REVIEW: Sounds of the Ocean – The Old Market
Sounds of the Ocean part of The Old Market and Brighton Festival’s Of Land, Sea and Sky programme is an award-winning immersive experience that invites audiences into the heart of the deep blue sea. While it is often visually stunning and musically inventive, it is also a production that would benefit from clearer publicity and a few thoughtful refinements to fully realise its promise.
A practical note first. If you are hoping to sink into a bean bag and fully recline into the experience, arrive early. Seating comfort makes a real difference here. Those on chairs may wish they had brought a cushion (I certainly did!), particularly for a performance designed to encourage stillness and immersion over an extended period.
I attended with a digital media art graduate, which perhaps sharpened our critical eye, and our overriding response was that the experience felt more politically charged visual installation than purely relaxing sound bath. That was not necessarily a weakness, but it was unexpected. The event publicity suggests calm, rest and restoration, whereas the reality is a more complex and sometimes challenging piece that combines beauty, discomfort and environmental urgency.
Visually, there is much to admire. The scale of the projections across the four walls is impressive, and at their best the marine images are strikingly lifelike, clear and awe-inspiring. To be surrounded by giant whales, dolphins and luminous underwater worlds is often breathtaking. There are, however, ways in which the immersive effect could be strengthened. Entering the space, it initially felt more like stepping into a square projection room than descending beneath the waves. Beginning the audience experience with underwater visuals already in motion, or even subtle lighting effects washing across the floor and audience, would immediately create a stronger sense of transition into another world.
Similarly, while the projected imagery is beautiful, panoramic rather than mirrored visuals might create a more convincing spatial experience. At times, mirrored projections caused marine mammals to merge awkwardly into one another, slightly breaking the illusion. More directional footage, giving a sense of travelling deeper, moving upward, or traversing the ocean’s vastness, would help capture the scale and depth of the sea more effectively.
Soundwise, there were surprises too. A mid-performance blue whale rumble was extraordinary, deep, resonant and transporting. Some earlier whale and dolphin sounds, however, were less soothing than expected, which jarred somewhat against the promise of calm and rest. This was balanced by the presence of host and musician Joshua Sam Miller, whose live oboe playing was a highlight, alongside beautifully unusual sounds produced by conch shell, finger harp, steel pan and a shell-made harp that brought moments of real magic.
The environmental messaging is important and timely, but one sequence featuring plastic waste, trapped sea life and repeated sombre tones felt unrelentingly bleak. While the intention was clearly to confront audiences with the consequences of human damage to the oceans, a little more modulation in tone may have made the message land more powerfully.
Yet the final sequences restored balance beautifully. Surrounded by drifting jellyfish, radiant underwater light and shimmering fractal ocean imagery, the production found transcendence and wonder. These closing moments were mesmerising and ultimately uplifting.
What Sounds of the Ocean perhaps needs most is publicity that better reflects the full experience. This is not simply a meditative escape. It is an artistic work that is beautiful, thought-provoking, sometimes unsettling and deeply rooted in environmental activism. More clarity in how it is presented would help audiences arrive with adjusted expectations, and allow them to appreciate the work for what it truly is, a visually rich, musically imaginative and emotionally complex journey beneath the waves.
Sounds of the Ocean runs until 9th May.
Details
Event: Sounds of the Ocean
Dates: Thu 7 May – 19:00, Fri 8 May – 18:30, Sat 9 May – 18:30
Doors: 45 minutes before start time. Duration: 60 minutes
In The Box- Beanbags Only (bring a cushion!)
Venue: The Old Market, 11A Upper Market St, Hove BN3 1AS
Tickets: £15 with booking charge £2
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