This L.A. play wants you to feel the story viscerally by keeping you blindfolded

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I am blindfolded and seated in a vintage armchair set in the center of a darkened, red-lit room with Gothic accents.An actor is performing nearby.

I hear their voice, but cannot, of course, see them.I suddenly spring upward in my seat, alarmed at the touch of some sort of cloth — or perhaps a feather? — across my ankles.

I’ll never be entirely sure.For wearing the small veil across my eyes was a requirement to participate in “Poe: Pulse & Pendulum,” the debut offering from new troupe Theatre Obscura L.A.

The company’s initial performance contains two one-act plays, modern interpretations of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” While the stories are familiar to many, Theatre Obscura increases the levels of discomfort.In this room, I am at times unsettled, at once tracking the movements of the actors while attempting to remain hyper aware of any sudden touch or scent.

“The Pit and the Pendulum,” the first half of the program, translates especially well to this setting, its dark sense of demented confinement keeping my nerves on high alert.Conjuring such a state of anxiety was the point.

“If you take the visual away, it’s going to make you feel uneasy,” says Paul Millet, who devised the concept.Travel & Experiences Covering topics from anxieties due to war and a culture inhospitable to LGBTQ+ communities, the show, set in the late ’50s, is a comedic metaphor that resonates in 2026.There are jump scares.

Downtown event space the Count’s Den has been outfitted with about 50 speakers for the Obscura shows, which run through April 12.Some are visible before one puts on the blindfold.

Many, though, are hidden under seats or couches, as the audio will trail the actors around the room, or perhaps a sudden crash or door opening will have me jolting my attention elsewhere.“The Pit and the Pendulum” i...