moments. Every time a guest returns to the ‘outdoor’ world, there will be new surprises and elements to discover.
Audience Experience
Guests would attend 90 minute sessions where they are free to explore the Dark Port world.
Entering the outdoor site via a construction elevator, guests will walk a path through a series of scaffolding ramps that encircle the performance space that is bordered by dozens of shipping containers. Arriving on the floor level, they discover a multitude of passageways and alleys that are defined by towering stacks of seemingly abandoned shipping containers. Lights glow from inside however, and guests are invited to explore the world at their own pace – opening doors and venturing inside…
As they move through the experience, the story unfolds in a non-linear fashion. Behind each door is a trapped world – an ancient mythological God represented by stunning light artworks that fill each container with light, music and immersive installations. Some containers are dead ends; others reveal further secret doorways that lead deeper into immersive worlds. Hidden inside some containers are performers; acrobats, DJs and singers – who surprise and delight guests with performances that are part cabaret and part burlesque – adding to the sense of wonder, adventure and discovery.
Perched atop one container, the bar of Dionysus overlooks the sprawling site. Guests can drink, eat and be merry and watch as the action spills out of containers – lighting constantly reinvents the appearance of the site as the Gods emerge, and a construction crane swings menacingly overhead – picking up performers, giant mirror balls and a host of surprising objects. A DJ stands atop another container and provides a constantly evolving soundtrack that accompanies the growing sense of madness.
As the night wears on, the action intensifies; performers gather in the centre of the port and guests become swept up in the port of Chaos as music, light, pyrotechnics and theatre collide in a spectacular finale before the Gods retreat back to their containers as the sun rises…
Hidden Worlds
Over a dozen shipping containers can be explore by guests – each completely different and hidden in its own way. Container designs each represent an imprisoned God and include;
Dionysus – the wine bar that looks over the Dark Port. Full of colour-changing neon busts, columns and illuminated grapes.
Eros – the God of Love represented by glowing heart archways of colourful festoon bulbs, with a stunning heart forming the perfect backdrop for social media photos.
Ares – a maze of tangled glowing red strings, representing the God of War
Hades – The smell of sulphur hangs over a walkway over molten lava – incandescent rocks and flowing visual effects
Apollo – the archer has filled a container with hundreds of glowing golden arrows, forming an immersive tunnel
Nyx – an imposing corridor of death-like figures in dim light. As guests proceed, they discover live actors and if they continue into the darkness – are rewarded with a hidden room of starlight that appears to go on for infinity.
The Fates – famous for their threads of life, this container sees guests venture up through a playground of vertical rising rope netting through four stacked containers – emerging at a point where they can lookout over the entire Dark Port site.
All concepts are highly scalable and adaptable and will be built to tour to other venues.
Performance & Music
Mandylights plans to integrate multiple opportunities for performance elements into the Dark Port experience that can be scaled according to final budgets. These include:
- A DJ that “orchestrates” the entire site – performing from a prominent position with dynamic, driving EDM-based soundtrack that underscores the entire Dark Port experience.
- Popup performers that lurk inside some containers – drawing people in and enhancing the themed experience inside each container
- Acrobats and cabaret singers that emerge from the shadows and perform in the port’s central arena – utilising the crane as a performance platform with surprising effect.
Design & Innovation
Dark Port uses outstanding technical and creative innovation to create a mind-blowing, surprising immersive experience.
The overall port site features an immersive theatrical lighting design that will utilise hundreds of moving lights, scenic LED fixtures and repurposed industrial lighting equipment to create a mysterious and dramatic nocturnal environment. Linked with the site audio and video systems, Mandylights will deliver a level of unprecedented show control that allows all elements of visual media to work together to create stunning coordinated moments – where colour and light appears to burst from specific containers as guests discover the hidden Gods inside.
Inside the dozen themed containers, Mandylights will deliver purpose-made light artworks that leverage cutting edge interactive technology, lighting, video and laser to create a series of explorable, immersive worlds. Once again, Mandylights will link all visual elements with a purpose-made soundtrack where lights will respond to every beat and subtle sound effect across the site.
Finally, a series of performance elements will see acrobats, DJs and other characters highlighted throughout the port – even encompassing a towering construction crane and pyrotechnics to create a sense of spectacle and technical coordination that guests are placed right in the centre of.
Designed and Delivered by Mandylights
Mandylights has demonstrated experience at delivering commercially viable, large-scale immersive projects in outdoor and challenging environments. Dark Port builds on the success of our award-winning Dark Spectrum with a completely new narrative and artistic experience, backed by the same level of professional design and production delivery that Mandylights is known for.
Drawing on our team of fifty full time designers, project managers, technicians and administrators, Mandylights is able to conceive, build and deliver the experience almost entirely in house using our Sydney and Melbourne based teams, with all creative and production assets Australian owned and designed.
Images – highlights from our work on Dark Spectrum in Sydney’s Wynyard Tunnels.
A Story for Australia - and Beyond
Dark Port is designed for a first activation in Australia for Australian audiences of all ages and abilities. Our innovative, unique creative design will be backed by our proven experience in production design and delivery, enabling us to tour this immersive experience around the world in future years.
Investment in Dark Port will be instrumental in further establishing Mandylights as a creative powerhouse who deliver world-class creative and compete on the global stage as a team of Australian creatives, production staff and administrators who have a passion for inventive, creative, surprising and ground-breaking performance that smashes boundaries and redefines the idea of immersive performance.
