Grand Opening, an interactive show produced by Barbarian Productions, is basically a tour of the Opera House.  Instead of seeing an empty space and being told about its history, we see artists and technicians at work.  And we’re encouraged to think not only about the space, but also about our guides, our partners in the tour and all the myriad people who work here, and significantly, those who work in creative areas but not at the Opera House. 

Before even arriving, there are buskers outside (and sometimes inside) who harass or help the various tour guides and tourists.  We meet our tour guide – J-J-Jeremy, an aspiring but definitely amateur actor, in my group’s case – and ascend to the Dress Circle foyer.  And here’s the first departure.  So often in tours, the guide is hiding their personality behind the approved text for the tour and facts about the attraction.  J-J-Jeremy, with his desperation to be recognized for past (totally ignorable) performances and networking is worth our interest.  It’s another hint at the politics of this show: what are we encouraged to think about and admire here?  What gets left in the shadows? 

As we head into the auditorium, there’s a hitch – the door gets locked behind a departing tour group.  And so begins a twisting, turning path through various backstage areas around the Opera House, each set up with different attractions.  These include glimpses at the work that goes on there, such as the dominating techie who checks for OSH approved shoes backstage, or a frantic visit to the hair and makeup department, who are dismayed at the arrival of 20 extra people to get ready for the stage. 

Other areas include performances or displays by artists working outside traditional venues, including CCCP, a community singing group, or the Clown Doctors.  It is quite enjoyable, but since our drops in and out are so short, it’s hard to connect to these groups or artists much.  A table at the end provides contact information for some groups. 

The tour finishes in the auditorium, where we are encouraged to recount our experiences seeing shows there.  It’s a lovely way to wind down after the high-energy excitement of the areas visited and prepare to head back into the craziness of Cuba Dupa.  A cute final touch has each group’s exit providing the inciting incident for an ingoing tour group. 

Ironically, for a show where so many of the people we interact with are doing the invisible work of theatre, the front of house on this show is pretty poor.  Capacity on each tour is limited – some of the spaces visited are pretty small – so visitors need to reserve a place.  In addition, there are quite a few legal bits that the single front of house person needs to communicate, which is done only by that person telling you once you reach the reservation window.  This means that reserving a place takes almost 90 seconds per person.  That may not sound like much until you consider how many people are going through.  Expect some delays. 

That said, I went through with a family whose kids went into the experience clearly overwhelmed and more than a little tired, but who finished smiling and engaged.  If you’re reaching the tired, grumpy kids in your audience, you’re doing something right.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer