The Creative Idea:
This is an R&D to make innovative and exciting game theatre for and inspired by young people, delivered by a diverse creative team: me, a trans theatre maker, and neurodiverse disabled artist, Jeremy Linnell.
Game theatre is an emerging art form that fuses gaming with theatre. It is truly interactive with the audience playing an essential part by voting,completing tasks, or managing resources that have a tangible effect on the story.
Last year I ran a series of workshops creating game theatre with young people with the help of the National Theatre Wales. I was impressed by how poignant their pieces were. A story about zombies was an accurate depiction of the anti-vax movement. I discovered betrayal within one’s team sparked excitement in all groups I worked with. “It was really fun to play! I didn’t trust anyone, but in a good way!”
The game mechanic most popular focuses on power dynamics in groups where everybody wants their team to do well, but personally wants to contribute the least. This conflict creates great narrative tension. It also shows parallels to how we have dealt with the pandemic: We want everybody else to stick to the rules, but I’m allowed exceptions when seeing loved ones, traveling, having parties.
While I don't want the story to be about the pandemic, having the game structure mirror those social dynamics will make this piece particularly poignant in a world still dealing with Covid19.
The Creative Team:
I (Sara Hartel) am a non binary theatre maker and the lead on this project. I have worked on stage, TV and online. Last year, I received a National Theatre Wales’s Springboard bursary. With it I ran game theatre workshops for young people. I discovered that game theatre speaks to young people who wouldn’t normally engage with theatre. Reaching them has been a success I'm particularly proud of. “I was meant to play Minecraft with my friends online, but then we came here instead. It was good!”
Jeremy Linnell is a neurodiverse, disabled theatre maker with a reputation for creating dark, playful, interactive work with a grungy bouffon-inspired style. He has worked with a range of companies including Punchdrunk Enrichment, Tin Shed Theatre, Yellobrick, Sherman Theatre and the Wales Millennium Centre. Jeremy has a track record of producing original, high-quality work with a strong focus on audience participation, play and interaction.
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