SayYes

In the distant year 2016, when global pandemics were more associated with the horror/sci-fi genre rather than daily world events, I worked as an unsuspecting young professional in a German-African theatre production on the subject of secret societies, conspiracy theories and political manipulation. The sense and artistic value of the production, which was accompanied by the outraged departure of the Freemasons present at the premiere, are better left aside at this point. But there was a moment in the course of the roughly two-hour performance when an Ivorian performer performed a magical empowerment ritual in which he sprayed himself (as the president of an unnamed African state) with some thirty sprays of this scent. At times there were forty, depending on the mood of the audience. The ruler, who had gained power by means of black blood magic, wanted to unmistakably demonstrate this to his surroundings olfactorically. The reactions that followed were mixed, but they followed. Some fell into frightened gasps, others left the hall with their noses held shut, some contested the rest of the evening with a handkerchief in front of their noses, and individuals, brave ones, sat stoically and acted as if nothing had happened.
According to the production team, the scent was meant to evoke the intense mix of scents found in West African bazaars, along with their rich incense and abundance of spices. Olfactory theater in the Western style, so to speak. For me, it was mainly the warm, enveloping incense that made me (actually) like the scent. But as so often, it's all a question of the (right) amount. From more than five sprays, "Black" develops the penetrating power of a highly toxic insecticide; also the present caraway note (which is apparently not included at all;) seems too screaming, shrill. During the rehearsal phase, one actress even suffered an asthma attack and from then on refused to take part in the scene in question and the following scenes. The space-filling cloud that reached all the way to the last row was too strong and who could have blamed her? The actors involved, however, liked to wet themselves with "Black" even after rehearsals ended and had little understanding for the female high sensibility, which did not contribute to the general harmony.
The production was a single failure and was played off after a few times, but the memory of the scent lingered. Who knows, maybe someday I'll track it down in the prop room and give it a second chance in a more carefree setting. Miracles do happen.