Set within the wonderfully evocative spaces of the Small Animal Hospital in the ex-veterinary school that is now performance venue Summerhall, this immersive film and installation piece is filled to the brim with tangible qualities of history and intrigue that make it a delight to participate in. Tales of Magical Realism is created by Sven Werner, who is amongst many other things a director, artist and musician. Based on Werner’s film Oculista (in which a lone traveller meets a beautiful mysterious girl at a train station), the piece features music by Graeme Miller.

The production is exceptionally well delivered from a stylistic viewpoint, allowing each audience member to have an individualised experience by casting them as the protagonist in a mysterious journey to the magical train station. Carefully guided by headphones broadcasting recorded instructions and narrative, and aided by discreet performers, participants are led through atmospheric rooms to view a series of vaudevillian style miniature slides. The visual aesthetic here is detailed and exciting, juxtaposed against a simple and slow paced storytelling style that is designed to allow the audience room to fill in the gaps. The slides themselves are presented in a range of inventive ways, all of them necessitating direct audience interaction to power or view them, which makes for an engaging experience.

It is in the feeling of abandoning oneself to the unknown, and discovering each new element in turn, that much of the pleasure lies. There is a poetry and lyricism to the experience that I believe fully fulfils the aim listed in the programme notes of bringing the viewer closer to the poetry in their own lives. Space is created for reflection and contemplation, prompted by the experience’s gentle pace, repeated images, and effective soundscapes.

For those (like me) who are particularly interested in magical realism as a genre, the production really does bring to life this most ethereal of forms. A tiny caveat is that if you are (again, like me) particularly tall or creaky of back you may need to approach carefully, but this is a beautiful, simple, and unusual experience of the type that lingers in the mind long after it ends.