Theatres tempt new audiences with virtual reality
Roberta Doyle was unnerved when she found herself on the receiving end of a football manager’s rant.
Despite just being a member of the audience, the play’s delivery – through a virtual reality (VT) headset – made the rant feel alarmingly real.
“You’re in the dressing room at half-time and getting his view of your first half performance. It rattled me, there was a lot of swearing and finger pointing. But it was very well done. It was uncomfortable in a good way.”
The play, called Smile, was about the life of legendary Dundee United manager Jim McLean.
Ms Doyle had been expecting a conventional performance of a play featuring the blunt-spoken manager when she arrived at the Dundee Repertory earlier this year.
Before the curtain rose she accepted an invite to a section of the foyer where VR headsets were on offer to curious theatre-goers.
The intense preview sequence came from Box Office VR, a firm founded by Kelman and Gemma Grieg-Kicks of Box Office VR.
Having spent careers in film-making and touring theatre, the husband and wife team, hope that VR can extend the reach of theatre to untapped audiences.
Anyone who wants to use the service would have to buy their own headset, but Box Office VR is designed to work on cheap systems like Google Cardboard VR Glasses.
To watch a show the customer has to insert their phone into the VR device.
Once the phone is place, the users strap the box, effectively a pair of cardboard goggles, around their head and plug in their own headphones.
The app then streams a recorded performance to the phone, which the VR headset amplifies, taking the viewer into a 180 degree view of the stage and auditorium.
It is aimed at anyone who might not think of visiting the theatre, or who cannot physically reach a venue.
So far that’s a small audience. Around a 100 people have downloaded a show through Box Office VR.
Ms Grieg-Kicks admits that Box Office VR is “a passion project” for her and her husband.
Yet she says the potential is real. “It means they can host shows that wouldn’t otherwise be able to tour due to size or cost.”
Box Office VR has filmed other productions, including one for London’s Sadler’s Wells dance theatre which has a Digital Stage label for its own online repertoire.
Other established names such as the York Theatre Royal have also experimented with making shows available via VR headsets.
While an interesting use case for virtual reality, it’s not going to make much of a dent in the billions of dollars invested in VR by technology giants like Meta (the owner of Facebook) and more recently Apple, which launched its VR system in June.
But for cash-strapped regional theatre any exposure or extra revenue is welcome.
The technology is also an exciting way to introduce schoolchildren to theatre.
Lisa Kilbride teaches drama at Monifieth High School in Dundee and has harnessed Box Office VR for her mission to spread a love of theatre.
The school has a large rural catchment area, meaning some pupils have to travel in for nearly an hour by bus. So bolting on a trip to see a play in the evening creates problems for pupils with a far-flung home to return to.
Her drama teaching covers much more than acting. Ms Kilbride’s pupils are studying for Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) exams and picking up skills needed in theatre directing, lighting or sound.
The VR headset sparked excitement in her 12 and 13 year old SQA students. No-one turned down the chance to pull on the simple goggles.
She is sure they’re a valuable addition to her teaching toolkit and uses them to lure reluctant theatre-goers into a whole new experience.
“It’s easy to pause and rewind the action and all of the kids talked about the lighting, the sound, the set.”
Sharing the thrill of theatre means everything to Ms Kilbride. “If one child says ‘I want to go to the theatre’ after using the headset then I’m happy.”
The action on stage unfolds in front of the viewer, but the VR goggles also let them look about the theatre.
Ms Kilbride wanted her students to become familiar with a whole world surrounding the stage, one they had never visited.
When she asked her students why they were tilting their heads up and around they explained they were glancing at the theatre itself. They had never seen anything like the interior of the Dundee Rep before.
Liam Sinclair, business manager at the Dundee Rep, knows about the impact an early encounter with theatre can have. He owes his career to “a brilliant drama teacher at school” who left him intrigued by the whole question of how theatre works.
Mr Sinclair explains how Smile brought a new audience, who loved both football and the Dundee United team, to his venue.
And Box Office VR made a huge impression on the late manager’s living relatives.
“We did this film version of it with Box Office VR and created the sample sessions using VR goggles. Jim’s family came to the press night of the show and got really involved, putting the googles on. When they watched the VR they teared up. It was really like Jim was present and in the room.”
He realised that in this case technology had triggered deeper emotions than a stage performance. “VR is a very personal experience as opposed to theatre, which is communal.”
Ms Doyle confirms this take on her memorable night out. “Once you’re sworn at by Jim McLean you stay sworn at!”