Will we be experiencing theatre via VR in the future?

RSC Titus Andronicus 2017

I've been reading about a study by the RSC and Ipsos Mori done during a run of Titus Andronicus in Stratford earlier this year. They were exploring uses of new technology, such as VR (virtual reality) in the theatre.

In the experiment, a group of participants viewed a 360 degree film of Titus Andronicus via HTC Vive VR headsets and wore heart rate monitors. The film was created by Gorilla In The Room. The experience allowed participants to move their head and could view any aspect of the theatre, stage, audience as they wished as if they were seated in that position at the theatre. This was compared with a previous project to monitor the emotional engagement of a theatre and cinema audience by the same research team.

The 360 degree filmed VR experience was viewed in 5 parts – rather than in the usual 2 parts that you would experience in the theatre or cinema. There were a mix of short breaks as well as a main interval where you would normally expect to have one.

These results are based on the data from 107 participants and some of the findings include:

There are more people with a raised heart rate in Theatre at the very start of the performance than we see for Cinema and 360 filmed VR experience - this is perhaps driven by higher levels of anticipation and excitement.

Watching Titus Andronicus raised heart rate to a level equivalent of a 5-minute cardio workout”
Audience heart rate is raised to the level of a cardio workout zone for an average of 5 minutes (3% of time) across the full performance of Titus Andronicus[1]. This is consistent across participants in Theatre, Cinema and the 360 filmed VR experience. This chimes with my piece earlier in the week of research into the Dreamgirls audience.

Men showed a greater emotional reaction - The heart rate data of the men in the study suggests a very slightly greater increase in reaction compared to female participants. I wonder if this was down to the subject matter. I can't say I've ever been drawn to watch Titus Andronicus.

A 360 degree filmed VR experience has the power to transport you into the theatre. 91% of those watching the performance via the VR headset felt there were times when they were physically present in the theatre. This compares to approximately 63% for those watching the show live on screen in the cinema. That sounds very promising for the future of theatre and having the ability to bring a very full experience of the theatre to the living room.

Theatre wins out over cinema in overall positive engagement and empathy. Participant feedback indicated greater overall positivity (excellent/awesome etc.), engagement (gripping, thought provoking, empathy etc.) and shock in Theatre – with more attention to the elements of staging, costume, set, plot, music and choreography. Those watching via 360 filmed VR also had a higher level of emotional engagement than the cinema audiences.

Lower shock levels in the cinema may indicate that viewers feel further removed/desensitised to the violence/gore. However, cinema was perceived to be significantly more ‘moving’ than either theatre of 360 video - possibly due to the cinematic style directing the viewers eye to the details of actor expressions (e.g. tear rolling down Lavinia’s cheek) which are often missed by theatre audiences due to the distance from the stage. You can't get close-ups in the theatre like you can on a cinema screen.

There are still issues with VR. It's not for everyone as it can trigger nausea and vertigo. The headsets are heavy and they're isolating so you need to be in a safe environment to use it as you're completely cut off from all other audio or visual clues as to what may be going on around you.

The RSC is naturally encouraged by the research. Theatre is outperforming cinema in terms of engagement, empathy and ability to shock. Sarah Ellis, RSC Director of Digital Development said: ‘This presented a unique opportunity for us to compare the emotional reaction to one of Shakespeare’s plays on three different platforms. The results have shown us that even after more than 400 years, Shakespeare’s work still packs an emotional punch to today’s audiences wherever and however it is experienced'.

Day 26/30 NaBloPoMo

Ugly Lies the Bone, Virtual Reality and The Power of Theatre

Much as I'm interested in new technologies, Virtual Reality (VR) has never been my thing. I suffer from vertigo from time to time and, from what I've read, VR experiences can trigger it. I already struggle with 3D movies (I rarely go to a 3D version of a film these days), and I really don't like sweeping film sequences as if in flight. I have to look away from the screen. So I'm not a natural fit for VR.

On the business side, beyond entertainment (immersive films and entertainment), I've also not seen a compelling reason for VR, yet it's one of those technologies that won't go away, has been invested in heavily and was ubiquitous at this year's Mobile World Congress. Admittedly, it was fun watching a colleague walk the plank off a virtual sky scraper, but that's a gimmick or a game and isn't going to be for everyone. So it's fair to say, I'm a VR naysayer. Or at least I was.

I'm now beginning to see some exciting uses for VR in terms of well-being. I, and several thousand others were moved by Tribemix's work with dementia patients by using Virtual Reality to take them back to places where they felt safe and could escape their dementia, even if only for a short while. I think it's extraordinary how the mind can be fooled and that you can immerse yourself in an alternate reality so readily.



Which leads me to the fabulous play I've just seen at The National Theatre - Ugly Lies the Bone. It's the tale of Jess, a US war veteran who was badly injured in Afghanistan and spent 14 months in hospital and is in constant pain. She moves back to her home town in Florida to live with her sister and as part of her pain management, she uses guided VR to help her overcome some of her physical and mental limitations.

I'm fascinated at the prospect that something non-invasive and non-pharmaceutical like VR might be used to heal and to manage chronic illness or chronic pain. That has to be better than pumping people full of drugs.

The play explores Jess's return to her hometown, and her rebuilding relationships with her sister and ex boyfriend and trying to establish a new life for herself. Jess also immerses herself into a VR experience and the audience also experiences it through some of the most stunning visuals I've ever seen on the stage. They're so good that they almost take away from the writing and performances. The tight cast do not disappoint. The relationship dynamics are really interesting as others, and Jess herself adjust to the disfigurements she suffered and to the triggers that send her back to the moment the bomb went off in Afghanistan that sent her on this painful journey.

The play is life-affirming, fascinating and beautiful. Go see it while you can! It may help you see another side to virtual reality beyond nerds gaming in darkened rooms. More about the play and how to book tickets on The National Theatre website.

In both the film and theatre examples above, the power of storytelling and the power of theatre is clear to me. Theatre has the power to take us somewhere else entirely, and in turn, that can be a fabulous healing experience.

Move over PokemonGo, You're PokemonGone with FreeBetHunt on the loose

The recent frenzy around the augmented reality PokemonGo mobile game can’t have escaped most of you. Whether it was you, your friends, your colleagues or your children who were hooked, there’s no doubt that PokemenGo had an immediate impact with some crazy scenes of mass PokemonGo players from across the globe. In case you missed the frenzy, my friend George did a little video about it to help explain the overnight sensation that was 20 years in the making.

I must admit, I did succumb, briefly, to see what all the fuss was about. It was kinda fun to play in Central London and it was kinda fun to compare which Pokemon you had with friends. But outside of that, not so much fun when you’re outside a big city due to lack of Pokestops and lack of Pokemon to actually catch that weren’t Rattatas, Spearows or Pidgeys. It also slowed down my walking when I’m actively trying to increase both my step count and the effort I put into my steps.

When PokemonGo first hit the market, you could see people playing locally where I live as it turned them into Pokemon zombies wandering aimlessly near Pokestops searching for rare virtual creatures. But that’s all but stopped now from what I can tell as the novelty has worn off. I deleted the app from my phone last week. The vibe was over.

It seems, however, that I was wrong. Brands are now getting in on the act and coming up with their own PokemonGo inspired geo-targeted treasure hunts.

The first is a game from betting company, 888Sport, imaginatively entitled 'Free Bet Hunt'. Instead of hunting Pokemon, you can hunt free bets around football stadiums.

FreeBetHunt is not quite as pretty as Pikachu's virtual playground. However, that may not matter. I’m not exactly the target market for this as I neither bet nor have any interest in football despite my surname being the same as a famous footballer of the late 20th Century. So, is this a winning strategy to get football fans betting more? I don’t know. How interested are 21st Century football fans with virtual treasure hunts? I guess time will tell. I welcome your comments on that score. I do applaud 888Sport on their speed to market though and their willingness to experiment with new technologies.

More info on how to play here (you need to be over 18 and have an 888Sport account and have deposited actual money in it in order to qualify).