An evening of glamor and mystery boasting an outstanding cast drawn from the music industry's elite roster of top dancers and choreographers, When the Lights Go Out is the product of Kerrilee Gore's rampant imagination. After taking several years off from presenting performances to have two beautiful children with her husband, Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, and then delayed but not denied by the pandemic, Gore returns in a new space, with more collaborators and more surprises in store than ever. When the Lights Go Out offers something the 805 could use more of — an immersive cabaret experience populated by professional actors, dancers, and aerialists that's driven by the dark, twisted fantasies of a rock sensibility.
This Thursday, April 14, When the Lights Go Out begins a three-weekend run at a new space in Ventura known as the WonderHouse. Written, creative directed, and executive produced by Kerrilee Gore, this edition of the show involves a stellar group of co-creators, including director/choreographers Jason and Valeree Young and producer/WonderHouse host Gregg Curtis. Located in an industrial park in the Montalvo section of Ventura, WonderHouse offers three crucial elements that will enhance the overall experience. It has the flexibility necessary to accommodate the cabaret seating for the show's immersive aspects, the technology required by its soundtrack and film projections, and the elaborate rigging that will keep its high-flying aerialists safe.
The title, When the Lights Go Out, carries multiple meanings. It's about theater and the flight of imagination that occurs every time the house lights drop before a performance, and it's also a reference to what happens in the bedroom, whether that's sleep and dreams or something more active. But for Gore, who has been working on and revising this story through several versions since 2012, its primary significance is emotional and, some would say, spiritual. Each act represents how the lights can go out in a person's life as they reach a breaking point and head to a place of refuge that's often a dark side.