A High Street Odyssey

A man wearing headphones is listening and laughing, another woman by him is also wearing headphones and laughing.

A High Street Odyssey

By Inspector Sands

A High Street Odyssey is a promenade audio-tour of a pedestrianised shopping street, for up to 40 people. Kitted out with instructions, headphones, binoculars and an umbrella, the audience is guided on a dream-like voyage into the histories and mysteries, the archaeology and mythology of the everyday high street.

The landscape is so familiar, snaking through the town centre, the bricked over thoroughfare, the brightly glowing hoardings, the bins, the bollards, the benches, the big brand names.

But what histories, what mysteries, lie behind the pedestrianised retail zone? Who was Mr Boot? And Mr Smith? Who is Claire? And when did she get so into accessories? And who is here now? Who is that woman over there? And what on earth is in her bag…?

Witty, intimate, strange and epic, A High Street Odyssey is a 30-minute promenade audio-tour of the high street that dissects the characters, reveals the secrets, considers the future and stares deep into the soul of the Great British High Street. It will never look the same again.

‘Quirky and perfectly pitched: 30 minutes long and as sweet as a Saturday morning stroll; thought-provoking without being weighty. We whipped out the binoculars and gazed up to look at the clouds in the sky. A busker began to play. And for a few seconds we were gazing up from the most interesting place in the world’. – The Argus, Brighton

‘They are brilliant and reckless, precise and inventive, intelligent and frank. They are kaleidoscopic creators. Don’t miss them!’ – New York Theatre Guide

Originally commissioned and supported by Without Walls, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival and Watford Palace Theatre.

Photo © Ed Collier