Imagination may be the key to enjoying a piece of theatre, but The Salon Project has proved that dressing up can be just as important. Inspired by a day spent as an extra on a period drama, director Stewart Laing decided to bring the art of dressing up to the audience, so that it wasn’t only the actors getting all the fun.

He has focused his attention on the Parisian salons of the nineteenth century, which aimed to increase the knowledge of their guests through conversation. This offers the perfect setting for an original piece of immersive theatre where the audience is completely involved in the entire night, contributing to the success or otherwise of the salon experience. The audience participates by dressing up in period costume and reacting to various talks and events that occur throughout the evening.

When I arrived at the Traverse I was interested to note that everyone seemed quite jittery and nervous to begin with, but as soon as the gowns and tuxedos were put on, they all relaxed and started having fun looking at everyone else's outfits.

Let’s be honest: having hair and makeup applied by professionals is  just fantastic. Stage makeup, bright red lips and hair elaborately backcombed on top of my head were finished off with a tall, black feather rising triumphantly through all the hairspray. The costume itself was elegant and fun (although someone did ask if she recognised me from the burlesque scene, which perhaps gives a better indication as to what I actually looked like).

Once dressed and make-upped, we were led into the salon itself where other guests were walking around, sipping champagne and being encouraged to mingle and chat. The entire purpose of the project was to behave as though we were in a nineteenth-century salon, where the art of conversation was honed to perfection.

Perhaps the most memorable point of the night was when we were all asked to close our eyes. Once we opened them again a minute later, the room was scattered with naked men and women in various poses. They were all lying on the floor or standing like statues carrying iPods, which encouraged us to consider the “contrast between the golden era of salon society and our own era of economic excess.”

After the initial shock (a few guests seemed visibly taken aback at the unexpected nudity), some people started acting in a very nonchalant way, swishing around the room in their long dresses, avoiding the rest of us who were deliberately avoiding eye contact with anyone – fully clothed or otherwise.

Whilst the evening was meant to provoke thought and discussion, what really emerged from a night at The Salon Project was how different you can feel when wearing something unusual. Once the dress was on and the hair done up, people’s postures were noticeably improved and their actions far more elegant and refined. The men looked fantastic in their suits (and they knew it), and all of the women visibly enthused about their costumes, whether it was the size of the train or the cut of the cloth.

It was also interesting to note that the women wearing tiaras really did seem to own the room, knocking people out of the way with their fantastic bustles and swooshing around with their fans.

As a piece of immersive theatre, the night was a success. It certainly encouraged thought and conversation, ending with music that suggested the coming of war and revolution, and a video which showed an ominous display of teenagers holding swords having cut down people with various forms of technology.

Dressing up in period costume was, quite simply, fun. Admittedly most of the night was spent pretending to have intelligent thoughts but really just admiring how everyone else looked. Unfortunately my feeling of dress-envy was amplified by those proudly showing off the biggest bustles, but the sheer delight of dressing in fantastic costumes and being part of a unique and innovative show more than made up for my comparatively small bustle and my shamefully small corset-to-crinoline ratio.

First published 18/10/11