The Encounter—among the most compelling theatrical experiences ever staged on Broadway and in London—will make its West Coast debut in April at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. Called ‘a high-tech head trip” by The New York Times, The Encounter is a one-of-a-kind experience, directed and performed by Complicite’s Simon McBurney. Combining superb storytelling with binaural technology (3D audio), McBurney takes audiences on a theatrical journey from the intimacy of his home in London to deep into the Amazon rainforest. Performances begin April 6 with the opening night set for Friday, April 7. The 12-performance limited engagement runs through Sunday, April 16.

“When I first saw The Encounter at the Bristol Old Vic, it blew me away,” said Paul Crewes, The Wallis’ Artistic Director. “The Encounter combines Simon’s remarkable storytelling with cutting-edge technology that allow audiences to have a unique shared theatre experience that is unlike anything people have ever had before.”

Single tickets are now available for $25 – $100. Subscriptions are available for purchase starting at $79. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit TheWallis.org/Encounter, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Ticket prices subject to change.

About The Encounter at The Wallis:
Inspired by the book The Encounter: Amazon Beaming  by Beverly Hills resident Petru Popescu, The Encounter follows the true story of National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre as he finds himself lost in a remote area of Brazil in 1969, leading to a startling encounter that changed his life.

Each seat in The Wallis’ Bram Goldsmith Theater will be equipped with a pair of Sennheiser headphones. Audience members will put them on and experience ground-breaking sound design, plugging into the power of the imagination while engaging everyone in new and breathtaking ways as McBurney leads listeners on an epic journey deep into the Amazon rainforests. As McBurney’s mesmerizing tale about McIntrye reaches its climax, this extraordinary performance asks some of the most urgent questions of today: about how we live and what we believe to be true.

“Astonishing,” said Ben Brantley in The New York Times during The Encounter’s recent Broadway run.  “This production from the genre-bending Complicite company is one of the most fully immersive theater pieces ever created." 

The Encounter is directed and performed by Simon McBurney. Kirsty Housley is the co-director and Jemima Jones is Associate Director. Design is by Michael Levine, sound by Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin, lighting by Paul Anderson and projections designed by Will Duke. 

The Encounter is a Complicite co-production with Edinburgh International Festival, the Barbican, London, Onassis Cultural Centre – Athens, Schaubühne Berlin, Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne and Warwick Arts Centre. Supported by Sennheiser and the Wellcome Trust.