I’ve had a blindfold-filled time of it at this year’s Fringe. Over at the Filmhouse, I was whispered to by ten-year-olds through an ‘ear trumpet’ as they watched a film for the first time and described what they were seeing. Belgian artist Britt Hatzius’s piece Blind Cinema is a joy to experience – thoughtful, playful, and downright different to anything else on offer. Verity Standen’s triumphant Hug has returned to Forest Fringe as part of the British Council Showcase. Sitting in a community hall, a choir of voices sweep past you, voices stunningly melting into one another and floating past you. A hand touches your hand, brings you to your feet, and embraces you gently. The divine song continues as you are tenderly hugged. It’s one of the most generous pieces of work I’ve ever experienced, totally free of ego and full of human empathy. The blindfold is integral to both of these experiences.

The blindfold seems less vital to the experience of To Sleep, to Dream. The piece takes place in the Tom Fleming Centre – an imposing, Hogwarts-like school that’s slightly intimidating but worth going out of your way to locate. We are led down the silent, grand hallways by a softly spoken, seductive ‘experience producer’ and take our seats in a large and dimly lit hall. Daniel Marcus Clark, the writer and director of the piece, sits on a raised stage with an old-fashioned looking microphone awaiting his words. Dressed in a dapper, three-piece vintage suit accompanied by a healthy beard and knowing smile he seems like the principal and us the pupils.

We don our blindfolds (they’re padded with foam for comfort and to block out the light) and wait with anticipation. What follows is a ninety-minute recording interspersed with Clark’s live narration. The story is a dystopian nightmare of a man called Jack. Set in 2056, the world’s population lives in tiers of society in which they work to gain credits that can upgrade them to the next level of lifestyle. Everything is computer automated – sleeping, going to the bathroom, walking on the street – everything. It’s like a cross between The Hunger Games, Golem and Black Mirror.

The story itself is not particularly original, with its outcome easy to guess early on; and it could do with a nice chunk of editing. What’s most impressive is the surround sound in which you feel entirely immersed and, not unlike the immersive soundscape in Complicite’s current offering at the EIF, does induce an almost dreamlike state. Spatial sound director Chris Timpson has created an incredibly vibrant experience, with a nuanced soundscape from composer Buster Cottam and sound designer Steve Fanagan.  Every sound zooms past your ears, and surrounds your senses. I’m keen to find out what the company creates next, and hope that the experience can be just as detailed and integral as the notable surround sound.