Major tourist attraction planned for Great Suffolk Street
Dialogue in the Dark, a multimedia tourist attraction staffed by the blind and partially sighted, could open close to the junction between of Union Street and Great Suffolk Street this autumn.
Harling House today
The exhibition which, has been seen by over 3 million people in 17 cities around the world from Hamburg to Mexico City, hopes to draw 100,000 visitors annually to Southwark.
Visitors to 'Dialogue in the Dark' will be encouraged to use senses other than their sight to take in their surroundings and communicate with those around them. The exhibition includes a simulation of a boat ride on the Thames, a busy bar and a London street all experienced in total darkness. Moreover, the exhibition will provide much needed employment for blind and partially sighted people who will work as guides, on box office, in the café in fact, in every area of the operation.
Dialogue in the Dark is seeking planning permission for the development at Harling House on Great Suffolk Street. The attraction's backers hope that its location on the walking route between Southwark Station and Tate Modern will prove successful.
"Dialogue in the Dark is a unique experience which challenges our reliance on visual communication and our assumption that sight is necessary in order to effectively interact with the world around us", said spokesman Jonathan Landsman.