THE COMPLEX by Chantal Forde, Jessie Fraser and Mandy Roveda (It’s Not a Pivot Productions/Next Stage Festival). January 23, 27 and 29 at 7:30 pm, January 28 at 7 pm, January 30 at 2:30 pm. See listing here. Rating: NNNN
Nearly two years into the pandemic, the theatre community has significantly improved its digital game, with some artists finding ways to present material online that evokes an excitement and surprise lacking in most virtual shows.
The Complex is a good example. Co-created by Mandy Roveda (who’s also the director), Jessie Fraser (digital designer) and Chantal Forde (playwright), the show couldn’t really exist in a single theatre space. If anything it feels like a cross between a video game, a reality TV show and an interactive, multi-pronged theatre experience like Sleep No More, Brantwood or Tamara.
The setting is a dystopian world that, ravaged by political/social division and ecological destruction, has run out of resources. Our one hope is to save one million people and start anew at a place called the Biome. But who will lead us there? A mysterious group called The Architects has put forth five candidates, and it’s up to the audience to find out information about these people and choose which one will go on to (possibly) save humanity.
One of the intriguing aspects of the show is that there are two ways of experiencing it. Audiences either join something called The Community, in which they can, with their cameras and microphones on in the Gather platform, follow the candidates around a virtual landscape, talk to each other (and the actors) and compare notes. Or they take part in The Chamber and experience the events unfold on Zoom, where, guided by a host figure called The Keeper, they’re privy to some exclusive information and can take part in chats, polls and votes that affect the outcome.
Feeling lazy on a Saturday afternoon, I opted for The Chamber experience and found it gripping enough. The interface that Fraser has created is fascinating; we can watch The Community members follow around the candidates in the virtual world (people look like colourful game pieces on a board), but we don’t hear what they’re saying. We do hear from the candidates, however, and occasionally see them pop up on screens. Now and then, the Keeper (Steve Hobbs, appropriately smug and smarmy) updates us on events and we make decisions – often reached after a lively discussion in the chat box.
The Complex is rich with activities and things to do and follow, but there’s a deeper theme at play about how people make decisions. Is the candidate who never smiles trustworthy? Are vague promises about diversity and representation enough to instill confidence?
I wish there were more opportunities to dig into the candidates’ pasts and see what led them here. And a bit more information about the earth’s destruction, the promise of the Biome and even the Architects – perhaps in an introductory series of videos? – would help flesh out this world a bit more.
But there’s a lot of potential in The Complex; I already want to re-enter the world and do some further exploring.
SAVING WONDERLAND by Kevin Hammonds, David Andrew Laws, Attilio Rigotti and Jacob Thompson (Gamiotics Studios/Next Stage Festival). January 23 and 29 at 2:30 pm, January 26 and 30 at 7:30 pm, January 28 at 9 pm. See listing here. Rating: NNN
Lewis Carroll’s Alice tales have been popular during the pandemic; last year alone saw two separate local productions inspired by Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.
But neither was as interactive as this Gamiotics Studios’ version, which lets the audience enter an upside down world to make decisions and solve puzzles to help Alice and her friends get Wonderland back to its natural state.
What exactly happened to Wonderland in the first place is unclear. Saving Wonderland’s strongest element isn’t its script, which is often stuck in the same gear, but rather its presentation and the spirited performances.
Presented as a Zoom webinar, the show requires audience members to have another screen handy – either a free browser window or a phone or iPad. This second screen lets you participate in games and polls, which will become crucial as you work to find the gears missing from the White Rabbit’s pocket watch.
Under Attilio Rigotti’s direction, the show’s design is enchanting; the costumes are intricately detailed and say a lot about character, while the virtual backgrounds are wondrous; the sound design is playful and suggestive; and when multiple characters are on a screen talking to each other, the direction they’re facing always seems correct.
Furthermore, the performances are first-rate, with everyone from Jacob Thompson’s White Rabbit and Kim Morgan Dean’s Cheshire Cat to Lynn Craig’s Caterpillar and Pooya Mohseni’s White Queen establishing their characters quickly and efficiently. When Carlina Parker’s Red Queen shrieks “Off with her head!” it’s spine-tingling.
Depending on an audience’s decisions and puzzle-solving abilities, the story can move forward in dozens of ways. There is a bit of repetition, however, which can be frustrating. And while the actors (whose performances have been pre-taped to anticipate any outcome) are excellent, the show’s VIP is stage manager Sarah Reynolds, who, in real time, must push a lot of buttons to ensure the story stays on track.
