Immersive theatre has taken the world by storm and is now set for South African shores this holiday season. What you can expect is Standing O Immersive Experiences’ production of Immortal.
Here you get to choose your own path, “as you boldly step into a mysterious new realm where every sense is engaged. Get up close to the world of Immortal and uncover the secrets of a mansion lost in time”.
According to Joshua G. Ackerman, the writer, director and producer of Immortal, audiences increasingly expect to get the chance to curate their own experiences.
“In a regular theatrical experience, you sit down in your seat, the show begins and you know your place. It’s a flat, 2D experience. What happens when the audience shifts from being a faceless, passive observer, to having complete freedom to navigate their own paths through the story?”
‘The future of live entertainment’
“In immersive theatre, we take over a big, disused building and transform it into a space where you, as an audience member, can go anywhere you choose and make actual, physical contact with the world of the story,” says Ackerman.
The creative team includes Alice Kok (choreography), Niall Griffin (costumes), Nicola Mayer (set design) and Chris Lotz (lighting design). The cast includes such performers as Craig Morris, Glenn Swart, Shannyn Fourie, Skye Russell, Liezel Swartz, Lee Van Der Merwe and Kai Luke Brummer.
“The future of live entertainment” – Indiewire. Get out and experience this innovative, cutting-edge form of theatre that will transfix and transport you like no other.
Who is Joshua G. Ackerman?
Joshua, who credits his parents for instilling in him a love of storytelling, comes from Johannesburg, where he completed his studies in writing, directing and musical scoring at AFDA Film School.
He was fortunate to attend several immersive theatre productions abroad and was inspired by this unique form of storytelling, where the audience is given the opportunity to navigate their own paths through the performance. He went on to create his own production company, Standing O Immersive Experiences, in order to bring this unique experience to South Africa.
Joshua realized that in this tech-saturated world, where everything is so readily accessible, audiences increasingly expect to get the opportunity to curate their own experiences and to feel that their presence really does make a difference – that being there matters.
He wants audiences to switch off their phones and have a real, tactile experience where they make actual, physical contact with the world of the story. Immersive theatre has been a major success in cities like New York, LA, London and Shanghai.
“We are presented with a unique opportunity to be the first to offer people an experience they’ve never had before in South Africa. As the digital world influences and changes the ways we live and play, it changes the ways we engage with stories, and there has never been a better time for this kind of cutting-edge live entertainment,” he adds.
What: Immortal
Where: The Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town
When: 7 December 2017 – 13 January 2018
Tickets: R200 – R250
Book tickets: http://online.computicket.com/web/event/immortal/1190888434/0/82970822
Corporate bookings joshua@standingo.co.za
Follow Immortal: https://www.facebook.com/ImmortalCapeTown
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