Digital Theatre to watch now – May 2022
You’re here to discover some great new theatre, whether it be a short play, an app, or some other kind of immersive experience. Maybe you’ve just got here and have no clue what this blog is all about…well, we’re a theatre company that loves exploring the development of live performance work in and around emerging technologies. We have a slate of new plays we’re working on right now, so please check back soon for news and updates!
Welcome to Creation Theatre’s new monthly round up of digital shows you should know about! The internet is a wonderful platform for theatre and performance and we love making digital work and we want to spotlight shows and productions that are making incredible work. If you know of a show we should feature tweet us @creationtheatre.
We have hand picked our favourite recent digital theatre releases and listed them below for you to discover some great new theatre. We’ve picked these ones out because they all work to highlight elements of the digital landscape and poke around, have a good time and ask some interesting questions.
The_Crash.test
In person event with digital tickets – performers on stage and in their own homes
13, 14 May + 24 June 2022 | | £10
We say: The_crash.test explores our relationship with the explosive growth of new technology and the questions of what we ask it to do for us. It combines motion capture puppetry, projection, original composition and a diverse cast of performers online and on stage.
They say:
It’s the near future, and tech start up Figital are on a mission to create the next big thing; the thing we never knew we wanted, but it turns out we all needed. A new thing-a-me-bob. Or Bob for short.
But there’s one problem: it doesn’t quite work yet… and we don’t really know what it is. And we’ve not really thought about the consequences of the technology we are about to release. It’s going to change everything. Let’s get Digital.
A Frankenstein tale for our age, the_crash.test is a darkly playful take on our relationship with technology, incorporating motion capture puppetry, large scale projection, original composition, with an inclusive cast of performers on stage and via video link, for audiences both in person and online.
Hybrid by Design
Festival of in person, online and hybrid performances
9-15 May 2022 | Tickets are free, donations happily accepted
We say: The festival takes as its starting point that theatre is not merely live performance, but encompasses a diverse range of practices which sit somewhere on the spectrum between practices exclusively of the live stage or proscenium arch and those that exist exclusively online. Hybrid by design calls on the talents of artists who are actively designing artistic experiences across this spectrum. See you there!
They say:
Hybrid by Design will feature seven works by artists from The Theatre Centre’s Residency program and a selection of international work curated by Battersea Arts Centre bridging live performance and digital creation in experimental and genre-defying ways. Experience the festival in-person or online — the future of live art is hybrid by design.
This is a festival that celebrates process and experimentation, and we invite you to do the same. Each block of time, whether afternoon or evening, has been curated with a series of offerings for you to experience.
Romeo and Juliet
On demand recording of 2021 live stage production at The Globe
No end date | £9.99 or subscribe or £59.99 per year
We say: Get that standup desk out, pour yourself some wine in a plastic glass and make like you’re a Groundling from home. There are loads of The Globe’s iconic shows available to stream through their website. It’s the Globe, so you know that the shows will be top quality. Also a great resource for students studying the man himself to be able to see the plays spoken.
They say:
Explore the fickle fate of love when Shakespeare’s classic tragic tale of romance is brought to life by Olivier-nominated director Ola Ince in his spellbinding production that brings a new intensity to this tragic classic. With stunning physical theatre, set design and music, experience a raucous evening!
From historic feud to ill-fated union, Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet found new significance in summer 2021 in the Globe Theatre. Experience Ola Ince’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s most famous play in this ‘bold… clever, energetic’ (Guardian) production.
WHITE
VR recording of in person show
No end date | £5.99 monthly subscription gets you a credit for a new show each month
We say: LIVR’s strapline ‘the best seat in the house, without leaving the house’ sums up pretty neatly what’s on offer here. VR recordings of in person performances, and all you’ll need is a smartphone. A great way to catch a show you might have missed, and the VR element makes a nice change from streaming on to a TV or laptop screen. Expect to see more LIVR shows popping up on future blogs.
They say: What are you when you are always the other? A solo show about identity, being a mixed-race black woman and always feeling like an outsider. Blending live vocal looping and spoken word, WHITE carefully considers the concept of mixed-race privilege, tries to connect clashing cultures and explores what it means to grow up mixed in contemporary Britain. Combining ‘clever and engaging’ original songs, vocal looping and ‘deliciously current’ dialogue, Koko explores race in an approachable and contemporary way in this ‘incredibly vital’ piece of new writing.
“Deeply personal and innovative” – The Stage ★★★★
24hourplays Viral Monologues
Instagram and youtube
Large archive and more released all the time | Free, donations welcome
We say: Have you ever heard of the 24 Hour Plays? Over the course of a single day and night, a group of actors, directors and writers come together to create new theatre works. This used to be in person, and is moving back to that now, but they’re still creating online shorts and throwing back to past clips too. If the monologue is your form and you fancy a little new writing break while you wait for your toast to pop, give these guys a follow.
isklander
Interactive online experience for teams
Custom event | From £28pp + VAT
We say: Online experiences for remote teams? Sign us up! As a team that works entirely remotely, we’re always looking for fun stuff to do online together (online codenames anyone?) This looks right up our street, cool, interactive, filmic and narrative driven.
They say:
Isklander is a three-part online escape experience, accessed via a web browser*, in which teams of players solve a cryptic mystery together. Choose from Part I: Plymouth Point, Part II: The Mermaid’s Tongue, or Part III: The Kindling Hour. Each game can be played separately, but playing the entire trilogy in order reveals the overarching narrative and leads to a thrilling finale.
Using a mix of live-action performances, newsreel footage, and fourth-wall-breaking research, players take on the role of sleuth as they investigate missing persons, murders, and clandestine conspiracies.
Julius Caesar
On demand stream of recorded in person show
No end date | £9.99 a month
We say: At this point, we probably don’t need to explain what National Theatre at Home is, having kicked off with free streams at the start of the pandemic, the enterprise now covers an enormous back catalogue of shows recorded in person to stream at home. This one was captured at The Bridge Theatre in 2018 and has a cast too all-star to mention. Amazing resource for catching up on acclaimed shows you didn’t get the chance to see.
They say: Caesar returns in triumph to Rome and the people pour out of their homes to celebrate. Alarmed by the autocrat’s popularity, the educated élite conspire to bring him down. After his assassination, civil war erupts on the streets of the capital.
We transform the Bridge Theatre’s auditorium for Nicholas Hytner’s promenade staging of Shakespeare’s political thriller.
Audiences can choose from two ways of experiencing the production: sit in-the-round and look onto the arena, or become part of the action and join the crowd of hundreds that stand amongst the street party greeting Caesar’s triumphant return to Rome, the congress that witnesses his murder and the civil war that erupts in the wake of his assassination.