Twenty three. Twenty four. Twenty five. I remove the sleep mask, open my eyes, turn around. A deserted street. I have no idea where I am, which direction to run to catch my train. I take a quick second to compose myself, examine the state I’m in. Blood all over my face and hair, clothes in tatters, duct tape still around my wrists, plastic wrap hanging down from my neck. The gps function of my phone refuses to cooperate, but luckily, two people round the corner, walking their dog. Relieved, I momentarily forget about my appearance and run towards them to ask for directions. As soon as I enter the circle of light under a street lamp though, their expression turns to shock – the woman barely contains a scream. Yeah. Should have seen that coming.
This was the aftermath of Cinderella, the second show by Barcelona’s Under Horror. First performed in the autumn of 2023 and now in its third and final run, the experience required us to embark on an hourlong journey by train from Barcelona to a small, sleepy town up North, surrounded by picturesque countryside. Such a destination show is always a double edged sword – the unfamiliarity of your surroundings and the long travel can really amp up the anticipation and make the experience that much more special, but on the other hand, there’s always the fear that all the hassle might not be worth it. I mean, difficult connections and making sure I’d be on time added up to about five hours of delicious tapas I was missing out on – not something to be taken lightly.
Cut. A red light, blinding me, strands of fog swirling away in this abyss. The light goes out, another is illuminated. A beating heart in a hand. Darkness again. Another flash of light, I see a Venetian mask. A tongue, licking a pair of scissors. There’s cameras in my face, documenting the entire experience. The whirring of an electric drill, blades exploring my skin. A hatch in the floor, a staircase, red light pulsing from deep below. A pond full of colourful flowers, a broken reflection of my face as I leaned in. Is it art, or is it torture?
I had come here after being accepted by León de Piedra, an artist exploring the destruction of beauty. What this project exactly meant and what my role would be wasn’t revealed beforehand – and as I experienced my time in the Depths, I was bombarded with rapidfire impulses, ideas and visuals. There was the artistic project, there were bits of lore about a forsaken, diseased tree and a beautiful girl that was born out of it. There were lines I had to memorise beforehand, and recite in increasingly difficult circumstances. Thinking back now what every aspect meant exactly, I have a hard time coming up with a single, clear answer. But here’s the thing – during the show, it all made perfect sense. I was thoroughly loving all of it, being thrown from scene to scene, interacting with characters that sometimes definitely were real, and other times might have been a figment of my imagination. I knew what they wanted from me, I gazed at all the surreal visual splendour, suffered through their hands manipulating me – and it was beautiful. A bizarre fever dream that slipped away through my fingers as I started to wake up.
So yes. Quite a way to travel, but man, did I enjoy experiencing Cinderella. Under Horror took their experiences with No Soy Libre, their first show, and polished and adjusted their vision in a way that was one hundred percent Under, with an extended lore and this specific mixture between fairytale fantasy and gritty realism, but in a way where you didn’t get completely lost in what they were trying to tell. They even referenced some of the hidden characters and plot lines buried in the story of No Soy Libre, made links with elements of Cinderella – so once again, there is so much the audience can’t possibly grasp in the chaos of the whole thing – but it worked, it worked so well this time. I was actually excited to see elements of their connected universe, and I swear I heard a little self-deprecating joke or two in their monologues about how complicated their lore can be. Maybe I imagined it. The only thing I know for sure – I deeply enjoyed this experience, and thank Under for taking me along for the ride.
Near the end – something magical happened. I usually have a hard time letting the immersion fully take control, I get stuck in my head, have a hard time to just let go. But then, sitting in that basement, watching the final reveal, gasping for air during an ultimate moment of aggression – I was there, really there, along with these characters. As I was led out, I held out my hand, stroked his hair. A moment of genuine connection.
For more info about Under Horror, visit their Instagram page. They work on an invitation only basis – so send them an email if you want to attend one of their shows.
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