An azure sky, waves crashing onto the beach. A glass of sweet vermouth, the ice cubes clinking together cheerfully, shadows lengthening as the day lazily passes by. A bowl of olives and some manchego cheese, a drizzle of olive oil. Perfect. Yet, I am not free. At least, that is what Under Horror has been imprinting onto my brain, for the last couple of weeks. No matter the circumstances, trapped in an invisible cage. And surely, as my time to enter the depths inches closer, the vermouth tastes just a little less sweet.
No Soy Libre (I Am Not Free) is the first show by brand new immersive horror company Under Horror, hailing from Barcelona, Spain. It was only accessible to a Spanish speaking crowd when it was first performed back in November 2022, but they have since adapted the show to allow international audiences to visit their depths – something we were more than happy to do. Quite unexpectedly but definitely not unwelcome, interaction begun quickly after securing a ticket, with characters getting in touch through email and direct messages, painting a dark picture of trapped children, mental afflictions, suicidal thoughts – but also, of kindness and apparent kinship.
And now, here I was, crawling under a metal shutter somewhere in a Barcelona side alley, about a month after the first communication began. As these things usually go, I wasn’t quite sure why I was even there to begin with. About an hour and twenty minutes later, as I crawled back out, I was a whole lot messier, but unfortunately, not much the wiser. I tend to enjoy puzzling a show back together in the hours after, making links, discovering all over again what I just experienced – but with No Soy Libre, I have to admit I found it a frustrating exercise. The show bears all the signs of a creator that wanted to do it all, all at once, who had so many ideas and jumped in with a lot of enthusiasm, but forgot to look back and edit every now and again. There was social and religious commentary, ánd there were mystic rituals, ánd there was an extended lore, ánd there was a canvas you could project your own potential personal grievances on. Layered in between, obscure choices that didn’t seem to matter, an absurd combination lock puzzle, a variety of potentially imagined tormentors coming and going, a shadowplay finger puppet show, and a surprising absence of the majority of what was set up during all our interactions the month before. Layered very thickly over the whole, a gargantuan amount of obscure symbolism, close to dreamlike, but presented in a gritty, realistic way. A staccato of interactions and moments, a bag of puzzle pieces making up three different, incomplete images, a plethora of ideas thrown against a wall to see whether something would stick. The ultimate “why” of it all a collection of lofty explanations that don’t stand up to scrutiny. Only the faintest perceivable red thread to connect the whole. A whole lot of sidetracking but no chance to explore the core.
And yet, yet, there absolutely is the base for something great. First of all, navigating the streets of a city while covered in a variety of substances will never fail to brighten my day – I’m basic like that. Second – clearly, there is an abundance of enthusiasm here. I feel like there might be dozens upon dozens of pages hiding in a notebook, filled with frantic scribbling and complicated diagrams. There was a lót of information present in the show, entire backstories and family trees, hidden connections, characters and entities that never even made an actual appearance but were there to interact with online – so surely, at least in the mind of the creators, an entire world was built. And, thirdly, I think the actors did a really good job. They were fun to interact with, played their part with conviction, ploughed through monologue like it was nothing. The physical interactions were handled decently as well – the intensity was present, while still providing not too much of a barrier for first time guests. It was clear that the show was thoroughly rehearsed, every action done with safety in mind. Importantly, although the previous paragraph will suggest otherwise, I absolutely did have a good time during the show. That hour and twenty minutes flew by like it was nothing, and I was always intrigued to see what was next. I thoroughly enjoyed the moments with a fellow prisoner, even though I wasn’t quite sure what exactly was happening. There were certain moments that were executed so well – a blood transfusion comes to mind, where I could feel my arteries pumping, knowing there was no way it was happening for real, but still with a flicker of doubt in my mind.
But, for all the great moments, for every interaction, there was another one where the show would have benefited if it had been scrapped. An extensive yet unfocussed body of work, a lot to be appreciated but in dire need of an editing hand. Overall though, I would still recommend genre enthusiasts to give this a go, especially if they are local – but even if not, Barcelona is not the worst place in the world to visit if you are craving an immersive horror fix. The vast majority of reactions I’ve seen or heard were hugely positive, with guests even begging to come back for a second go. For me personally though, the depths felt rather shallow. But oh boy, were they wide.
There is a possibility No Soy Libre will see a third run. Previously, tickets went extremely fast, so keep an eye on Under Horror’s Instagram account for more news.
europehaunts 
One comment