In the current climate you’d be forgiven if you’re craving an escape. Where once we might have gone to the theatre and sing along to a feel good musical or release our tears whilst watching an intense kitchen sink drama, increasingly we’re finding escape in new mediums too. Gaming, social media and virtual reality (VR) are absorbing our time like never before, introducing us to new worlds and captivating stories that were previously only the stronghold of theatre and cinema.
#TOMtech proves that technology and live performance is not a case of video killed the radio star
In 2014 The Old Market’s #TOMtech season blasted into Brighton, exclusively showcasing performances shaped by technology. This year, returning to #TOMtech is Fatherland, a piece first devised during a #TOMtech Lab, where motion capture technology is combined with audience participation in a mixed-reality theatre to create a haunting reflection on dementia. In a world of fake news and deepfakes, technology has often given us cause to doubt reality, a fact exploited by the The Justice Syndicate, which places you as a juror needing to cast a critical eye over uncertain evidence. The season even showcases technology’s influence on one of the oldest art forms: dance. A new collaboration between record-breaking dance artist Tim Casson and BAFTA award-winning digital artist Seb Lee-Delisle, Choreocracy brought democracy to choreography, allowing the audience members to vote on what the performers do next, just as outside in real life fears about the stability of political democracy grow.
#TOMtech also brought back their popular vrLAB, with around a dozen unique VR experiences to explore. Whenever you’re experiencing VR you’re the star of the show. If you’ve ever been too scared to try diving, one station allowed you charm ultra-realistic fish to swim towards you. Another cast you as a vengeful robot in a shoot ‘em up with auto generated mazes and rooms. If the gaming style VR experiences offered escapism, the Cinema360 section brought you straight back to reality with documentaries in the round, including Roger Ross Williams’ Emmy nominated Traveling While Black. More than just a novelty addition, the VR places you in the shoes of the speaker for a time, creating added empathy through experiential insight.
Whether VR and motion capture is ‘your thing’ or not, you can ignore it at your peril. As the hardware gets cheaper and lighter, it’s bound to be integrated into more performances, transforming physical props and live cast members into something other worldly. Live performance is sure to always have its place (who would have guessed we’d still be watching Shakespeare at the Globe over 400 years later?) as it has always weathered its way as an art form alongside the introduction cinema, television and gaming. However, live performance as we know it will undoubtedly be changed by the technological revolution we’re currently hurtling through.
Instead of NTLive beaming out to cinema screens, perhaps we’ll be streaming the latest West End blockbuster through our household VR device. Or perhaps we’ll be heading down to our local venues to explore a new mixed-reality set. Whatever the future holds, #TOMtech proves that technology and live performance is not a case of video killed the radio star.
