雖然說聽覺與視覺這兩種感官都很重要，但是我必須坦承，在伸手不見五指的環境裡，我的不安全感應該要比寂靜的世界來得強烈。所以在準備看來自瑞士的藝術家、劇場導演及音樂家 Dimitri de Perrot 的表演前，我可是帶著一點莫名的緊張坐進劇場。全場的座位被六、七個藝術裝置包圍，觀眾散落在預先擺放了場刊的座位上，沒有平常般整齊有致，我想台上的表演者看過來應該也挺有趣吧。突然間，四周變得黑漆漆，自然而然令人合上眼睛傾聽。呼吸聲、笑聲、水聲從四方八面襲來，在 Dimitri de Perrot 的編排下，我的想像力的確很好的發揮了，雖然帶點混亂，但是如果你足夠專注，在他的安排之下，你會聯想到好幾個場景，因為你至少會聽到一名男生在用力拍門乞求裡面的人讓他進去 ── 感覺像戀人分手的情節，過了一會你會聽到一位女士在點咖啡，突然好像坐進咖啡店裏了；然後再過了幾分鐘，警報器響起，我想到了電影鄧寇克大行動（Dunkirk）……但是我最記得的是與 Dimitri de Perrot 四目交投，就在他把他台上的小屋子拆掉之後。在那個剎那，我覺得我們的思緒都在他的掌控裡。
一個小時的表演沒有想像中久，卻打破了我對聲音的認知。從前看電影或聽音樂，記得的都是旋律，腦子總是會聯想到聆聽那旋律時眼睛所看到的畫面；這個一小時內沒有畫面，你要怎麼想都可以。說白了，表演有沒有很豐富，挺取決於你的聯想力及想像力豐不豐富。聲音是這場表演的主角，但到了最後，它還是不會讓你找到任何證據證明它曾經存在過。
Rightfully speaking, hearing and sight are two equally important senses. That being said, I still have to admit that a completely dark environment makes me panic way more than a silent space. Therefore, I was inexplicably anxious before entering the theatre for the performance of Dimitri de Perrot. The Swiss artist, theatre director and musician had placed around six art installations around the seats, which were scattered around the space with a copy of programme placed on each of them. I guess the performers would also find this rather messy seating arrangement interesting to look at. Then all of a sudden, all the lights went out, the audience naturally closed their eyes and resorted to their ears to orient themselves. We could hear the sound of breathing, laughter and the sound of water from all directions. The sound carefully arranged by de Perrot had sparked my imagination. Although not at all concrete, I could almost see a man banging on the door, as if begging his ex-girlfriend to let him in. Later on, I heard a female voice ordering coffee, which suggested the scene had then moved into a cafe. A few minutes later, the sound of a siren reminded me of the movie Dunkirk. My most vivid memory of the performance still lies on the moment when my eyes met de Perrot’s right after he was done demolishing the little house on stage. At that moment, I had a feeling that he had a complete control over our emotion.
The one-hour performance felt shorter than expected, but was so powerful that it altered my understanding of sound. When watching a movie or listening to music, the melody is always accompanied by some pre-designed images. In this hour of darkness, we were free to imagine without any constraints. It is quite impossible to define whether it was an interesting performance, since it all depends on the audience’s imagination and creativity. Sound was the focus of the performance, but at the end of the day, it would not leave any evidence that can trace its existence.
