Not to be missed: where performance and gaming collide

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/10/performance-gaming-collide-diary-dates

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THE DARK ROOM

John Robertson

London, Udderbelly Festival, South Bank, April-May

Conceived as an interactive YouTube series, The Dark Room has evolved into a “live action video game” that blends theatre, improvisational comedy and game show. Robertson’s work is influenced by text adventures and early point and clicks, trapping the audience in its titular prison, before tasking them with escaping.

EARLY DAYS (OF A BETTER NATION)

Coney, UK-wide tour, April-May

An example of debate-focused interactive theatre, Early Days broadly shares its mechanics of gameplay with titles in the live-action and tabletop role-playing space that are themselves a foundation of much that is central to videogames today. This piece by the acclaimed Coney theatre company requires its audience to establish a new nation and then lock horns over running the country.

GO 8-BIT/WIFI WARSMcNeil and Pamphilion

While Go 8-Bit is essentially a video game-themed interactive competitive comedy night, its offspring WiFi Wars asks an audience to crowd control video games on stage using their mobile phones together. Presented as part of Go 8-Bit, WiFi Wars also exists in its own right, offering a whole evening of playing games as single being in a collective conciousness.

BETA PUBLIC

Tom Martin and Pat Ashe, with various collaborators, forthcoming London dates.

Having recently concluded March’s successful event, Beta Public is set to return later this year, offering a curated night that brings together performances, unusual video game forms, and elements that combine both. Realised so as to let the audience interact and meet with developers, it offers a diverse array of works that exist in the twilight between virtual and real-world entertainment.