Experimental underground theatre haunt meets gentle immersive theatre.

Experienced: July 15, 2017
Dates: Fridays and Saturdays July 14-29, 2017
Location: Zombie Joe’s Underground
Address: 4850 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood CA 91601
Price: $15.00
Audience Size: About 12
Runtime: 18 minutes
More Information: Zombie Joe’s site, Twitter

Brave The Dark is a fun chaotic experiment. It has several scenes, many actors, and a lot of dark to brave. It runs sort of like a cross between a haunted house and a choreographed immersive piece. The live music performed throughout (somehow setting up shop in different rooms with the audience) gives it a raw edge.

You have one instruction throughout the performance and it’s to ‘follow the light’. This is one technique used to guide the audience through the different dark rooms of the space. At times you are led into dead ends to witness or participate in a small scene before being nudged out. The different paths I was led down were very disorienting making me wonder “how did I end up here?”

Overall I liked their Tortured Souls immersive piece from February 2017 more but this was definitely a different take and worth checking out especially to help Zombie Joe’s celebrate their 25th year! If you get there early Zombie Joe may greet you at the door– he likes chatting with the crowd. He is one of the nicest and most approachable creators you’ll ever meet. If you haven’t had a chance yet do check out his interview with My Haunt Life it provides a lot of context and background into how Zombie Joe ended up where he is today and what makes him tick.